Question: What information comes from the A Church Near You (ACNY) website/database onto the Parish Landing Page within the PGS website?
Answer: The following aspects of information are 'pulled' from the church data linked to the ACNY website:
- The introductory paragraph
- The main photo/image
- Name, address, postcode
- Latitude and longitude for map positioning
- Website address
- The ACNY church landing page website link
- Phone number
- Email address
Question: If I update information on the A Church Near You (ACNY) website, when will the PGS website update too?
Answer: The PGS website synchronises and updates parish data with the ACNY website weekly.
Question: Why are you suggesting that we review and update information on the A Church Near You (ACNY) website?
Answer: There are two reasons. First, the QR code and URL for your Parish Landing Page (which you will want to share with potential donors so that they can easily start their online donation) comprises the ‘parish name’ and ‘location’. Where a parish name is linked to a church, when you make a change to either of these fields on ACNY it will automatically alter the QR code and URL that is generated. So, it is important to check and correct any spelling errors, for example, in the way the church is listed on ACNY, before you start distributing your QR code and URL.
Secondly, it’s a good opportunity to review the content in the ‘introduction field’ of your ACNY listing, which will also be pulled through to your PGS Parish Landing Page. You may be happy with it as it is, or you may decide it’s time for an update.
Question: Who decides which church is linked directly to the Parish Landing Page?
Answer: It is for the parish to decide which church or 'physical location' is the primary location, because the parish can only be located onto the map in one place, with one set of information.
This primary church will then be linked to its page on the A Church Near You (ACNY) website so as to pull through the information from there, ensuring one set of data is used.
The parish should also consider whether or not the information held about that church on the ACNY website represents the parish as a whole. Within the introductory description field on ACNY, for example, a sentence could be added to explain which churches are covered by the parish.
Alternatively, this content can be added into the introductory text that can be accessed and managed by the parish's PGS Statement Receiver within their online account
Question: Why does only one church in my parish show a ‘Donate’ button, and the other churches in my parish have a ‘Register your interest’ button?
Answer: There is only one registered Parish Landing Page per parish. In some cases, this page is associated with a church building and so, when someone searches for and finds that church, they will see a ‘Donate’ button and they can complete their donation in just a few steps.
Other churches within the same parish, however, will display a ‘Register your interest’ button. By clicking on this button, PGS can capture their data and this will be provided to the diocese for follow up, so the donor can be guided towards the correct parish and make their donation.
We are keen to improve and simplify this user-experience. By June 2021, when a donor searches for any church within a registered parish, they will see a ‘Donate’ button and be able to begin their donation in a couple of clicks. In this scenario, we are taking great care to ensure each donor understands that they are donating to their parish, which is responsible for managing donations on behalf of the particular church that they searched for.
Question: I’m concerned that donors will be confused if they find their church has a ‘Register your interest’ button. Until it’s possible for all churches in my parish to have a ‘Donate’ button, what are my options?
Answer: You can choose to ‘hide’ specific churches for a period of time. This means they won’t appear in the search results. Please contact the team at PGS if you’d like us to do this.
Question: If I don’t want my parish to appear to have one ‘lead’ church, is it possible to have a Parish Landing Page that is not populated with information from ACNY?
Answer: Yes, please contact the PGS team by email if this is the preference for your parish.
Instead of drawing information from any church listed on ACNY, your Parish Landing Page will only contain the editable message field that can be accessed and managed by the parish's PGS Statement Receiver within their online account, and a ‘Give Now’ button, to take the donor to the online form and begin their donation.
Question: Can I have information appearing on the Parish Landing Page on the PGS website that does not exist on ACNY?
Answer: Yes. Within your online account area, there is a navigation tab to go to your Parish Landing Page. Within here you will find an editable message field where you can add an introductory paragraph that will appear on your Parish Landing Page above the content that comes from ACNY. This content can be changed as often as you wish.
Question: Can a donor just do a one-off donation?
Answer: Not yet, but it is on the road map for future developments.
Question: Could a parish put the QR code image within their church building?
Answer: Yes. The QR codes can be downloaded in two resolution formats - one high resolution image for printing, and one low resolution for online use. They can be found on the parish landing page. They can be downloaded, printed, added into communications and used in their own right on a poster or leaflet. We have provided an editable poster template where the URL and QR code can be easily added.
Question: Can all existing donors (previously signed up via paper) manage their donation online?
Answer: Yes and we already have existing donors who have activated their online accounts. All existing donors can do this, as long as they have provided PGS with an email address. If they haven’t, then all they need to do is call/email the PGS team who will do that for them. If they don’t register an email address on their existing record but register a new donation online, this will create a duplicate record of giving; in this instance the PGS can merge the giving records appropriately to create just one giving record for the donor.
Question: Can PGS only set up Direct Debits from a UK Bank Account?
Answer: Yes – the PGS can only accept Direct Debits from UK Bank Accounts as authorised by the UK clearing system (Bacs).
Queston: What validation is conducted on bank accounts online?
Answer: The PGS uses bank approved electronic validation software for bank and address validation checks.
