FAQ

Contents

1 Individual and Donor Questions
2 Questions from Non Profit Organizations

Individual and Donor Questions

What in the world is a givezooks!?

Well, gadzooks is an expression of surprise, like blimey, goodness gracious, or what the hizzle! givezooks! was our expression of surprise when we discovered that lots of fantastic nonprofit organizations lacked the resources, both human and technological, to take their fundraising to the next level and reach the next generation of donors on Web 2.0! There was no online, community-based site where individuals, nonprofits, corporations, and foundations could gather to make the world better, one community at a time. So, we created givezooks! - local giving made simple!

Do I need a givezooks! account to browse and search in givezooks! communities?

No. There's quite a bit of poking around you can do without joining givezooks! Joining offers more power to get involved, connect with causes you care about, and raise funds for your favorite nonprofit organizations. Joining also enables you to keep track of your donations and preferences.

Is my credit card information safe when I donate?

Your donation information when entered in givezooks! is passed through to the merchant service provider (i.e., credit card processor, like PayPal) of your nonprofit organization. We use SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) technology to encrypt all of your donation information when it is passed through, and never store any of your credit card details in givezooks!

Will givezooks! share or sell my contact information or donation history with anyone?

No. Your privacy is our highest priority. See our Privacy Policy for details.

Can I keep track of the donations that I make over time and print a summary at year's end for tax purposes?

Yes. As a givezooks! member, you'll also have access to details of all of your donations and be able to print a summary at any time. Also, with each donation, you will receive a thank you email from the nonprofit organization, which can be used for tax purposes.

Are my donations tax deductible?

Donations to organizations that have received 501(c)(3) status from the IRS are tax deductible, and givezooks! makes every effort to validate the 501(c)(3) status of our nonprofit member organizations. Prior to raising funds on givezooks!, nonprofits are checked against the IRS database of charitable organizations and the FBI’s terrorist watch list, and are asked to provide a copy of their 501(c)(3) letter of determination. Donations to nonprofits that haven't yet become a member of givezooks! are processed by Network for Good. givezooks! encourages each donor to not only check the status of any organization that they contribute to, but also the review other aspects of the organization.

Can givezooks! help me raise money for a neighbor who needs help with medical expenses or my daughter's basketball team?

All fundraising efforts using givezooks! must be on behalf of a nonprofit organization with 501(c)(3) status from the IRS, which designates them as tax-exempt.

How do I change my password?

Once registered, you can change your password on your 'profile' page.

Why am I having trouble accessing my account?

If you have forgotten your username or password, just click on 'I forgot my password.' If that doesn't work, you can always send us a note at support@givezooks.com and we'll get it straightened out.

Can I contribute to a cause outside my community?

Absolutely. You can contribute to any organization on givezooks!

I don't have money to contribute right now, but I do have some time in my schedule - can I volunteer my time in givezooks!?

Yes you can. We have partnered with AllForGood to bring local volunteer opportunities to each community. Just click on the 'get involved' link on any community page and search for opportunities that work with your schedule.

If I upload my contacts into givezooks!, does anyone other than me have access to them?

No. If you upload contacts to your givezooks! address book so that you can spread the word about charities you care about, your contacts will not be shared with anyone. See our Privacy Policy for more details. Any of your contacts that choose to donate to an organization will be added to that organization's address book at the end of the donation process so that the organization can follow-up and thank them.

How many communities have a givezooks! site?

The number of givezooks! online communities is growing all the time. Soon, there will be hundreds all across America.

Does givezooks! have mobile apps?

We're working on this and they will be available soon!

Can I get a givezooks! badge for my Facebook page?

Yes. Our 'Share This' feature enables you to spread the word about causes that are important to you on many social networking sites, including Facebook. Simply click on 'Share This.'

Does givezooks! receive a fee from each donation?

No! givezooks! does not receive a fee or take a percentage of any donation. For credit card donations, there is a small fee charged by the merchant service provider, like PayPal. These fees are typically 1.9%-2.2% of your donation + a $0.30 transaction fee.

Does it matter what Internet browser I use for givezooks!?

No, givezooks! works in all browsers. If you are using an older version of any browser, you may come across some issues. Updating your browser should solve any problems. Here is the link, if you would like to use Firefox and don't yet have it installed.

Can I add a link to my givezooks! page to my email signature?

Sure. You can just cut and paste the link to the fundraiser, or click on the 'Get a link to send to Friends' button in the Grassroots Fundraisers and paste that in your email signature - it's the same thing.

Can I make a pledge of a donation?

Each nonprofit member of givezooks! May choose to accept pledges. At the time of your donation, they will provide instructions on how to complete your pledge payment.

Can I cancel or get a refund of a donation?

Once the donation is processed, it is non-refundable! Before making a donation, please make sure you are completely comfortable with the charitable organization.

Can I make a donation on behalf of or in memory of someone?

Yes. When you make a donation, you are asked whether you want your name to appear on the donor wall that displays on the fundraiser page; when asked how you want your name displayed on the donor wall, you can write 'In memory of Joan Doe.' This will then show on the donor wall.

Questions from Non Profit Organizations

What is an EIN?

EIN is an acronym for an employer identification number. It is a nine-digit number assigned to an organization by the IRS for tax filing and reporting purposes.

We are under the umbrella of a parent organization for our 501(c)(3) status but want all donations to come to us, not our parent organization. Is that possible?

Sure. You will need to provide givezooks! with the documentation that confirms that your parent organization supports your desired approach.

Is there a fee for using givezooks.com? And if so, is it a one-time fee, monthly fee, % per sold item, % of each donation?

Yes, there is a fee for nonprofit organizations to use givezooks! web services. It is a flat subscription fee that can be purchased on a monthly or annual basis. There are different fee levels based on the fundraising budget of your organization. Currently, those fees range from $129 per month for organizations with fundraising budgets below $500,000 to $499 per month for organizations with fundraising budgets up to $5,000,000. The only additional fees are transaction fees charged by the Merchant Service provider like PayPal to process credit card or debit card donations, which are your responsibility to pay.

How do we pay for my givezooks! subscription fee?

During the registration process, you will be asked to enter credit card information, which will be used to process your monthly or annual fees.

What if we know of other nonprofit organizations that could benefit from using givezooks!?

It’s extremely exciting for us when our members want to refer us to their friends and colleagues...so please spread the word! As a way of saying “Thank You,” we have setup a special Referral Program. Please contact us for more information.

We accept credit card payments/donations through our website today. Can we use our existing merchant service provider to accept credit card donations within givezooks!?

If you have a PayPal business account or an account at one of our supported gateways, it's simple to hook up your account. We continue to add Merchant Service providers, so if yours is not currently supported, it will probably be in the new future.

We're based outside the United States, can we use givezooks!?

Currently, givezooks! only provides services for nonprofits, corporations, and foundations based in the United States.

Why aren't we on the list of nonprofits in our community?

Most likely, it is because your organization is not currently available on the IRS database as being a registered nonprofit. Please let us know if your organization is not on the list and we will look into it.

What do the 'Give now' buttons do?

Wherever you see a 'Give now' button, that's your opportunity to give if you can - you're a click away from the easy donation process and doing your part to support the cause.

How long does it take for our organization to receive donated funds?

As soon as you launch your fundraiser, you can accept donations. Immediately. In fact, you can enter donations offline even before you launch your fundraiser. When the donations arrive in your organization's bank account depends on the method of payment the donor uses: if they use Paypal or another electronic payment service, it will be within a day or so; delivery of other payment methods, like wire transfer, stock transfer, or check by mail are obviously dependent on user circumstances.

Is there a minimum or maximum donation amount?

givezooks! does not impose any restrictions on donation amounts, but electronic payments service and credit cards may have their own limits.

Does the organization need to send thank you notes and tax receipts to donors?

Donors receive automated thank you notes that nonprofits create before launching a fundraiser. Sending additional thank you notes is at the discretion of the nonprofit organization.

What information will I need to set up an account for our organization?

The EIN# (employer identification number) so that we can verify your organizations tax-exempt status on the IRS database. You'll also need to provide a copy of the organization's 501(c)(3) letter.

How do I close our nonprofit account and what happens to our account information when I do?

Just contact our support staff at support@givezooks.com and we will close the account. After making sure that you have exported any information that you need, we will delete all account information.

Is there any limit to the number of fundraisers we can run within givezooks! at any one time?

No, there is no limit to the number of fundraisers at any given time.

Will givezooks! replace all of my previous fundraising activities?

Probably not, but it sure will make most of your fundraising easier and more efficient! As you know, some donors and fundraising efforts warrent more face to face interaction.

Will givezooks! replace the donation page and/or donate now button on my website today?

While givezooks! services can replace the donation page on your website, you may use both simultaneously. Ultimately, we hope you find all of your online fundraising needs are met by givezooks!

My branding is very important to me. How can I leverage my branding and keep it consistent within givezooks!?

With givezooks! you can choose YOUR colors, YOUR logos, YOUR images and text, and YOUR custom url to help you maintain your valuable brand.

We’ve never run an Annual Fund Campaign. How should we get started?

A good first step is to gather as many good pictures, text (mission statement, etc...) and, most importantly, some personal stories about why your fundraising efforts are so important. Then, as you set up a campaign, you'll have what you need to create a powerful and engaging campaign. Here are a few tried and true tips for online fundraising: 1) Have a Plan, 2) Tell a Story, 3) Make it Urgent, 4) Make it Personal, and 5) Make it EASY! If you work on 1 - 4, we'll handle number 5! Check out our tutorial for more details and helpful tips.

We’ve never setup a Wish List for fundraising. How should we get started?

A good first step is to gather as many good pictures, text (mission statement, item descriptions, etc...) and, most importantly, some personal stories about why your fundraising efforts are so important. Then, as you set up a wish list, you'll have what you need to create a powerful and engaging fundraiser. Here are a few tried and true tips for online fundraising: 1) Have a Plan, 2) Tell a Story, 3) Make it Urgent, 4) Make it Personal, and 5) Make it EASY! If you work on 1 - 4, we'll handle number 5! Check out our tutorial for more details and helpful tips.

How do we start our grassroots fundraising efforts?

Once your nonprofit has registered it's easy to invite visitors to your site and other constituents to raise funds on your behalf. Check out our tutorial for more details.

We don’t have a very large group of supporters today to promote our fundraising activities, how can givezooks! help?

Growing your supporters is a big part of what we're all about! Let the supporters that you have today go to work for you to expand your base of supporters for tomorrow. They can spread the word about your organization by sending emails; creating and posting widgets, publishing badges on social networks like Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter; and creating blogs. Plus, when new people come to the site and contribute to your organization, they are automatically added to your organization's address book! Also, on our givezooks! local page, different organizations will be featured throughout the year, bringing new supporters to your site.

Do we need to make any technology (i.e., computers, networking equipment, special software) investments to use givezooks!?

No, no, no, no, no.... Our products and services are ALL web based, and so all you need is a reasonably up to date computer and internet access and you've got it made!

We already have a Vertical Response account. Will we have a second account through givezooks!?

You can have a second Vertical Response account, but Vertical Response will only provide one grant of 10,000 free emails a month.

How do I get my donors from givezooks! into my existing donor management system?

You can export your donors to a csv (comma separated values) file with the click of a button.

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