If our church were to use Typo3 framework instead of custom coding they could benefit from a Givings Module within Typo3.

This would enable members to log in using a FE ID and manage their giving information online. Not sure if this should be outsourced or what, but it is definitely a time saver for everyone if giving can be automated and setup within the site.

What type of giving information? Seems like something like this might be useful for the following:

1. Weekly Contribution (ie automatic credit card charge)
2. Special Contributions (internal to the church or external)
3. Getting people together (ie physical property donations for ministry, outreach, etc..)

It seems like such a module could manage those items quite easily but extending it to get a contributions statement/etc might be much more tricky (as churches generally already have a third party system inplace and it would require some type of custom import tool). Elaborate on your ideas .. Lets get something hammered out.

Mickey
We had to use a paypal system to have a donation (giving) system on one of our sites. What was nice, is you just put a button on the page, and it will go to a module on paypal for the user to sign up, and donate. Even better was the capability to have a recurring donation (i.e: subscription). Now, if there was some way to pull that users data back to Typo, and the user could review what was given (right now they will receive an email to notify them when a payment will be made, and they can log into paypal to reveiw their payment structure as well)
From my understanding Typo's shopping module is not quite up to snuff, but they are re-doing the system, and maybe this might work for your needs...just unsure of a release date.
Good luck
Raymond Hayes
EVN Web Support

If a custom solution is developed, one good starting point might be Robert Lemke's paymentlib extension, available at http://typo3.org/extensions/repository/search/paymentlib/. Its basically an API that sits in between an extension that allows payments to be made (such a givings extension) and an extension that offers payment services (paypal, other credit card processors). It also creates transaction records in the backend so something like this could be the basis for basic historical records.

Jeff
this seems like a good idea...but some waiting may be involved, and some caveats apply as well..
Quoted

Maybe code at this point can be started, but an interim solution may be needed until fully developed..
Thoughts?
Raymond Hayes
EVN Web Support

Yes, I agree. I currently use paypal for one site. It is very very easy, but not good for large transactions. It would be nice to find another service that could work just as well for larger transactions. Maybe a per transaction fee.

bank account processing may be the best for long term giving. The kind of system that is used by your utility company to pay online. Re-occuring payments on a certain interval. Perhaps the churches' financial institutions would provide the API for such a transaction.

Just more thoughts.

We use paypal for purchasing tickets for events. It is easy, but not the most cost effective option.