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Offer An Automatic Donation Option
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Increase Donation Consistency With EFT |
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| EFT is Vanco's electronic funds transfer service used to automatically transfer funds from a donor's checking or savings account
to your organization's account using the highly secure Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. More than 10,000 churches, schools and
foundations of every size and type use our popular EFT payment solution to automate the recurring donations and payments that are the
lifeblood of every nonprofit organization. EFT works equally well for processing individual transactions including ticket sales,
auctions and one-time gifts. |
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Benefits of EFT |
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| EFT offers important benefits to both your organization and its donors. |
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Improves Cash Flow Consistency |
| With EFT, seasonal donation slumps are avoided, payments are received exactly as
scheduled and overall cash flow becomes more predictable. |
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Reduces Administrative Activity |
| Automating recurring transactions with EFT eliminates the time spent manually processing
checks and pursuing past-due commitments. Once a recurring transaction is entered and scheduled, it does
not need to be re-entered again. |
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Frees Up Staff Time |
| EFT adds to your organization's productivity by reducing the staff time spent manually
processing checks. |
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Notifies You of Returns Faster |
| Receiving notification of returns within two business days of the payment date allows
you to address situations quickly. |
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Enhances Donor and Patron Loyalty |
| Donors appreciate this simple, reliable and cost-effective method to manage
contributions and other financial commitments. For weekly contributors, EFT is an especially welcome way to
simplify a 52-time a year task. |
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Provides Security |
| EFT is more secure than checks, which can be misplaced, lost or even stolen at many
points throughout the process. |
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Improves Accuracy |
| EFT eliminates the errors arising from illegible writing, incomplete checks and from
posting errors. |
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Helps the Environment |
| Check use has declined dramatically in recent years in part because of the heightened
awareness of the resources consumed in printing, processing and transporting checks. EFT is
environmentally friendly. |
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Did you know? |
For churches and nonprofit organizations that rely on donations, fulfillment
rates for pledges made by EFT average 98%, which is 50% higher than with mail-based monthly donor
programs.
Source: National Automated Clearing House (NACHA)
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Fact |
Consumers who use EFT are more likely to donate on a
regular basis.
Source: National Automated Clearing House (NACHA)
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Fact |
More than half of all U.S. households use EFT for at
least one recurring payment.
Source: National Automated Clearing House (NACHA)
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How EFT Works |
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Authorize |
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Donors authorize your organization to debit payments from their checking or savings
accounts. This is typically done in writing using an authorization form. Another option is to utilize
Vanco's Online Payment solution which
allows donors to authorize a donation without using a paper form. |
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| 2. |
Enter the Transaction |
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After receiving a signed authorization form from your donor, payment information
is entered into our system for processing. The easiest and most common way to enter payment
information is through Vanco's online Service Center, a secure website designed for our clients to manage
their electronic transactions. Once a payment is entered, the rest is automated. A friendly Vanco
implementation specialist will help you get going and provide ongoing assistance. |
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Process |
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Prior to each scheduled donation or payment, Vanco transmits a file with payment
information via the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network. |
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Deposit |
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A deposit is made to your organization's account for the total amount of all EFT
transactions. Recurring transactions continue to process automatically as scheduled until cancelled or
put on hold. |
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Confirm |
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Vanco generates a report confirming all deposits made to your account. Donors in turn see the transactions on their account statements from their financial institutions. |
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Seamless Website Integration |
Vanco's EFT solution seamlessly integrates with our
website payment solution.
- No web design work on your part
- No ongoing maintenance required
- Quick setup (hours, not weeks)
- Free demo available upon request
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What's in a name? |
EFT goes by many names, including Direct Debit, ACH, Direct
Payment, automatic bill payment, automatic debit and electronic bill payment.
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Frequently Asked Questions About EFT |
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What is EFT? |
| EFT is the secure electronic transfer of an authorized payment from your donor's checking
or savings account into your account. EFT may also be referred to as electronic funds transfer (EFT),
Automated Clearing House (ACH) transfer, direct payment, automatic bill payment, automated debit and
electronic payment. |
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What types of companies and organizations offer EFT? |
| Nonprofit organizations of every type and size now offer EFT to manage recurring
donations, tuition and other payments. In addition to churches, schools and learning centers, EFT is also used
effectively by cultural, social service and healthcare organizations. |
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Isn't EFT just for large organizations? |
| Not at all. In fact, Vanco specializes in providing electronic payment solutions to small
organizations. By combining the transaction activity from thousands of organizations of every size, Vanco
is able to economically deliver big benefits to even the smallest organizations. |
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Are there any special hardware or software needs? |
| No. Your only requirement is a personal computer with an Internet connection. You simply
log into Vanco's secure, easy-to-use, online Service Center to manage your transactions. Friendly
customer service representatives are available to help you with any questions. |
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Does the service require a long-term contract? |
| No long-term contract is required. Our philosophy is to retain our clients with superior
products and service. |
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Will donors use EFT? |
| Absolutely! Chances are the majority of your donors are already making or receiving at
least one EFT payment. According to a December 2007 Federal Reserve Payments Study, EFT (ACH) is the
largest and fastest growing form of non-cash payment. |
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How do donors know the dollar amount and date of deductions from their accounts? |
| For a recurring transaction, the amount and the timing will be exactly as specified on the original authorization form and will continue until a change is made. If the planned donation date is a Saturday, Sunday or Federal holiday, the deduction will occur on the first business day following that date. The debit will appear on the donor's statement from his or her financial institution. |
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How can I successfully introduce EFT? |
| Vanco's Donation Builder web page will give you many proven ideas for rolling out a EFT option to your donors. |
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