Giving should be clear before and after payment.

Giving and plan billing are different

A gift supports a church or approved purpose. A ChurchGather plan payment pays for the church’s use of the ChurchGather service.

• The checkout must clearly name the payment purpose
• Do not mix a church gift with a software subscription
• Receipts should identify the correct receiving party

Approved churches and funds

Only authorized church leaders should create or manage giving options. The giving page should show the church identity, fund name, purpose, and any important limits.

• Verify church authority through the backend
• Use accurate fund descriptions
• Remove or pause giving options that are no longer approved

Payment processing

Card and bank information should be handled by the connected payment provider and secure backend flow, not stored directly in ordinary frontend code.

• Use provider-hosted or approved payment components
• Follow authentication and fraud checks
• Treat the provider and backend record as the source of truth

Fees and amount confirmation

Before the final action, show the gift amount, any optional fee coverage, platform fee when applicable, provider fee when available, and the total the person is confirming.

• No hidden final amount
• Optional fee coverage must remain optional
• Display the currency clearly

Payment status and receipts

The frontend must not announce success based only on a click, redirect, or local browser state.

• Success requires server and provider confirmation
• Pending, failed, cancelled, refunded, and disputed states should remain distinct
• Receipts should connect to a real transaction record

Refunds, cancellations, and disputes

The church receiving the gift usually decides ordinary refund requests, subject to payment provider rules and law. ChurchGather may help route the question but should not promise a result it cannot control.

• Provide the transaction date, amount, and receipt reference
• Never send full card information by email or support message
• Charge disputes may be handled by the payment provider and financial institution

Church responsibilities

The church is responsible for its fund purpose, authorization, use of gifts, donor communication, receipts or tax statements it must provide, refunds it controls, and compliance with applicable law.

ChurchGather responsibilities

ChurchGather is responsible for clear product language, secure integration, honest status display, role-based access, accurate platform records, and reasonable support for technical issues.

Donor responsibility

The person giving should check the church, purpose, amount, currency, and contact information before confirming. A gift should only be made with an authorized payment method.