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Record a donation ​

Use this flow when someone gave cash, a check, or paid through a channel outside of GCM's online donation form. Donations entered manually appear in giving reports, member statements, and tax receipts just like online donations.

TIP

For online giving, set up the donation form instead — visitors give themselves and the record appears here automatically.

Open the record-donation dialog ​

From Giving → Donations, click the Record donation button in the top right.

Record donation dialog

Fill in the donation ​

Donor ​

Type the donor's name. The dropdown will match existing members as you type — pick one to attribute the donation to that member's record.

If the donor isn't a member (a visitor, an outside grant, an anonymous gift), leave the dropdown empty and fill in the Donor name + Donor email fields below. The donation will still appear in reports but won't be tied to a member profile.

Fund ​

Pick which giving fund the money goes to. Common funds include General, Missions, Building. If the fund you need doesn't exist, click + New fund — but it's better to set up your funds first (see Manage funds).

Amount ​

Enter the amount in your church's currency. Decimals are allowed (50.00 or 50.5).

Privacy mode

If your church has donation privacy mode turned on (Settings → Giving), the amount field still records to the database but appears as "Hidden — date + donor only" in reports. Tax statements still show the real amount to the donor.

Payment method ​

  • Cash — physical cash.
  • Check — record the check number in the notes field.
  • Bank transfer — for ACH, wire, mobile money outside GCM.
  • Other — anything else.

Date ​

Defaults to today. Adjust if you're back-filling a donation from another date.

Notes (optional) ​

Free text. Useful for "received via Sunday offering plate," check numbers, or memos from the donor.

Save ​

Click Record donation. The dialog closes, the giving dashboard updates immediately, and the donation appears in:

  • The donor's member profile under the Giving tab
  • The fund's totals
  • This week's and this month's giving charts
  • The donor's end-of-year tax statement

Editing or deleting ​

Click any donation row to open it. Admins can edit the amount, fund, or notes; deleting a donation soft-removes it (it can be restored from the recycle bin within 30 days).

WARNING

Editing a donation that's been included in a tax statement updates the statement. Don't edit historical donations after issuing receipts unless you also resend the corrected receipt.