Giving Statement Templates and Layouts in Elvanto

Updated: May 30, 2024 04:27

Templates are a great timesaver when tax season comes around! We'll guide you through how to create and edit your giving statement templates below.

Please Note: Elvanto Super Admins or Admins with Financial Access Permissions can access giving statement templates.

How to Edit Giving Statement Templates (New)

Note: As of January 2024 there has been an update to this area. The new template will be titled Basic Template (New!) this is the template we recommend using. Your older Templates will be available along with the legacy default template which will be titled "Default Template (old)"

Login to your Elvanto admin account.
Select Settings from the top bar.
Select Financial.
Select the Giving Statement Templates tab.
From here, you can select:
- The Template Title to Edit.
- Duplicate your existing templates by clicking the Duplicate button on the right of any listed template.
Edit your Template:
Note: All editable areas will highlight when hovered over.
- Church Logo: Admins can upload or change the church logo image by hovering over the header of the Template.
- Signature (For Canadian Churches Only)
- Business Number (For Canadian Churches Only)
Select the Save button.

How to Edit Giving Statement Message

Login to your Elvanto admin account.
Select Settings from the top bar.
Select Financial.
Scroll down to Giving Statement Message.
Enter your message.
Note: Use placeholders for a more personalized message.
Scroll further down the page to add location specific messages. (Optional)
Click Save.

Areas That Cannot be Edited in The Giving Template

Header/Footer: Set by default and cannot be altered, except for page numbers on multi-page statements.
Margins: Fixed at standard sizes and not subject to change to ensure consistency across documents.
Text Font/Sizing: The font type and size are pre-determined and locked to maintain a uniform appearance.
Statement Titles: "Giving Statement" for non-Canadian templates and "Official Receipt for Income Tax Purposes" for Canadian templates are not editable.
Receipt Number: This is automatically generated and unique for each statement, making it non-editable to preserve the integrity of records.
Donor Names: These are pulled from the database and are not editable within the template to ensure accuracy. Please update donors information in the People section of Elvanto prior to sending Giving Statements.
Transaction Area: The content here is populated based on transaction data and is not manually editable.
Tax Overview Area: Also determined by data and settings, and not subject to manual edits.
Church Address: Fixed based on the church's address as set in the account settings and not editable in the template.
Donor Address: Pulled from donor profiles and not editable within the template.
Footer Text for Canadian Statements: Contains required legal text for compliance with Canadian regulations and cannot be edited.

Difference Between Canadian Giving Statements & Other Countries

Authorized Representative Signature:
- For Canadian templates, the authorized representative signature is a required field with an upload option.
- For non-Canadian templates, this field is available but not required.
Footer:
- Canadian templates must include a specific footer with a mandatory statement: "For more information on all registered charities in Canada, please visit the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website: Canada.ca/charities-giving."
- Non-Canadian templates do not have this requirement and typically have no footer or a different footer.
Statement Title:
- Canadian statements must use the title "Official Receipt for Income Tax Purposes."
- Non-Canadian statements typically use the title "Giving Statement."

How to Edit Giving Statement Templates (Old)

Login to your Elvanto admin account.
Select Settings from the top bar.
Under Financial, select Giving Statement Templates.
From here, you can select:
- Edit your default template by clicking the template title.
- Duplicate your default or other templates by clicking the Duplicate button on the right of any listed template.
- Create a new template by clicking the Add New Template button.
🌟 Tithe.ly Tip: Click the ‘Preview Giving Statement’ button to view how the statement will look once printed.
Enter Header and Footer text
- Click into any of the sections (excluding Transactions and Overview) to edit the content within the section.
  ❗ Important Note: Placeholders save you time by filling the gaps with information already in Elvanto. To see the full list of placeholders we support, check out this article. Placeholders take up different amounts of space depending on the amount of information they are bringing into the area. You want to ensure that your template layout is spaced accordingly to accommodate.
Once you're done with the layout section, click the Setup tab.
Here you can:
- Title your statement
- Add a statement description
- Select if you'll be using window faced envelopes
- Select if you'd like to hide the tax deductible column
- Customize your margin sizes
- Include a letterhead image
- Enable/Disable columns above and below listed transactions
- Select your column position and height listed above and below transactions if enabled
Click the Save button.

Video Overview Old Template:

Envelope Compatibility:

Our updated "Basic Template (New!)" for giving statements is designed to fit perfectly with #9 and #10 single window-facing envelopes, which are the most common types in the United States and Canada. This ensures the donor's address is visible through the envelope's window.

Key Points:

Suitable Envelope Sizes: The templates are optimized for #9 and #10 single window-facing envelopes.
Canadian Compatibility: In Canada, while DL size envelopes for A4 paper are not currently supported, the common letter-size envelopes (#9 and #10) used in Canada are compatible.
Legacy Templates: For users preferring double-window envelopes, the older "Default Template (old)" remains available and offers more flexibility for address placement.