How churches keep more of every tithe with Givebutter

Running giving for your church as a pastor or volunteer treasurer is a lot. You're managing Sunday tithing, coordinating a capital campaign, and somehow also reconciling Venmo payments, Cash App donations, and a spreadsheet full of expired card numbers, all while preparing for next week's service.

Givebutter is built for exactly this: small, volunteer-run congregations that need a giving platform they can figure out fast, without a tech background, a dedicated staff, or a budget for expensive monthly subscriptions. Sign up for free in minutes, launch your first giving page in under an hour, and keep everything, from recurring tithing to event auctions to donor records, in one place.

We'll walk through how congregations like yours use Givebutter to keep more of every dollar given, with real examples, honest answers on fees, and everything you need to go live before next Sunday.

Key takeaways

• Keep more of every tithe 💸 When optional donor tips are enabled, your church pays $0 in platform fees and $0 in processing fees. With tips turned off, a flat 3% platform fee applies plus standard payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.
• Recurring tithing that doesn't quietly decay 🔁 Givebutter uses Stripe's automatic card updater to recover lapsed tithes in the background where supported, and retries failed charges and emails donors before cards expire, so your team spends less time chasing down missed gifts.
• One login for Sunday giving & everything else ⛪ Manage recurring tithing, capital campaigns, fund designations, auctions, event ticketing, and donor records all from one platform, no juggling required.
• A member CRM that survives treasurer turnover 🗃️ Every gift, pledge, event registration, and auction bid lives in your nonprofit CRM year after year, so the next treasurer doesn't start from scratch.
• Launch before next Sunday ⚡ Sign up for free in under 5 minutes, no credit card or sales call required. Your first giving page takes about 30 minutes to build.

Why churches switch to Givebutter

Most churches switch to Givebutter for one of four reasons: to keep more of every tithe, set up recurring giving that doesn't quietly decay, run all their fundraising from one login, and stop rebuilding donor records from scratch every time the treasurer changes. The sections below break down how Givebutter delivers on each one.

Keep more of every tithe 💸

With the Givebutter Guarantee, platform and processing fees are $0 when optional donor tips are enabled, meaning your church keeps 100% of what it raises. Without donor tips, a flat 3% platform fee applies, plus standard payment processing of 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction.

🎬 See it in action: Your church enables optional donor tips and raises $250K for a new building. Your congregation keeps every dollar.

Dive deeper

Learn more about the Givebutter Guarantee and what fee-free really means for your congregation →

Recurring tithing that doesn't quietly decay 🔁

Givebutter makes it easy to set up recurring giving so supporters can tithe monthly, quarterly, or annually.

When a member gets a new card, Givebutter uses Stripe's automatic card updater to recover the gift in the background, where supported by the card network. For cards that can't be updated automatically, Givebutter emails donors before their card expires and retries failed charges three times before pausing the plan, so your team spends less time chasing down lapsed tithers.

More to explore

Build a recurring giving program that grows with your church →

One login for Sunday giving & everything else ⛪️

With Givebutter, your church manages all its fundraising from one giving hub: recurring tithing, auctions, text-to-donate, scan-to-donate, event ticketing, and donation widgets for your church website. You won't need to juggle multiple platforms to run one fundraiser or find new software every time you want to launch an auction or a paddle raise.

Get inspired

Discover 180+ church fundraising ideas for every season →

A member CRM that survives treasurer turnover 🗃️

When your church gets a new treasurer, they won't inherit a shared drive full of disconnected spreadsheets. Every gift, pledge, event registration, and auction bid is automatically recorded in your nonprofit CRM and attached to a donor profile.

With customizable donor segments, you can view members by tithing frequency, event attendance, and major gift flags without exporting anything. At year-end, you can generate and send tax-deductible giving summaries to every donor in a few clicks, without pulling individual records or building reports from scratch.

💡 Pro tip: Givebutter is a giving and fundraising platform, rather than a church management system. For attendance tracking, service planning, or group rosters, pair it with Planning Center, ChurchTrac, or Breeze.

Dive deeper

Learn why a nonprofit CRM matters & how it can benefit your church →

What your congregation can do on Givebutter

From Sunday tithing to mission trips to the annual banquet, every congregation runs into the same giving headaches. Here's how Givebutter helps.

Real churches & ministries using Givebutter

Here's what a real congregation said about Givebutter, plus a matching gift campaign that raised $300K for its community.

"I love that Givebutter allows us to fundraise and bring in funds for our nonprofit ministry. The campaigns are particularly useful, enabling us to set up our staff with personal campaigns to raise their support. The initial setup was very easy." — Stephen D., Nonprofit Ministry | G2

CrossNet Ministries October Match 🙏

CrossNet Ministries used Givebutter to run a matching gift campaign, with every donation doubled by a generous matching pledge. The campaign raised $300K for community programs serving Eastern Lancaster County.

💸 Total raised: $300K

🥳 Why it worked: The 2x match created natural urgency, with every dollar donated instantly becoming two. CrossNet used a clear mission description, a visible fundraising goal, and a simple campaign page to keep donors focused on the impact of their gift.

Dive deeper

See how Givebutter stacks up against other online giving platforms for churches →

How to set up church giving on Givebutter before next Sunday

With Givebutter, you can launch online giving without a sales call, a contract, or a tech team. Here's how you can get up and running in time for next Sunday's service.

1. Create your free account 🪄

Sign up for Givebutter and verify your church to get started. It takes less than 5 minutes, no credit card or sales call required. Churches don't need a 501(c)(3) letter—just select the right org type during signup. Create your free account →

2. Build your church's first giving page 💸

Whether you're setting up a recurring tithing page, a capital campaign, or a peer-to-peer mission appeal, your first Givebutter campaign takes about 30-60 minutes to build. Your nonprofit CRM, fund designations, recurring donations, and scan-to-donate are all included.

3. Go live 📣

Announce your text-to-donate keyword from the pulpit, add a QR code to the bulletin, and share your giving link on social media. Every gift auto-tags to a donor profile, so your CRM starts populating itself from day one. And if you ever get stuck, Givebutter's support team is available 24/7 with a 98%+ customer satisfaction rating.

See it in action

Book a free Givebutter demo & go live before next Sunday →

Give your congregation a better way to give

Givebutter gives volunteer-run congregations, ministries, and faith-based organizations everything they need to collect tithes, run capital campaigns, manage events and auctions, and keep donor records safe through every treasurer transition, all from one dashboard.

With the Givebutter Guarantee, your church pays $0 in platform fees and $0 in processing fees when optional donor tips are enabled. That means more money for your mission, your community, and the programs your congregation depends on.

And when you need help, Givebutter's support team is available 24/7 with a 98%+ customer satisfaction rating, the kind of patient, step-by-step help that matters when your board is asking questions and your staff is a team of two.

Sign up for Givebutter and start raising more for your church today.

Frequently asked questions from churches & ministries

Do churches need a 501(c)(3) letter to accept online giving on Givebutter?

No. Churches don't need a 501(c)(3) letter to start fundraising with Givebutter. During signup, simply select the right org type for your church. This allows you to start accepting online donations without an IRS determination letter.

Can my church use Givebutter for recurring tithing?

Yes. With Givebutter's recurring donation tools, tithers can opt to give monthly, quarterly, or annually.

When a member gets a new card, Givebutter uses Stripe's automatic card updater to recover the gift in the background, where supported by the card network. For cards that can't be updated automatically, Givebutter emails donors before their card expires and retries failed charges three times before pausing the plan.

How does Givebutter compare to Tithely, Pushpay, and Planning Center Giving?

Givebutter is a free all-in-one giving platform with donation pages, event ticketing, auctions, and a donor CRM. Tithe.ly focuses on church giving with an optional ChMS bundle. Planning Center is primarily a ChMS with built-in giving tools. Pushpay is built for large, multi-campus churches and requires a paid subscription and contract pricing.

For a full side-by-side comparison, see our online giving guide for churches.

Does Givebutter handle fund designations (general, missions, youth, building)?

Yes. With Givebutter, you can create funds for missions, building, youth, or general giving that appear as a dropdown on your giving pages. Your nonprofit CRM automatically records each supporter's fund selection alongside their giving history.

How long does it take to set up online giving for my church?

It takes less than 5 minutes to sign up for Givebutter. Account verification takes 1–3 business days, and your first giving page takes about 30-60 minutes to build. Most churches go live before next Sunday.

How fast does Givebutter send funds to our church?

Once you initiate a withdrawal, standard payouts arrive in your connected bank account within 1–3 business days and are always free. Eligible verified accounts can use Instant Payouts to receive funds within 30 minutes, any day of the week, for a small fee. You can also set up a Givebutter Wallet as your financial home base, giving you daily access to settled funds.