Giving Policy

Which ways to give are available depends on what each church has switched on. A church's giving page only shows the methods that are ready. This policy explains how giving works on theway.host: what it costs, where the money goes, and what happens if something needs to be undone. It applies to gifts made through a church's theway.host giving page or member portal. Each church receives and uses its own gifts, and theway.host (run by Inventing Genius Labs LLC) provides the tools.

1. Fees, shown before you give

Before anyone confirms a gift, the giving form shows the amount, any fee, and what the church will receive.

• Crypto (XRP and RLUSD on the XRP Ledger): a 1% theway.host platform fee. The small network fee is paid by the giver's wallet, and it isn't ours. Before crypto giving is switched on for a church, we tell the church in writing how the fee is collected.
• Card (Stripe) and PayPal: no theway.host fee. Only the processor's fee applies, about 2.9% + $0.30 for cards (shown as an estimate, since the processor sets the final amount).
• Cover the fee: givers can choose to add the fee so the church receives their full gift. It's always optional and never pre-selected.
• Cash and check: recorded by church staff, with no fee.
• Solana (SOL and USDC on Solana): coming soon, with the same 1% platform fee once it's available.

2. Where the money goes

• Crypto: gifts go directly from the giver's wallet to the church's own wallet. theway.host never holds the funds and never has the church's keys or recovery phrase. We will never ask for them.
• PayPal: gifts are paid directly to the church's own PayPal account.
• Card: gifts are processed by Stripe and paid out to the church. Before card giving is switched on for a church, we explain to that church in writing how and when card gifts reach its bank account.

A gift only counts in the church's totals once the processor or blockchain has confirmed it.

3. Receipts and taxes

Givers receive a receipt for each confirmed gift. The church, not theway.host, is the recipient of the gift and is responsible for its tax status and for any year-end giving statements required where it operates. A crypto gift's dollar value is recorded from a public market price at the time it's confirmed.

4. Refunds and mistakes

Card and PayPal gifts

If you gave by mistake, or gave the wrong amount, contact the church as soon as possible. The church decides whether to refund a gift. Card and PayPal refunds are usually possible for a limited time after the gift (set by Stripe or PayPal). Processor fees on a refunded gift may not be returned by the processor.

Crypto gifts are final

Crypto transactions can't be reversed by anyone, including theway.host and the church. Please double-check the address, destination tag (for XRP), asset, and amount before you send. If you send the wrong amount, the church may choose to send some back as a new transaction, but it doesn't have to. Crypto sent to the wrong address, without a required destination tag, or as an unsupported asset may be lost for good.

Disputes and chargebacks

If a card gift is disputed, the processor may take the disputed amount and any dispute fee back from the church. We'll tell the church and help it respond.

5. Recurring gifts

Members can set up recurring card gifts in the member portal and can pause, resume, or cancel them at any time there, with no need to call anyone. A change takes effect before the next scheduled gift.

6. Designated funds

Givers may choose a fund (for example missions or building). The church is responsible for honoring designations according to its own policies.

7. No pressure, ever

theway.host doesn't use guilt, countdowns, or other pressure tactics on giving pages, and it never pre-selects higher amounts or fee coverage. Generosity should be free and cheerful (2 Corinthians 9:7).

8. Questions

For questions about a gift, contact the church you gave to. For questions about how theway.host's giving tools work, email hello@theway.host.

Questions

Write to us at hello@theway.host. A real person reads every message. Inventing Genius Labs LLC, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, USA. Our full postal address for legal notices is available on request.