General Questions

 

DEGives.org is a year-round online fundraising and event registration platform powered by Spur Impact Association, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Delaware, as part of its Delaware Gives initiative. Nonprofits are encouraged to use the Delaware Gives platform throughout the year to raise funds and awareness for organizational specific events and fundraisers. Anyone can donate to their favorite participating nonprofits via DEGives.org.

Delaware Gives is intended to be an information resource for anyone to find general information about Delaware nonprofits they support, as well as a resource for those nonprofits who need help with fundraising or event registration. Supporters may also create personal fundraising pages for the nonprofits listed on the website, and proceeds from those fundraising pages will be sent to the nonprofit directly.

 

 

If you are a 501(c)(3) public charity that is sub classified as 509a1, 509a2, or 509a3 (Type 1, Type 2, or Type 3 Functionally Integrated supporting organization or under section 170), you are eligible to submit to be listed as a nonprofit on this website. Additionally, if you are a donor advised fund or have a fiscal agent with an eligible Delaware nonprofit (e.g., your organization has a fund with Delaware Community Foundation), you are also able to be listed. Your organization's status will be verified by our team prior to approval to be listed. Verification includes confirmation of your organization's tax exempt status (e.g., submitting a copy of your IRS c(3) letter or other proof of exemption) and that you have filed an IRS Form 990 in compliance with the IRS requirements (e.g., submitting a copy of your most recent Form 990, which is dated within the past two years). 

 

No. 

 

As with any credit card transaction, there are credit card and bank processing fees associated with the charge as well as other technology and processing costs related to the event to ensure its sustainability. The Delaware Gives platform charges the donors a fee of $1 plus 5% to cover these costs, which the donors have the option to pay at the point of transaction so that the nonprofit receives the full 100% of the donation. Donors will receive a tax deduction on the full donation amount, including any covered fees. If donors do not choose to cover the fee, the processing fee will be deducted from the donation before it is disbursed to the nonprofit, as is standard across most major fundraising platforms. Spur Impact works with the nonprofits to ensure that the effective transaction fee on the net distribution to the nonprofits is 2.5% or less.

Not immediately. Donations received and processed through the Delaware Gives platform ultimately will be granted back to the selected organization(s) net of any transaction fees not paid by the donor on a monthly basis (typically within 30 days of the donation). This window of time enables donors to review statements so that any charge backs due to donor error in keying in information or amounts can be resolved. 

 

Yes. Participating organizations will have access to their donor data through their administrative portal, which can be downloaded and imported into your organization's donor database. Donor information is NEVER given or sold to a third party.

 

Yes. Donors will receive an email tax acknowledgment from the Delaware Gives platform automatically as soon as the donation is made. The donor will see the "DEGives" on their credit card statement. For added convenience, donors who give to multiple organizations at the same time will get a consolidated receipt!  

 

No. The Delaware Gives platform will issue all donor acknowledgements for tax purposes and they will be issued to the donor via email immediately after the donation. We strongly recommend the participating organization issue a separate informal "thank you" as part of your donor cultivation strategy but will not need to (nor should) issue a formal tax receipt.

How easy is it for our nonprofit to sign up?

You can create a Delaware Gives account and a fundraising page in as simple as three clicks. Once logged into your administrative portal, you can customize your organization's general informational page as well as any project fundraising page.

 

Who can make a donation on DEGives.org? 

Anyone can donate to a nonprofit that has a fundraising page on the DEGives.org website. You do not need to have a Delaware Gives account or live in Delaware to donate.

 

How do I make a donation on DEGives.org? 

Find your favorite nonprofit(s), click on the orange donate button and follow the on screen instructions. 

 

The minimum donation on DEGives.org is $5. We encourage donors to give early and often and in whatever amount they feel comfortable. 

 

Yes. On the donation page, you will be able to make additional donations to more than one nonprofit. Once you're ready, you can make one payment.

 

Yes. The DEGives.org website is mobile optimized, making it easy to make a donation using your smartphone.  

 

Yes. The Delaware Gives platform uses a PCI Level I compliant payment service (Stripe) to ensure that all financial data is secure. You can learn about Stripe's security precautions and more about PCI compliance on their website.

 

Donations to the 501(c)(3) charities featured on the DEGives.org website are 100% tax-deductible to the full extent permitted by law. Once your credit card or EFT donation is processed, you will receive an email confirming the deduction from the Delaware Gives platform. Please save this email for your records. By selecting a specific charity to receive your donation, your gift is restricted for that charity and will not be given to any other charity. You cannot designate your donation for a specific program at a nonprofit.

 

We unfortunately are not able to refund donations.

 

On the website, you can search for nonprofits in a variety of ways. You can also learn more about an organization's mission, programs, financials, and more by clicking on the verification link or by visiting their website. You can then choose to donate or continue searching.

 

Donors are encouraged to find organizations that align with their passions and values. While the charitable status of every nonprofit that participates in DEGives.org is verified, there is no screening or selection (or non-selection) on the basis of their charitable purposes or their missions. Eligibility is based on the organization's current status as a recognized Section 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity. Therefore, approval of an organization's participation does not constitute an endorsement of the organization or its mission by Spur Impact Association or any of its partners or other supporters. Each nonprofit page is customized by that nonprofit to provide the organization's mission, not detailed information on all of its programs. Donors should conduct additional research on the organization's mission and use of its funds.

 

If your favorite nonprofit does not have a fundraising page set up, you cannot use the DEGives.org website to donate to them, but you can email us or submit them for approval to be listed and we will confirm their eligibility. 

 

Yes. Individuals and businesses may choose to create personal fundraising pages under an existing nonprofit fundraising page. You can pick your own fundraising goal for a chosen nonprofit and share your fundraising page URL to your friends and social networks. Donations raised through these pages pass to the chosen nonprofit and will be added to that nonprofit's total raised. There is no cost to create a personal fundraising page and you can do that by clicking the "start a fundraiser" button on that nonprofit's fundraising page URL. You can also simply share the nonprofit's fundraising page URL.

 

While we recommend promoting your favorite nonprofit across your social channels, we do not recommend "adding a donate button" or "creating a fundraiser" with Facebook for DEGives.org. Using the 'donate' button through Facebook will NOT link to your or your nonprofit's fundraiser page on the DEGives.org website. Nonprofits receive only a limited amount of information about donations made through Facebook.

 

When you donate, there is an option to indicate whether your company has a match, and the nonprofit will follow up with you directly to coordinate. 

 

There are many ways to support nonprofits besides a financial donation. For volunteer opportunities, you can visit the nonprofit's website, or other websites such as U-Volunteer, Volunteer Delaware, Delaware 2-1-1, and others.