Online Giving
Welcome to online giving at the Vineyard. Online giving is a safe and easy way to support the ministries of the Vineyard by enabling you to support the church by making a one-time or recurring contribution.
3 Simple Steps
- Create a user ID and password.
- Provide contact and bank (preferred) or credit card information.
- Indicate the amount, frequency (one-time or recurring) and designation for your gift.
Benefits to Online Giving | FAQs | Security | Policies
Benefits to Online Giving
There are several benefits to online giving for both you and the Vineyard Church.
Faithfulness
In Proverbs 3:9 we are taught to honor the Lord with the “first fruits” of our labor. By setting up a recurring contribution that is scheduled to come out of your account on the day you specify, you can ensure that your first fruits (instead of your leftovers) are given back to God. When you’re out of town for work or vacation, online giving makes it that much easier to be consistent.
Simplicity
With recurring contributions, you won’t need to waste time trying to remember if you gave this month or not, and you’ll likely save a lot of time writing out checks.
Security
Online giving is more secure than giving with a check in that an electronic gift can’t be lost or stolen. More information on security is provided below.
No Distractions
Instead of needing to worry about writing your contribution check during the worship gathering, you can be fully engaged, knowing that you have already given your offering online.
Helping the Church
Online contributions require less processing by our team after services since the information is deposited automatically.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Is it safe to give online?
A: Yes. In many ways giving online is safer than writing a check because an electronic gift cannot be lost or stolen. Fellowship One continually manages the security of the system.
Q: What types of accounts can I give from?
A: You can give online from your checking account (preferred), MasterCard, Visa, or Discover.
Q. Can I use a debit card?
A: You can use a debit check card from Visa or MasterCard, but PIN-only debit cards are not accepted through the Fellowship One system.
Q: Are there any fees involved with giving online?
A: Not to you. You will not pay any fees with an online gift. The fees the Vineyard Church pays are less with e-checks from your checking account than they are for credit card transactions.
Q: Can I make a one-time contribution?
A: Yes. The system allows you the option of either making a one-time contribution or setting up a recurring contribution. For a one-time contribution, you can designate that the contribution should be made immediately or, for both one-time and recurring contributions, you can schedule the contributions to come out of your bank account or charged to your credit card on the date(s) specified by you.
Q: If I want to set up a recurring gift, what are my options for frequency of my gift?
A: For recurring gifts, you have the option of giving weekly, twice a month, every two weeks, or once a month.
Q: Can I change my personal information or the amount or the frequency of my gift once I have set it up?
A: Yes. You can change or cancel your contribution set up at any time before the date of your next contribution. Simply log in to the system using your user name and password and make your changes. If you’ve made a mistake on an immediate contribution, please contact the church office at (304) 242-0463 or office@vineyardwheeling.com.
Q: Can I review my donation history online?
A: Yes. The site will allow you to view the history of your contributions, given either online or otherwise, from the date the Vineyard began using the Fellowship One system (October, 2011). Once you’ve created an account, you will be able to contribute immediately. However, for security purposes, before you can see any past contributions, we must manually connect your online account with your previous information. This is a one-time process when you initially create your account. After that, you can view your history at any time. For more information, see our security policy (below).
Q: Will I still receive regular contribution statements from the Vineyard Church?
A: One of the benefits of Online Giving is that anyone with a Fellowship One ID can generate and print their own contribution statement whenever they would like to have one. This statement can be used for submission to the IRS for end of year tax purposes.* Just log in to your account, click on “print view” in the Contribution History section and then click on “print statement.” If you are not able to print your own statement, you can request a printed version of the statement from the church office (304-242-0463 or office@vineyardwheeling.com).
*Because we started to use this system on October 23, 2011, you will only be able to access records from that date on. If you would like to have a year-end contribution statement for your 2011 giving, contact the church office in mid-January and a printed version will be sent to you by mail.
Q: When will contributions be taken from my account?
A: Processing times vary depending upon the payment method you have selected. Credit cards are typically debited from the giver’s account within hours of the contribution’s scheduled run. If the schedule is set to run on a weekend or a holiday, the debit will be delayed until the next business day. Those gifts marked “immediate one-time gifts” will be processed immediately. The typical time it takes to process payments (through all the steps from your account to the church) is 3 to 5 business days for credit cards, and 5 to 7 days for bank drafts (e-checks).
Q: Can I designate my gift to a particular cause?
A: Not usually. Normally only regular “Tithes and Offerings” can be given online. Occasionally there may be a “campaign” (such as the Christmas offering) to which you will be able to give online during a specific time.
Please do NOT set up a recurring schedule for anything other than a “Tithe and Offering.” If you would like to make more than one gift to a special campaign (such as the Christmas Offering), please only schedule one-time gifts or use the “Give immediately” option.
Q: How will I know that I set up my gift correctly?
A: Immediately after submitting your contribution, you will receive an e-mail either verifying your contribution or providing instructions as to how to proceed if there was an error in processing.
Q: I have additional questions about online giving that have not been addressed. Who can I talk to?
A: For any questions, concerns or comments about the online giving system, please contact our church office at 304.242.0463 or office@vineyardwheeling.com.
Security
At the Vineyard Church, we use an online database called Fellowship One. Their system allows us to provide access to your contribution records and allows you to make donations online. They provide all of the security for the system. This system is used by churches throughout the country and has been fully tested by them.
There are two aspects of security related to the system. First, Fellowship One provides data security using the latest security technology. The following statement is from their security documentation:
“[the system] utilizes the most current encryption technology to maintain the security of your data. Every parameter passed in the hyperlinks is fully encrypted. Additionally, the Login module handles passwords using what is known in technical terms as salted hash. In laymen’s terms, this means it would take 50 computers (running constantly) continuously presenting password combinations four years to discover the password.”
The second aspect of security relates to account creation. When you first create a new account in the system, you will be able to donate immediately, but you will not have access to any previous contribution information. Before that can happen, we must manually link your previous information to the account you created.
In order to verify the authenticity of the account request, we will ensure that all of your data matches our current records (e.g., address, phone number, and email address). If there is any question, we will contact you via email before creating the link.
When you create your account, you will determine your own login ID and password. If you forget your login ID or password, you can have the system email it to you by entering the email address that you used when you created your account. If you need help, please contact us in the church office at 304.242.0463 or office@vineyardwheeling.com.
Please help us keep your information safe by protecting your login information. Access to sensitive personal and financial information can be gained by letting someone else use your account or by leaving the information for someone else to see. The Vineyard Church will never call you to ask for your login information.
Our Policies
Your information is held securely by the Fellowship One system. This information will remain private and will never be given away to third parties, other than to process your scheduled contributions.
You can schedule new contributions at any time and can modify or cancel those contributions at any time prior to the date they are scheduled. Once the contribution has been processed, however, it cannot be cancelled. If you have any problems or questions related to this, or have made an error with your contribution, please contact us at 304.242.0463 or office@vineyardwheeling.com.