Estimated read time: 19 minutes
Overview
This article covers how the CarePortal Card works, how Churches can use it to respond to local requests, and answers to the most common questions about eligibility, transactions, and card management. Let's get started!
Intended audience
Included in this article
- The purpose of the CarePortal Card
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How it works
- For Connecting Churches
- For Church-Vetted Requests
- Using a CarePortal Fund with a CarePortal Card - CarePortal Card training video
- CarePortal Card FAQs
The purpose of the CarePortal Card
The CarePortal Card was designed to simplify the financial transaction process for community members to help meet requests in partnership with local churches, as well as other churches that can work in tandem to meet requests. With more organizations, businesses, and individuals able to get involved, CarePortal Churches will be equipped to serve more kids and families, bringing glory to Jesus Christ as His ambassadors!
Churches of all sizes and types are able to request a CarePortal Card at no cost. This is just one way CarePortal is able to work toward our assignment of empowering the Local Church to be at the Point of Care for kids and families in crisis.
How it works
For Connecting Churches:
To be a Connecting Church, you must be approved by your local Network Leader and have an active CarePortal Card. Approved Connecting Churches are alerted when someone who's not affiliated with a local CarePortal Church commits to help meet some or all of the family's needs. Because the Connecting Church is equipped with a CarePortal Card, these responders will have the additional response option to Fund items on the request with a financial gift directly through the CarePortal platform. If a Connecting Church is not local to the request, responders can only offer to Provide items on the request. When a responder Provides, this requires the Church to coordinate a way of getting the items from the responder to the family.
Once someone commits to Fund the items included on a request, one Connecting Church will be able to Take the Lead on the request, committing to the responder's resources, triggering a transfer of 100 percent of the donation to their CarePortal Card so the items or services can be provided by that local Church.
To be recognized as a Connecting Church, your Church must be approved by your local Network Leader and have an active CarePortal Card.
Once approved, Connecting Churches are notified when a Community Responder outside the local Church network commits to help meet all or part of a family's needs. Because Connecting Churches are equipped with a CarePortal Card, these responders have the additional option to Fund items through the CarePortal platform with a direct financial gift.
If there is no Connecting Church local to the request, Community Responders will only have the option to Provide items—meaning they can donate physical goods or offer to cover costs directly (outside the platform), rather than giving financially through CarePortal. In these cases, the Church will need to coordinate how to get the donated items or support from the responder to the family.
When someone chooses to Fund a request, one local Connecting Church can Take the Lead, accepting the donation and triggering a 100% transfer of the donation to their CarePortal Card. This enables the Church to purchase and provide the needed items or services for the family.
For Church-Vetted Requests:
If your Church is not a Connecting Church, the only way to request and use a CarePortal Card is by enabling Church-Vetted Requests in your Church Settings. When your Church submits a Church-Vetted Request and a Church or Community Responder contributes, your Church will automatically be designated as the Lead Church for that request. As the Lead Church, you receive any financial donations or physical resources contributed toward meeting the need. If a financial donation is made, the money is automatically loaded onto your Church's CarePortal Card. This allows your team to purchase necessary items or make payments on the family's behalf, ensuring donations are used directly and effectively.
Using a CarePortal Fund with a CarePortal Card:
To transfer money from a CarePortal Fund onto a CarePortal Card, the Church must be a card-holding Church — either an approved Connecting Church or a Church with Church-Vetted Requests enabled. These are the only two ways a Church can have an active CarePortal Card.
Once a Church has an active CarePortal Card, it can also enable a CarePortal Fund to collect donations from other users. These donations can be used by the Church Leaders to meet open requests. During the response process, a Church Leader can Fund the items and choose the Church's CarePortal Fund as the payment method. If the Church is not already listed as the Lead Church, they'll be prompted to Take the Lead.
When a Church becomes the Lead Church, any existing financial donations tied to that request, as well as future financial contributions, are automatically transferred to the Church's CarePortal Card. The Church will also receive an email notification each time additional money is given by the community.
See the FAQ section below for specific options and restrictions on how the CarePortal Card can be used!
CarePortal Card Training Video
(To use or embed this video in your own resources, feel free to use this link.)
CarePortal Card FAQs
1. How can my Church request a CarePortal Card?
2. Which Church Leader roles are eligible to receive a CarePortal Card?
3. Who can offer donations for requests?
4. When will I be alerted about available funding?
5. How does donated money get onto my CarePortal Card?
6. Are there any fees associated with responding to a CarePortal request?
7. Which financial institution offers the CarePortal Card?
8. How can I check my CarePortal Card balance?
9. What types of transactions are restricted?
10. How should I enter the "Name on Card" for online transactions?
11. Is there a spending limit?
12. Is there a billing zip code?
13. Is there a PIN?
14. What should I do with my receipts from CarePortal Card transactions?
15. Can someone who donates to a need come with the Church to meet the family?
16. What should be done with money left over after we've met the need?
17. Can my Church refund money to a donor if things don't work out?
18. Will my Church receive monthly statements?
19. Can my Church have multiple CarePortal Cards?
20. Do donors get tax write-off benefits?
21. Who has legal and tax liability for donations?
22. What do I do if my CarePortal Card is lost or stolen?
23. What are some examples of inappropriate uses of the CarePortal Card?
24. Can my CarePortal Card be the default payment method for online shopping?
25. What do I do if there are unauthorized transactions on my CarePortal Card?
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How can my Church request a CarePortal Card?
Once the Primary Point Person has enabled either the Church-Vetted Requests or Connecting Church feature on their Church's Settings page, the button to Request a CarePortal Card will appear at the top of the Settings page or under the CarePortal Card Requests tab on that same page for any of the roles outlined in the answer below.
CarePortal Cards can be requested and used at no cost to active Churches on the CarePortal platform. You can learn more about how CarePortal collects fees. You can learn more about how CarePortal collects fees here.
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Which Church Leader roles are eligible to receive a CarePortal Card?
The following Church Leader roles are eligible to receive a CarePortal Card: Primary Point Person, Connecting Church Leader, and Church-Vetted Requests Leader.
Each leader will need to request their own CarePortal Card from their dashboard, on the Settings page, and agree to the CarePortal Cardholder Agreement in the process of doing so.Note: Only the eligible Church Leaders above will see the Request a CarePortal Card button on the Church's Settings page. Network Leaders will not see this option, even when viewing a Church's Dashboard as a Primary Point Person.
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Who can offer donations for CarePortal requests?
Anyone can donate financially to a request, as long as the request is within the radius of a local Connecting Church. When that's the case, users will see the option to Fund the request. If there isn't a Connecting Church nearby, users will only be able to help by selecting Provide, offering to meet the need directly, rather than by transferring money through the CarePortal platform.
For Church Response Team Members:When a Church Responder Funds a request, their Church Leaders have 24 hours to respond and Take the Lead on the request before other Connecting Churches are alerted via email to Take the Lead.
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When will I be alerted about available funding? (Connecting Churches only)
Based on your Church's Connecting Church Radius, you can set how far your default Response Team is willing to go to serve a family when community resources are available.
Your team will only receive alerts for requests that fall within this radius and have available resources, making it easier to focus on the needs your Church is best positioned to meet.
The CarePortal platform will identify and alert the "Recommended Connecting Church" first (the closest Connecting Church to the family or the Church where the responder is an approved Response Team member). If the Recommended Connecting Church does not Take the Lead within 24 hours, the other Connecting Churches that are local to the request (the request is inside their Connecting Church Radius) will be alerted and also given the opportunity to Take the Lead.
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How does donated money get onto my CarePortal Card?
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For Connecting Churches: When a Community Responder, Response Team member at your Church, or even you as a Church Leader decides to Fund a requested item or service within your Connecting Church Radius, the donated money is not immediately transferred to your CarePortal Card.
Instead, your Church will receive an email alerting them about available resources and giving them the opportunity to Take the Lead on the request. Taking the Lead means your Church is committing to managing the fulfillment of the need and receiving any associated money or items contributed to the request.
If you responded as a Church Leader, after submitting your response, you'll see the option to Take the Lead. You, as the contributing Church, will have 30 minutes to Take the Lead before other Connecting Churches are notified via email of the available resources.
Once your Church has Taken the Lead and become the Lead Church over the request, 100% of the money donated for items on that request will be transferred to your CarePortal Card—typically right away. You'll receive a notification when the money has been successfully transferred to your card.
As the Lead Church, any additional funding from the community will automatically be transferred to your CarePortal Card. Once the extra amount has been applied, you will receive an additional email notifying you of the updated CarePortal Card balance.
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For Non-Connecting Churches: If your Church is not a Connecting Church, the only way to use a CarePortal Card is by enabling Church-Vetted Requests in your Church Settings. This allows your Church to receive any financial donations made toward needs your team or Church submits directly, which you will automatically be identified as the Lead Church for.
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For Churches with a CarePortal Fund: CarePortal Card-holding Churches can enable a CarePortal Fund to collect donations from other CarePortal users that can be transferred to your CarePortal Card for requests for which the Church is the Lead Church. During the response process, a Church Leader will need to choose to Fund the items, then select the Church's CarePortal Fund as the payment method. If the Church is not already the Lead Church (as they would be with Church-Vetted Requests), the option to Take the Lead will be immediately presented to the Church Leader.
The Lead Church will have all money given toward the request transferred to their CarePortal Card, including future donations made after they Take the Lead.
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For Connecting Churches: When a Community Responder, Response Team member at your Church, or even you as a Church Leader decides to Fund a requested item or service within your Connecting Church Radius, the donated money is not immediately transferred to your CarePortal Card.
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Are there any fees associated with responding to a CarePortal Request?
Responders of any kind who opt to Fund items on a request (as opposed to committing to Provide) are charged a 2.5% transaction fee and a 5% processing fee based on the total amount they are giving through the CarePortal platform toward a specific request. These fees are paid by the responder before any money is transferred onto a CarePortal Card. There are no fees applied to having or using a CarePortal Card.
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Which financial institution offers the CarePortal Card?
The CarePortal Card is a prepaid business debit card offered through PEX.
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How can I check my CarePortal Card balance?
Cardholders, as well as any Church Leader at your Church, are able to see the current balance in two places:
1. On the Dashboard tab:
2. On the Transactions tab under Request Management, click theCard Transactionstab at the top of the page and then theView Totalsbutton:Your CarePortal Card balance can be determined by one or both of the following, depending on your Church's setup:
A. If you're a Connecting Church:
Your card balance reflects the funding your Church has claimed by Taking the Lead on requests within your Connecting Church Radius.B. If your Church has Church-Vetted Requests enabled:
Your balance may also include any funding contributed to the Church-Vetted Requests your Church has submitted through the platform.These two sources work together to determine how much is available on your CarePortal Card for serving local families.
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What types of transactions are restricted?
The CarePortal Card will be declined when a transaction is coded by the vendor as a cash transfer. This will be the case for the following transactions:
- ATM cash withdrawals
- Peer-to-peer cash transfers (CashApp, Venmo, etc.)
This may be the case for these types of transactions:
- Paying bills (utility bills, car payments, etc.)
- Money orders (Walmart locations tend to work)
- Gift cards
The card will also be declined when the vendor places an additional hold on the card that exceeds your current spending limit or balance.🌟Best Practice: If your church needs to use money from your CarePortal Card to perform one of the above transactions, you can make a donation from your CarePortal Card to your church and perform the transaction through your church's banking provider. Visit the CarePortal Card Transaction Restrictions article for more suggestions and tips.
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How should I enter the "Name on Card" for online purchases?
If your CarePortal Card lists your Church's name:
First name: Church name (exactly as it appears, no numbers)
Last name: 5-digit Church ID number
If your card lists an individual's name:
First name: First name as shown on the card
Last name: Last name as shown on the card
💡Quick Tip: Match the name exactly as printed on your CarePortal Card (and be sure your billing address matches) to avoid declines.
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Is there a spending limit?
The spending limit on your CarePortal Card is equal to the available card balance. This means you won't be able to make any purchases that exceed the current amount on the card.
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Is there a billing zip code?
The billing zip code for your CarePortal Card is based on the billing address entered when the card was first requested. In most cases, this will be the zip code of the location where your Church regularly meets.
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Do I need to create a PIN?
Yes! When you receive your CarePortal Card in the mail, you'll be directed to complete the Card Activation Form, which includes a field where you'll create your PIN (Personal Identification Number).
If you didn't set a PIN or have misplaced your previous one, please resubmit the Card Activation Form, and our Support Team will set it for you.
💡Quick Tip: Write your PIN on the paper that comes with your card and keep it in a safe place, such as your church's office.
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What should I do with my receipts from CarePortal Card transactions?
According to the process you and your leadership team establish, receipts can be kept in your Church's own records outside of the CarePortal platform. While saving receipts is not required to use the CarePortal Card, it is a wise practice that helps protect your Church and demonstrate good stewardship.
We also encourage you to confirm with your Church's leadership or financial team if they have additional record-keeping policies you should follow.
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Can someone who donates to a need come with the Church to meet the family?
Yes, at the Church's discretion and under their leadership, responders who have contributed to a request can be invited to join the Response Team as they serve the family directly. As long as there is a trained Church Responder present, additional partners may join as needed or as part of the connection process that God is leading.
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What should be done with the leftover money on the card after we've met the need?
If your CarePortal Card has more money than what was needed for a specific request, you're welcome to use the remaining balance to help meet other open requests in your community through CarePortal. To do this, you'll want to select the Provide option when responding to a request, since the money is already available on the card to purchase the necessary items.
However, if your Church ends up unable to use any of the donated money for the original request, we ask that you return the money to the donor. You can find details on how to do that in the next section.
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Is there a way to refund money to a donor if things don't work out?
Yes! If you've already Taken the Lead on a request and for some reason no longer need the money that was transferred to your card, reach out to support@careportal.org, and they can initiate the refund for you.
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Will my Church receive monthly statements?
Each CarePortal Card is tied to a single, collective CarePortal Fund managed by The Global Orphan Project, rather than each individual Church. Therefore, card-holding Churches will not receive monthly statements. Downloadable transaction history for each Church's activity is available as needed from the Transactions tab under the Request Management menu option.
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Can my Church have multiple CarePortal Cards?
Yes! More than one person at your Church can have a CarePortal Card, but only one card is allowed per Church Leader.
Each leader will need to request their own card by navigating to the Settings tab via the left sidebar menu and clicking the Request CarePortal Card button at the top of the page.
From there, all CarePortal Cards assigned to your Church can be viewed using either the CarePortal Card Requests header or the CarePortal Cards header to manage requests.You'll find active and pending cards under the CarePortal Cards header.
Cards that are requested, expired (meaning the card has been issued and is on its way to the recipient), or declined will appear under the CarePortal Card Requests header.
All cards are connected to the same card balance, so no matter who is using a card, money is withdrawn from one shared pool of money.
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Do donors get tax write-off benefits?
Yes! Donations made to the CarePortal Fund are considered tax-deductible. CarePortal takes care of the responsibility of creating and sending out all year-end donor letters, so you don't have to worry about a thing!
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Who has legal and tax liability for donations?
For all donations made to the CarePortal Fund, CarePortal is responsible for processing money, issuing donation receipts, and issuing annual tax-deduction statements. Churches using this money to serve families via the CarePortal Card have no legal or tax obligation for the donations or donors. Churches are accountable for monitoring and tracking their spending as a card, and must take responsibility for Church members who are issued a CarePortal Card by only using the card to meet CarePortal Requests. Using donations to pay for needs unrelated to CarePortal requests is prohibited.
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What do I do if my CarePortal Card is lost or stolen?
Please email support@careportal.org, and we will assist you directly.
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What are some examples of inappropriate uses of the CarePortal Card?
Below are some ways that will lead to your Church having your CarePortal Card(s) deactivated to protect the trust and credibility of the CarePortal platform.
- Accepting donations through the platform and then using other resources to meet the need (in this case, the donated money should be returned)
- Receiving money on your CarePortal Card but not following through on providing the items you committed to
- Using remaining CarePortal Card dollars for purchases unrelated to approved CarePortal requests- Using leftover CarePortal Card dollars to cover staffing or general operational costs for your ministry
- Purchasing items that are broken, unreliable, or don't meet the original request's specifications
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Can my CarePortal Card be the default payment method for online shopping?
No, it's important to remember that CarePortal Cards should never be selected as the default payment method for your Amazon, Walmart, or other online shopping platform to help prevent accidental personal transactions. Sometimes, when adding your CarePortal Card as a new payment method, the shopping platform may automatically select it as your new default card. You must uncheck this box!
The CarePortal Support Team performs regular sweeps that flag unauthorized transactions.
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What should I do if there are unauthorized transactions on my CarePortal Card?
If you notice any suspicious or unauthorized charges on your CarePortal Card, follow these steps right away:
Check with other cardholders (if your Church has multiple CarePortal Cards) to confirm whether someone else made the purchase.
Email support@CarePortal.org so we can block the card from further use.
Contact the merchant where the unauthorized purchase occurred to dispute the charge directly, and be sure to document all communication.
CarePortal Support will also file a formal dispute with PEX (our card provider) on your behalf.
Once the dispute is processed and approved, the disputed transaction amount will be reissued to your CarePortal Card.
The cardholder is responsible for working closely with the CarePortal Support Team to ensure all required paperwork is completed and submitted on time throughout the dispute process.
Still have questions?
We're here to help! If you have additional questions about your CarePortal Card or need support with anything not covered here, feel free to email us at support@CarePortal.org.
Thank you for the way you're serving your community—we're grateful to partner with you! 🧡
Comments
2 comments
I know we can create one, but would it be possible to create downloadable PDFs for this FAQ and others?
Hi Domingo, this particular article would be an example of one that we would try to direct people to the live link to make sure they can benefit from the embedded video with AI-powered Q&A. Just a reminder, too, that articles in Help Center are mobile-friendly and capable of bring printed. It would be a very long printed document in this case, but if you have a partner who would benefit from knowing a selected portion of the 25 answered questions on this article, you're welcome to build a branded document to serve their needs!
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