In an increasingly digital world, convenience and simplicity are key to engaging with your congregation and donors. As giving habits evolve, churches and non-profits are turning to online platforms to receive donations. While there are numerous options out there, one platform that’s seeing exponential growth is Venmo.
You’ve probably heard of Venmo and even used it to repay your friends, split meals, or pay the babysitter—it’s a simple and widely used peer-to-peer payment app. But, did you know that Venmo also offers a business account tailored for organizations like churches and non-profits?
Here’s why Venmo is a great payment method option for your church to adopt, and why it’s critical to tie this directly to your church or ministry instead of a personal Venmo account.
1. Meet Your Congregation Where They Are
Venmo has become a go-to app for millennials, Gen Z, and even older generations for its ease of use. According to PayPal internal data in 2023, Venmo has 92 million active users in the U.S.
By offering Venmo as a giving option, you’re meeting your congregation and donors right where they are—on their smartphones. With Venmo, they can support your mission in seconds, directly from the Venmo integration on your giving form.
2. Streamlined Giving
When it comes to online giving, the goal is to keep it simple and streamlined.
Venmo’s integration with your Giving Form makes this possible. For your donors, it’s as easy as:
- Entering their gift amount
- Choosing Venmo as their payment option
- Sending their donation
Because Venmo makes it simple, people can give to your mission whenever they feel moved—during a sermon, an outreach event, or even from home while watching a livestream.
3. A Safer Way to Give With a Venmo Integration
Since Venmo is commonly used for peer-to-peer payments, churches and non-profits need to be wise and strategic when setting up a Venmo integration. This means, in order to keep it secure and professional, Venmo should be integrated directly into your Giving Form and not connected to a pastor or CEO’s personal account. This will help protect everyone and eliminate potential risks.
Here’s why using this integration is crucial for your church:
a. Compliance and Transparency
Donations sent to personal Venmo accounts can lead to complications. These typically aren’t tax-deductible and you can’t issue official charitable tax receipts for those gifts. By having Venmo payments flow through your Giving Form, your church ensures compliance with IRS regulations and can properly track donations for tax purposes. This approach brings full transparency and accountability to your church or non-profit’s financials, ensuring donors’ gifts are managed responsibly.
b. Enhanced Security and Protection
Not only that, but handling donations through a personal Venmo account exposes both your church and its donors to risks including mismanagement of funds. With the Venmo integration within your Giving Form, all transactions are securely processed, with built-in encryption and fraud prevention measures to protect your organization and its donors. This setup gives everyone peace of mind, so you can focus on your ministry knowing donations are handled safely and efficiently.
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Maximize Venmo even further through the Ministry Brands Giving Integration
Integrating Venmo with your online giving shouldn’t be complicated. It should be easy for you to set up and easy for donors to give. Ministry Brands Giving allows donors to give seamlessly with Venmo, and all other digital wallets, directly from your Giving Form.
How to Get Started
Adding Venmo to your Giving Forms is simple.
1. Once you have Ministry Brands Giving, simply look for Venmo as a payment option on your Giving Forms. It’s already enabled and there are no additional steps you need to take: it really is that simple! However, if you’re not seeing Venmo as a Payment Option, check out this help resource.
2. Next, promote your account by sharing that you now accept Venmo. Here are a few ways to get the word out:
- Share details during service announcements
- Send out a non-profit or church-wide email
- Post the news (and a link) on social media
- Ask small group leaders or volunteers to send it out to their teams
- Hand out cards with a QR code linking to your Giving Page
- Update your website letting people know you now accept Venmo
If you had previously directed donors to a personal Venmo account, remind them often that they should now give with Venmo via your Giving Form. You may also consider preventing future donations through a personal Venmo account by deactivating the account to avoid potential IRS or reporting complications.
Next Steps
The generosity of donors is what truly helps to fuel your ministry. Because of this, giving should be as easy as possible. If you’re ready to integrate Venmo into your giving form, we’d love you to try out Ministry Brands Giving. Schedule a demo here.
