Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What are the benefits of giving online?
Online giving makes the process incredibly simple for you, where you don’t have to write checks, buy stamps, remember to give, etc. It allows you to be consistent and you have complete control to stop or change your giving at any moment. It also reduces overhead for us since all gifts are logged into the system, saving our administrative staff the time of inputting all the information.
Q: Is it safe to give online?
Yes! In many ways giving online is safer than writing a check because an electronic gift cannot be lost or stolen. Our payment processor, Authorize.net, provides a state-of-the-art security infrastructure that is updated 24/7 to ensure fast, reliable and secure transmission of transaction data.
Q: What types of bank accounts can I give from?
You can give online from your Visa, MasterCard, Visa, or Discover Card. We will soon offer ways to give from your checking account and ApplePay.
Q: Are there any fees involved with giving online?
You will not pay any fees with an online gift. In addition, online gifts are a more cost efficient way for Theodyssey to process donations. When using a Credit Card, approximately 3.5% of your donation will go toward bank fees.
Q: Can I make a one-time contribution?
Yes. The system allows you the option of either making a one-time contribution or setting up a recurring contribution. For both one-time contributions and recurring gifts, you can designate that the contribution should be made immediately or you can schedule the contributions for a future date specified by you.
Q: If I want to set-up a recurring gift, what are my options for frequency of my gift?
For recurring gifts, you have the option of giving weekly, twice a month, every two weeks or once a month.
Q: Can I change my personal information or the amount or the frequency of my gift once I have set it up?
Yes. You can change or cancel your contribution at any time before the date of your next contribution. Simply log in to the system using your user name and password and make the necessary changes in the system.
Q: Can I review my donation history online?
Yes. The site will allow you to view the complete history of your contributions, given either online or otherwise.
Q: When will contributions be taken from my account?
Contributions will be taken from your specified account within 48 business hours of the date you requested. This time frame allows time for the contribution to process through your bank and Theodyssey’s bank. If the date of your contribution falls on a weekend or a holiday, the transaction will be initiated on the next banking day.
Q: How will I know that I set up my gift correctly?
Immediately after submitting your contribution, you will receive an e-mail verifying your contribution.
Q: I have additional questions about online giving that have not been addressed. Who can I talk to?
For any questions, concerns or comments about the online giving system, please contact us info@theodyssey.org. You will receive a response from our staff as soon as possible.
Q: How secure is it to use your website to give online?
There are two aspects of security related to our online giving function. First, Authorize.net provides data security using the latest encryption technology to maintain the security of your data. Every parameter passed in the hyperlinks is fully encrypted. Additionally, the Login module handles passwords using what is known in technical terms as salted hash. In laymen’s terms, this means it would take 50 computers (running constantly) continuously presenting password combinations four years to discover the password.
The second aspect of security relates to account creation. When you first create a new account in the system, you will be able to donate immediately, but you will not have access to any previous contribution information. Before that can happen, we must manually link your previous information to the account you created.
In order to verify the authenticity of the account request, we will ensure that all of your data matches our current records (e.g., address, phone number, and email address). If there is any question, we will contact you via email before creating the link. Since this is a manual process, we will perform these steps approximately once a week, but if you would like to speed up this process, you can send an email to info@theodyssey.org
When you create your account, you will determine your own login id and password. If you forget your login id or password, you can have the system email it to you by entering the email address that you used when you created your account. If you need help or cannot remember the email address you used, you can contact us at info@theodyssey.org. You can also change your password at any time.
Please help us keep your information safe by protecting your login information. Access to sensitive personal and financial information can be gained by letting someone else use your account or by leaving the information for someone else to see. Theodyssey will never call you to ask for your login information.
Online contributions to Theodyssey Group are considered non-refundable.