Anonymous Giving: How to Get Started

Objective

This article provides a step-by-step overview of how to enable and manage the Anonymous Giving feature in your giving platform. By following the instructions below, you can allow donors to give without submitting personal information—while still maintaining internal records for reporting.

Why Enable Anonymous Giving?

Some donors prefer to give quietly, without their name being tied to the transaction. The Anonymous Giving feature supports this preference, offering a private experience for the donor while still allowing your organization to track donations appropriately through a shared internal profile.

 

How It Works

  1. Enable Anonymous Giving

    • Navigate to the Settings tab in your Giving platform.
    • Under Anonymous Giving Settings, toggle Enable Anonymous Giving.
    • A step-by-step setup wizard will automatically launch to guide you through configuration

  2. Integrate Anonymous Member Profiles

    • If your organization uses a Church Management System (CHMS), you’ll need to connect an anonymous profile to ensure proper mapping and reporting.
      • Select your integration (e.g., Arena, SimpleChurch, FellowshipOne).
      • Choose to either:
        • Create a New Anonymous Member Profile (e.g., “Online Anonymous Donor”), or
        • Map an Existing Profile by searching for an existing member that is anonymous in your CHMS database .



          Donor details remain hidden from your team. All anonymous gifts are grouped under this internal placeholder profile.

  3. Assign an Envelope Number for Data Export

    • Enter an envelope number (up to 30 alphanumeric digits) to represent anonymous donors in exported CSV reports.
    • This step is optional but recommended for consistency in reporting.

  4. Select Forms to Enable Anonymous Giving

    1. Choose which forms should allow anonymous donations.
    2. You can enable this on one, many, or all forms as needed.
    3. Use the checkboxes to toggle on anonymous giving per form.


       

  5. Edit the Thank You Message for Anonymous Donors

    • Customize the thank you message shown after an anonymous gift is submitted.
    • Example: “We want to express our gratitude for your generosity. To protect your privacy, we have refrained from sending an email. You can download the receipt PDF from here.”
    • You can also modify thank you messages for each form individually in the Form Properties section.

Enabling Anonymous Giving on Individual Forms

You’ll only see this option within individual forms if Anonymous Giving is first enabled in your organization settings.

Follow these steps to turn it on for specific forms:

  1. Navigate to Form Manager and select the donation form you’d like to update.

    💡 Only forms categorized as “Donation Forms” will support anonymous giving.

  2. Click Form Properties in the bottom left of the form.
  3. Go to the Anonymous Giving tab on the top right.
  4. Check the box next to Enable Anonymous Giving.
  5. (Optional) Check After submission, Ask donor to view receipt if you’d like donors to access their receipt immediately after giving. 

    We highly recommend enabling this and encouraging donors to save the receipt. It includes the order number and transaction date, which are required if a donor ever requests a refund.
  6. (Optional) Customize the Receipt Thank You Message shown to anonymous donors within each individual form. Updating the thank you message here will not update the message in all other forms
    • Example: “Thank you for your wonderful donation! We appreciate you and hope God blesses you immensely for your generosity!”



      This allows donors to give without providing personal information, while still receiving a confirmation message and receipt link post-submission.

 

Viewing Anonymous Donations

In the Giving Platform

Anonymous donations can be viewed in your Giving account by navigating to the Transactions or Recurring Gifts areas.

  • These gifts will display the Donor Name as “Anonymous Donor”.
  • No identifying information (name, email, etc.) will be shown.
  • • You’ll still see relevant details like:
    • Transaction ID
    • Order Number
    • Date
    • Fund
    • Amount
    • Status
    • Source (e.g., Visa)

This ensures donor privacy while maintaining the integrity of your financial reporting.

 

In Your Church/People Management System (CHMS)

To view anonymous gifts inside your CHMS or people management system:

  1. Go to Reports > Detail tab.
  2. Filter to include recent dates or categories.
  3. Look for gifts with:
    • First Name: [Anonymous Profile Name that You Created]

    • Last Name: [Anonymous Profile Name that You Created] 

      (What you created or mapped in the integration page)

💡 Online anonymous donations do not appear in the “By Anonymous” tab.

That tab is reserved for manual or input-based anonymous gifts, such as anonymous cash or check entries.

 

FAQs

Q: Will donors receive a receipt?

A: Anonymous donors do not receive email receipts, but you can allow a receipt to display immediately after submission that includes the order number and date. We highly recommend donors save their receipt.

Q: Can we use Anonymous Giving without a CHMS (Church Management System)?

A: Yes! A CHMS integration is helpful for mapping gifts but is not required.

Q: Can I turn on Anonymous Giving for just one form?

A: Yes, it can be toggled on/off per form based on your needs.

Q: Will all anonymous donations show up the same in reports?

A: Yes. All anonymous gifts are grouped under one assigned profile, simplifying reporting and maintaining privacy.

 

Updated