The software transition team has migrated most of the congregation’s data to Breeze, our new church management system, and the team is delighted that it really is that — a breeze! Breeze not only is very user friendly but also enables staff and volunteers involved with membership, finance, and stewardship to streamline their interconnected processes.

The team has also begun the transition from Vanco to Stripe, Breeze’s service partner for online payment processing and giving app. To complete this, the software team will need help from congregants using Vanco for recurring gifts and will reach out by email and phone during October and November.

The team will confirm the accuracy of personal information from our old system, and they will collect up-to-date account information for use with Stripe. Because of the company’s data security policies, it is not possible to view or obtain this information from Vanco.

Users will notice a couple of differences once service through Stripe goes into effect in the new year. First, recurring gifts will be processed on the 17th of each month. Second, congregants will have the option to add processing fees to contributions, so the church receives the full gift amounts.

See the FAQ below for more info. The software team welcomes additional questions via email at softwareteam@uuoakland.org.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is my information secure? Yes! Stripe, like Vanco before it, meets the same high level information security standards as banks.

How much are the Stripe processing fees? For ACH payments, the standard processing fee is 1% plus 25 cents per transaction. For credit/debit cards, the fee is 2.9% plus 30 cents per transaction. (With Vanco, the church was paying the transfer fee for every gift received, totaling more than $2,200 per year.)

I also use text to give on Sundays. Will I need to do that through Stripe? Yes, an announcement will be made when Stripe is set up for that.

What if I want to modify my pledge? The software transition team can assist with updating your pledge and payment schedule as they collect your account information.

Will I get my usual year-end statement? Yes!