How It Works
What Is Christian VA?
Christian Virtual Assistance is the first ever donation-based (meaning organizations set the amount) digital needs platform for Christians and Christian Faith-Based Organizations with a 501(c)(3) or 508(c)(1)(a) standing. My goal is to help those organizations that don’t have the resources for an on-site office professional or a professional digital media designer. I use the words “Digital Media Designer” because that phrase goes far beyond an office administrator or a website or graphics designer. It blankets all three and probably more.
I do ask that organizations cover the professional licensing and hosting fees but everything else is a labor of Faith.
17But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?
Why Work With Me?
- If your site is not responsive, or it's outdated, you don't really have a site. You have a web presence that's not working.
- More funding can be routed to support the Great Commission.
- A modern site means better engagement and user experience.
- Smartphones are mini-computers. Most people own a smartphone and use it to surf the web.
- A church website saves money on advertising.
- Church communications become more relevant if you have a site that works, and media that is appealing and well-organized.
- A modern website has the potential to bring people to church thereby bringing people to God's word.
- Prayer requests potentially become front and center .
- Media Storage. No more "lost" files.
- Professional design work engages audiences.
- I sincerely love the work that I do and am blessed that I can serve in this way.
Who Is the Christian VA?
My name is Karen, and without getting too long-winded, I am the Christian Virtual Assistant. I have an office administrative background, working specifically with churches. After a severe illness with cancer, I returned to college and received my Multi-media/Web Design bachelor’s degree.
So, here I am, still drawn to helping churches and Christian organizations, with a strong focus on smaller organizations, start-ups, or churches in the transition of finding an office professional to fill the role. If any of those scenarios fit your organization, my Hope is that you’ll connect with me by filling out the form below so we can set an appointment to meet virtually and discuss how CVA can help you.
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Some of My Clients
Frequently Asked Questions
I ask that organizations cover the basic expenses of the professional licensing and server space used. Otherwise, it’s really up to the organization as to what they want to commit to.
For larger, well-established, organizations we would negotiate a subcontracted amount.
This is a bit tricky to answer and is dependent on your needs and organization size. For small organizations and start-ups, printable media and graphics design is 100% donation based. For website design and development, I ask for coverage of licensing costs which range from $300 -$800 depending on the organization’s needs. The work I put into it is also donation based.
For large or well-established organizations, a negotiated price that works for you will be determined mutually.
Sure! I love when clients want to manage their sites. Each site I build comes with a built-in learning center. I also put together step-by-step “How To” documentation for users to download or read on-screen if video learning isn’t their thing. I am here to offer support in any way that I can, and that includes teaching you the process of site management or doing it for you. It’s your choice in what you want to do.
Yes.
I use an off-site server for digital storage. Any collateral I create is stored there, and you are provided access to it.
The websites I build are fully backed up, and I keep multiple copies on file at all times, and the backups are never saved on the server of origin.
Printed and presentation collateral are stored locally on my computers as well as in the cloud. I use DropBox, and you’ll be granted permission to access your collateral.
I don’t use GSuite for client confidentiality reasons. I use DropBox. Clients are given access to their collateral. I also use DropBox Paper for information push-pull. It’s one of my primary communication platforms.
Moving away from CVA care is your choice and I would not hinder your decision to move. All digital files are yours but please know the website licensing would not go with you and the domain would need to be transferred to your custody. Records management would be solely managed by you or whomever you are moving to.
I do not manage social media for clients, but I will help you with the graphics of the cover photo, the user image as well as meme creation if desired. I use Canva for Meme creation and would simply provide you with a link for the memes.
A few years ago when I realized there was blatant censorship happening, I decided to step away from it. I am against censorship, and I believe in freedom of speech. It’s a slippery slope in my book. That does not mean I can’t support you. Your organization will still manage the channel, I’ll just provide the graphics should you need them.
Your site will use the “https://” protocol. SSL certificates are what enable websites to move from HTTP to HTTPS, which is more secure. An SSL certificate is a data file hosted in a website’s origin server. SSL certificates make SSL/TLS encryption possible, and they also contain the website’s public key and identity, along with related information.
I also run security software on your website if I build it to help keep your site safe to use. The security software licensing is NOT optional and costs $44/yr.
Maybe. If you are a 501(c)3 or a 508(c)(1)(a) organization you may qualify for Google for Non-Profits. If you have your letter of Non-Profit standing I will need your EIN, and then I will handle the task of getting that in place. It is WELL worth the time and effort expended because it would open all of the Google tools to your organization.
IF you have your 501(c)3 or 508(c)(1)(a) in place I ask that you DO NOT submit your information. As I said before the process is a bit confusing – it will most likely take several weeks to complete.
If you do NOT have a registered organization, you can purchase email inboxes through my registrar for $20-$25/yr per inbox. I do insist on one @yourdomainname.org inbox for the sake of configuring web form authentication and API authenticity. So, plan at a minimum of 2 email inboxes, one for primary organization contact, and one for webmaster configurations.
I sub-contract SEO for a small fee. If this is something you are interested in, please let me know.
You can use any payment gateway of your choice. Just know that if you’re using PayPal or Stripe, and setting it up at the site, there are additional fees for the needed professional licensing to integrate that.
Vanco, however, is built around non-profit needs, and their fees recently got very competitive. They also allow for recurrent giving and can be integrated into the website easily.
Another great option is to use a membership management platform such as IconCMO or PushPay.
No worries. This is a learning process for me too. Please fill out the form below with any questions you may have, and I will answer them as best I can.
If you want server support service through Christian VA hosting with me is required.
If you don’t require server support, I am also willing to work in a foreign environment. Still, support skills and server access may be drastically limited, hindering my ability to support your service sufficiently. My hosting service provider charges $10-$15 per month. I have been with them for years, and I highly recommend them.