Using Text-to-Give
To start, text an amount to 84321, and a link will be sent to you. Tap on the link to set up your profile following the steps below.
- Find our church: Giving will use your geographical location and phone number to suggest churches nearby (within 20 miles). If Valley Christian Center (VCCAlbany) is not listed, or you aren't within the geolocation radius, you can search by our address, city, or ZIP code, and filter results by church name.
- Log in to your profile: After choosing VCCAlbany, you will be asked to enter your name and email address to either create a new donor profile (first time donors), or log in to access your existing donor profile (returning donors).
- Add or select a payment method: First-time donors can add a payment method to be used for this initial donation and future donations. Existing donors can log in to their profile to select a previously saved payment method.
- Submit the donation: Once you submit your donation, this will initiate that first donation and enable Text-to-Give for future use.
After setup, you can simply text a donation amount to 84321 to initiate an online donation. Standard message and data rates may apply.
You can update your Text-to-Give payment method or disable Text-to-Give from your donor profile on the VCC Giving Page. Recurring donations can't be established or managed by Text-to-Give. This can be done from your profile on our giving page also, but can't be accomplished over SMS.
Please note, larger carriers (AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, Verizon etc.) typically work fine with Text-to-Give. However, Planning Center has seen some issues on smaller carriers (PCS Metro, U.S Cellular, C Spire, Freedom Pop, etc).
Designation Codes and Keywords
By default, Text-to-Give donations will go to our Tithes and Offerings Fund unless another fund is specified. You can indicate a specific fund by appending the fund name after the donation amount. (For example: $5 building)
You can also split donations between funds in a single text by listing the amounts and fund names for each fund. (For example: $5 missions $6 building)
DESIGNATIONS
- Tithes and Offerings (this discretionary money to be used for operating and ministry expenses): the default fund when no other fund is specified, or text an amount along with the word offering
- Love Fund (this discretionary money to be used to help those in need in the Church Body with rent, utilities, repairs, RX, etc.): love
- Building Fund (help make room for more people to know Jesus - this discretionary money to be used where needed for maintaining or updating the campus): building
- World Missions (this discretionary money to be used where needed for missions): missions
- Kenya - Claudia Campbell (this money is preferenced for Claudia Campbell's ARMS ministry in Kenya): kenya
KEYWORDS
- REFUND - Donors donating using a card can issue this command within two hours of donating to initiate an automatic refund. This isn't a cancellation, but is a refund, so this donation will show as refunded on your profile.
- MISTAKE - Donors donating using ACH can issue this command within two hours of donating to cancel their donation. This will cancel the donation before it's processed, so there will be no record of a cancelled donation on your profile. (ACH donations cannot be refunded via Text-to-Give. Refunds for ACH would have to be done by an Administrator.)
- STOP/START - The STOP command immediately disables Text-to-Give for you. The START command will lift any carrier blocks and allow you to use Text-to-Give in the future. Please note: The STOP command immediately disconnects your phone number from the Text-to-Give system and the system may no longer be able to communicate with your phone until a START command is received. This opt-out functionality is required by many carriers.
- HELP - This will prompt a response message back to the sender. If the you are an active Text-to-Give donor, you'll receive a link to a help page with tips on how to use Text-to-Give.