Church Members Portal

Think of your web page as a brochure that you are handing out to strangers. The text should be friendly, welcoming, and informative. Try not to use terms familiar only to Christian Scientists. Tell people what your services are like and give them reasons to attend.

Likewise, if you have a Reading Room, explain what a visitor will find on entering.

NOTE: Photos and copy must be sent in a separate email to the Coordinator.

• Please rename each image. The file name for each image should include your city and what it is a picture of. Examples: newark-auditorium.jpg, westchester-readingroom.jpg
• Your pictures should be bright, sharp, and well lit. Do not crop or enhance them in any way as that compromises the quality. Photos on a website may have already been edited.
• Email the largest size of your photos. If necessary, send them in separate emails.
• PLEASE do your best to take photos with people in the pictures. This is crucial to the first impression of an active, happy, welcoming church. People want to know that there are people that go to your church. You can take photos from the back of church and SS so that faces are not recognizable if that makes you more comfortable.

Your church may have a donation button, which allows members (or any visitor) to use their credit card to donate. Weekly or monthly recurring donations can also be made. This can be important for individuals who don’t regularly send checks or attend online services.

The following lists what your Treasurer will need to do:

• Visit PayPal at https://www.paypal.com/donate/buttons.
• Create a free Business account (NOT a personal account) in the name of the church.
• Link the PayPal account to your church checking account.
• Create a “Donate” button. This generates HTML code that can be pasted verbatim into this document when it is returned to the coordinator.

A PayPal “Donate” button will appear on your web page.

• When a visitor clicks it, she can make a one-time or recurring donation using their credit card or their PayPal account.
• Your treasurer receives an email from PayPal that a donation has been made.
• Your treasurer logs on to the business PayPal account and clicks a button to transfer the funds directly into the church checking account within 1-3 days. The transfer is free.

All credit card payment processors charge a fee. The standard rate for PayPal processing is 2.9% and $0.30 per donation (note. This may no longer accurate. PayPal raised their rates a few years ago. I’m not sure about non-profits – TD). Eligible nonprofit organizations can apply to receive the discounted nonprofit fee of 2.2% and $0.30 per donation.

It is worthwhile to consider that making it easy for people to donate via credit card can result in more overall donations than requiring people to attend in-person or write checks and post them.

Think of your web page as a brochure that you are handing out to strangers. The text should be friendly, welcoming, and informative. Try not to use terms familiar only to Christian Scientists. Tell people what your services are like and give them reasons to attend.

Likewise, if you have a Reading Room, explain what a visitor will find on entering.

NOTE: Photos and copy must be sent in a separate email to the Coordinator.

• Please rename each image. The file name for each image should include your city and what it is a picture of. Examples: newark-auditorium.jpg, westchester-readingroom.jpg
• Your pictures should be bright, sharp, and well lit. Do not crop or enhance them in any way as that compromises the quality. Photos on a website may have already been edited.
• Email the largest size of your photos. If necessary, send them in separate emails.
• PLEASE do your best to take photos with people in the pictures. This is crucial to the first impression of an active, happy, welcoming church. People want to know that there are people that go to your church. You can take photos from the back of church and SS so that faces are not recognizable if that makes you more comfortable.

Your church may have a donation button, which allows members (or any visitor) to use their credit card to donate. Weekly or monthly recurring donations can also be made. This can be important for individuals who don’t regularly send checks or attend online services.

The following lists what your Treasurer will need to do:

• Visit PayPal at https://www.paypal.com/donate/buttons.
• Create a free Business account (NOT a personal account) in the name of the church.
• Link the PayPal account to your church checking account.
• Create a “Donate” button. This generates HTML code that can be pasted verbatim into this document when it is returned to the coordinator.

A PayPal “Donate” button will appear on your web page.

• When a visitor clicks it, she can make a one-time or recurring donation using their credit card or their PayPal account.
• Your treasurer receives an email from PayPal that a donation has been made.
• Your treasurer logs on to the business PayPal account and clicks a button to transfer the funds directly into the church checking account within 1-3 days. The transfer is free.

All credit card payment processors charge a fee. The standard rate for PayPal processing is 2.9% and $0.30 per donation (note. This may no longer accurate. PayPal raised their rates a few years ago. I’m not sure about non-profits – TD). Eligible nonprofit organizations can apply to receive the discounted nonprofit fee of 2.2% and $0.30 per donation.

It is worthwhile to consider that making it easy for people to donate via credit card can result in more overall donations than requiring people to attend in-person or write checks and post them.