Church Giving and Stewardship Blog | Vision2

Inspire Tithes and Offerings Online with Visual Ministry Designations - Vision2

Written by Gina Calvert | July 27, 2021

Is there a way to teach givers about the difference in tithes and offerings online?

Dave Ramsey says, “Like llamas and alpacas, tithes and offerings are often grouped together, but they’re definitely not the same thing. A tithe is a specific amount (10% of your income) that you give first, and an offering is anything extra that you give beyond that.”

Enabling Givers to Distinguish Tithes and Offerings Online

It may seem that some givers want to contribute toward outreach and ministry projects that speak to their heart, but not to operational expenses. That is to say, they want their church to make a difference in their community but don’t realize that operational expenses support all ministries.

So church leaders may feel torn about how to teach givers to tithe as a matter of gratitude and biblical responsibility but also enable them to choose where their gifts are applied.

That’s why an online giving platform that lets you easily distinguish between — and receive — both tithes and offerings online can help. It lets churches educate givers on tithing, while also inspiring giving and participation with projects they’re passionate about.

Help Givers Visualize Tithes and Offerings Online

Today’s givers want to be visually captivated and motivated. Their favorite online brands use vivid imagery and descriptions and streamlined technology to engage them. They’re used to easily making reservations, purchases and donations, then leaving feedback for others. And they have greater than ever visibility into their choices. Think Amazon, Netflix and Apple, to name just a few.

Consumers now expect these engaging features.

But without seeing or choosing how the church applies their gifts, they can feel uninspired or even hesitant to give.

Introducing Vision2’s MEDIA-RICH GIVING EXPERIENCE


All other online giving platforms offer, at most, a simple drop-down menu with a few generic ministry “buckets” listed.

But Vision2 offers an exciting new alternative.

Below is an example of a custom-formatted Vision2 giving page to distinguish between and encourage both tithes and offerings.

  1. Vision2’s unbranded giving form keeps givers on your website throughout the entire gift transaction.
  2. Saddleback’s Vision2 giving page contains a “Give My Tithe” tab, which enables swift gift completion on the church’s website with only a few fields to complete.
  3. To further promote ‘offerings’ as a supplemental gift after tithes, Saddleback Church gives a brief explanation and labels the next tab “Beyond the Tithe”. When givers click on this tab, they can search, browse and select from over 100 ministries.
  4. From this same page, givers can select the third tab, “Manage My Giving” to view their donation history, set up recurring gifts, update payment methods or access a giving statement. Here, churches can assist givers with the discipline of tithing through recurring gifts. Scheduling their gifts allows givers to have their tithe automatically drafted according to the flexible scheduling of their choice.
  5. Each giving opportunity is populated with:
    • The ministry name
    • A dynamic image
    • A brief description
    • A Give button, which directs to a short, simple giving form on the church’s website.
    • (Optional) A link to read more information or watch a video, then give without paging back. Or they can easily return to the full tithes and offerings online giving page to continue browsing.

More Ways Vision2’s Tithes and Offerings Online Feature Helps Churches

Vision2’s revolutionary visual ministry designations include these features:

  • Optional assistance creating content for these ministry descriptions and for automated thank-you emails.
  • Churches can display as many ministry designations as they wish.
  • Givers can choose multiple designations within one gift.

Seeing is believing. Give us 10 minutes of your time. We’ll show you how Vision2’s visual ministry designations contribute to the average 23% lift in donations our clients see. Send us a message today.