When You Want To Give Religiously. Really.

With just the click of a mouse, you can now pay your power bill, reconcile your checking account and make a donation to your church. Yep, you read the last part correctly. In response to recent changes which now require a taxpayer to have a bank record or written communication from a qualified charity to prove donations, many churches are going high tech.

Unlike years prior which allowed a taxpayer to provide self-documentation for charitable donations under $250, a taxpayer must now provide a bank record which includes canceled checks, bank or credit union statements, and credit card statements with the name of the charity and the transaction posting date printed clearly. This has proven difficult for many taxpayers who are used to dropping cash into a collection plate and who don’t use checks to make payments.

The answer? Companies like Mychurchdonations.com allow churchgoers to make payments online in the comfort of their own home using credit or debit cards – and electronic checks. But the proverbial buck doesn’t stop there. Some churches now offer kiosks in their foyers through companies like Secure Give which allows electronic transactions with ATM-like ease.

To be fair, churches aren’t the only charities using these options. Many charities allow online donations and the Secure Give kiosks have been used by other organizations (the YMCA is featured on their site). But for some reason, churches have been slow to embrace many technology-based donation options. This is curious to me, as churches are probably more publicly supported than most other charitable organizations, many of which also have the benefit of governmental grants. Churches, however, generally rely on the generosity of a cross-section of their own members and not single donors or unusual grants.

My guess is that many churches would perceive such blatant donation requests as ungodly and would worry that it might make their members feel uncomfortable. But I would also think that the virtual anonymity of using these services might encourage those who feel a little self-conscious throwing only a dollar or two in the collection plate.

So, I want to know. Have you ever used a kiosk or online service to make a donation to church? If not, would such a service make you more or less likely to give? Is there something appealing about knowing only that God, the IRS and the folks at the bank are watching? Or does technology not have a place in church?

Kelly Phillips Erb

Kelly Phillips Erb is a tax attorney, tax writer, and podcaster.

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