Understand giving fees (and let donors cover them)
It's fair to know what online giving costs before you ask your people to use it. Aligned Giving has no monthly fee; each gift carries ordinary card processing, and your donors can choose to cover it so the whole gift reaches the church.
About 2 minutes Part of Aligned ChurchUpdated September 29, 2026
aligned.church/church
1/6 · Open Giving from the left rail
Before you start: Anyone can read the fees. Changing the cover-the-fees setting needs your giving page, which is made when you register for giving.
Good to know
- Gifts on your giving page go through as card gifts today, so the card rate is the one that applies to them.
- The fee comes out of each gift before the money reaches your bank. The bank confirms your church's rates during underwriting, and the Processing fees card then shows your church's own rates.
- Giving never raises your plan price. Running your giving through Aligned Giving is what keeps your other modules at $0, and Settings → Plan always shows where you stand.
- Ask the Giving chat “What are the fees and rates?” for the same numbers any time. Ask it whether donors can cover the fee, and it offers to open this switch for you.
If it’s not working
Reports show more than the Overview totals
Both are right. The Overview totals leave out the fees donors chose to cover; Reports include them. The difference is exactly the Fee cover column in any report.
Our bank deposit is less than the gifts
The processing fee comes out before the money reaches your bank, unless the donor covered it. Aligned doesn't see your deposits, so check them against the rates on the Processing fees card.
Save changes stays greyed out
Nothing has changed since the last save. Flip the switch and the button wakes up.
Did this help?
Next, you might want to
- Customize your giving pageChange the words, the amounts people tap and the funds they can pick, then see the page exactly the way donors do.
- Run giving reports and exportsGive your treasurer giving by fund, month or donor, and download every donation as a spreadsheet.
- Start receiving gifts onlineRegister your church for Aligned Giving on the Setup page or in the chat, and know what happens after you press the button.
- Understand what Aligned Church costsThe price of each module, when it's all $0, how long your free window runs, and where to see exactly what your church pays.