Breeze Church Management System replaced PayPal as the Guild’s donation platform on 9/1/23.

To learn more about this change in donation platforms, please see the FAQ below.

What’s Breeze? 
Nonprofits rely on effective donor management programs to ensure important donor relationships and communications are stewarded responsibly and heartfully.  Breeze CMS is a donor management software that specializes in churches and faith-based institutions.  The Guild has been using Breeze for a number of years to help it keep track of its robust network of donors, and it’s been an amazing addition to the Guild’s toolbox!

Is Breeze secure?  
Yes.  Credit card and banking data are extremely sensitive, and Breeze does not even store full card numbers on their servers (nor do they have access to them). Instead, your data is securely stored by Breeze’s payment processor (Stripe), which specializes in areas like this. Stripe is one of the industry leaders in online payment processing, and you can read more about Stripe’s security here.

Why are we changing giving platforms?
Our primary goal was to simplify work processes for staff and ensure the accuracy of financial records.  Since 2019, we have encouraged the use of PayPal as a familiar and trustworthy party in online transactions. However, Breeze recently merged with Tithely (another church management system) bringing more features at a lower cost.   Moving our online giving to Breeze means records will automatically synchronize, no longer requiring manual data entry.  Breeze allows for more online giving options than PayPal – including mobile text-giving and donations using ACH transfers – giving you more control over your method of giving.  Finally, Breeze’s fees are lower, meaning more of your gift directly supports the Guild. If you choose to, you can still cover their lower transaction fees as part of your gift.

Can I still donate through PayPal? 
You can no longer donate one-time gifts through PayPal as of September 1, 2023,

What if I already have a recurring monthly donation set up through PayPal?  Do I have to switch?  
No, already-established sustaining monthly donors may continue to use PayPal for their monthly donations after September 1.  If you prefer to keep your monthly giving with PayPal for the time being, no action is required.

What’s going to happen to PayPal?  
The Guild will continue to maintain its PayPal account and use it for onsite store purchases.

Are there advantages to moving my recurring donation to Breeze?  We recommend that sustaining monthly donors currently using PayPal move their donations to Breeze at their earliest convenience, in order to minimize transaction fees and simplify administrative work for our staff.  Additional benefits available through Breeze include the option to select an alternative payment schedule or to change credit card donations to ACH/bank-to-bank transfers.  If you are using checks or having direct check payments made to the Guild from your bank for your recurring donation, there is no need to change your mode of giving.\

I’m a sustaining donor, but still not sure how to proceed.  Who can I contact for help?  If you still have questions or want to know how to transition your recurring donation to Breeze, please don’t hesitate to email director@grunewaldguild.com or development@grunewaldguild.com! We are happy to help!