FAQ
What are online fundraising pages?
Online fundraising pages are a great way for your supporters to help your nonprofit while including their community in doing so. They are similar to a letter-writing campaign, except they’re on the internet.
Your supporters do your fundraising for you by making and personalizing their own online fundraising pages. They then send the page to their friends and family to ask for donations.
Because Firstgiving’s online fundraising pages are so quick and easy to use, people raise an average of 200% more than with traditional offline methods alone.
Take a look: http://www.firstgiving.com/coastalgsrescue
top
How do fundraising pages help nonprofits raise more money?
- It’s really easy to fundraise and donate online. With a few clicks, you can create a page or make a donation – there are no checks, envelopes, or pledges to collect
- There is no ‘fear of asking’ for fundraisers who don’t like asking for money in person. It’s more comfortable to email a link to their Firstgiving fundraising page, or quickly send the page to your Facebook or MySpace friends.
- Your supporters can raise money for your nonprofit for any reason at all – a birthday, a wedding, or in memory of someone – in addition to traditional fundraising events, thereby creating new sources of donations for you.
- Firstgiving has been perfecting the online fundraising process for years with the primary mission of keeping it user-friendly. Make a fundraising page now and see for yourself! Create Your Own Fundraising Page
top
How can my nonprofit use fundraising pages?
Your supporters can raise money for your cause for any event or occasion. Pages can be created for a walk or run, in memory of a loved one, for a birthday or awareness month, or for any kind of fundraising drive. Your only limit is your imagination!
top
Do I need an event, such as a walkathon, to use Firstgiving fundraising pages?
You can build a fundraising page to raise money for absolutely anything – not just sponsored events. Online fundraising started around walkathons and marathons, but now nonprofits can think creatively and promote Firstgiving fundraising pages for all kinds of events, occasions and causes.
top
Is having a fundraising page the same as accepting online donations?
Because they make the most of your supporters’ social networks, fundraising pages reach more people than a simple facility to make donations online.
If your nonprofit creates an email campaign asking people to donate to your cause, the response rate may be low because there’s not an immediate reason for people to act. But someone who receives a personal invitation from a friend asking for support in his fundraising is much more likely to make a donation. Even if he has never heard of your organization, he may donate simply because your cause is important to his loved one.
We’ve been analyzing, improving, and perfecting our system for years to help make it as easy as possible for people to fundraise and donate to an online fundraising page.
top
What does it cost?
Creating a fundraising page and making a donation are free. We deduct a 7.50% transaction fee before sending the donations to your nonprofit. Credit card processing charges are included in this fee.
If you are interested in a Premium Nonprofit Account, an additional $300 subscription charge applies. Please see “Premium Nonprofit Account,” for more details.
top
How does my nonprofit receive the donations?
Donations are sent via weekly electronic funds transfer (EFT) or by monthly check, depending on your preference. If you already have an account and would like to be set up with EFT, please contact support@firstgiving.com.
top
I'm still unclear about how fundraising pages work – how can I get a better understanding?
Take five minutes to visit www.firstgiving.com and make your own fundraising page. People always tell us how incredibly user-friendly Firstgiving is and once you’ve tried it, you'll be comfortable promoting it to your supporters. Try it now – it’s easy and free! Even better: Watch a Quick Video
top
Is there a limit to the number of fundraising pages our nonprofit can use?
There is no limit whatsoever, regardless of account type. You and your supporters can build as many fundraising pages as you want – the more you create, the more you’ll raise!
top
Nonprofit Account (Free)
What is a Nonprofit Account?
A Nonprofit Account allows you to take advantage of our efficient and user-friendly service, which includes:
- your own Start Page
- unlimited, free fundraising pages for you and your supporters
- access to your supporters’ and donors’ contact details
- quick and easy payment options
- real-time financial reports
- automatic thank you emails to all donors, which also act as receipts
- support for you, your staff, fundraisers and donors
How do I sign up for a Nonprofit Account?
It takes only a few minutes to sign up! Click here: Sign up Now
What kind of reports do I get with my Nonprofit Account?
You’ll have access to:
- financial reports
- donor reports
- fundraiser reports
You can look at all these reports on screen in real-time and easily download them to an Excel spreadsheet.
top
Premium Nonprofit Account ($300/annually)
What is a Premium Nonprofit Account?
In addition to the above as mentioned in "What is a Nonprofit Account," a Premium Nonprofit Account also includes:
- your own Premium Start Page
- team functionality
- event registration
- official events
- personalization options
Your supporters go directly to your Premium Start Page, located at www.Firstgiving.com/your choice, to start raising money for your organization and to register for your next event. On your Premium Start Page, you can choose to display top fundraisers, top teams, and your own images, as well as links pointing back to your nonprofit.
How do I sign up for a Nonprofit Account?
It takes only a few minutes to sign up! At step 3, check the box "I am interested in a Premium Account. "Click here to sign up: Sign up Now
top
Which one is better for me, a Basic Nonprofit Account or a Premium Nonprofit Account?
Generally, a Premium Nonprofit Account is a better fit for organizations with their own events or for nonprofits with a large group (20 or more) of people fundraising. Likewise, the Basic Nonprofit Account is great for smaller nonprofits.
Remember, you may upgrade to a Premium Account at any time.
| |
Free Basic Account |
Branded Premium Account |
| Unlimited person-to-person online fundraising pages |
X |
X |
| Online fundraiser and donor reports |
X |
X |
| Automatic email receipts to donors |
X |
X |
| eTapestry database integration |
X |
X |
| Support for nonprofit staff, fundraisers and donors |
X |
X |
| Branded Premium Start Page and fundraising pages |
|
X |
| Online fundraising event registration |
|
X |
| Fundraising teams and training buddies |
|
X |
| Display top fundraisers, teams, and total raised |
|
X |
| Annual fee |
None |
$300 |
| Total transaction fee on donations, including credit card processing fees |
7.50% |
7.50% |
| |
Sign up now |
Sign up now |
top
I’m not a very technical person - is there anything I need to know?
You don’t need any special technical skills to use Firstgiving. It’s designed to be very simple to use, so if you can browse the web and check your email, you can use Firstgiving. Just in case, our support team is always happy to help with any questions at no additional cost.
top
We’re a small nonprofit with limited funds and resources - is Firstgiving for us?
Absolutely! Once you sign up for your Basic Nonprofit Account and tell your supporters about the fundraising pages, you can sit back and let them get to work raising money for you.
We understand you need to spend your time focusing on your nonprofit activities, and of course, promoting Firstgiving fundraising pages to your supporters. We provide the online fundraising pages, credit card payment processing and customer support to you, your fundraisers and donors, at no extra charge.
top
We are a large nonprofit - is Firstgiving for us?
Yes - lots of large nonprofits use Firstgiving. You may already have a system for fundraising initiatives, but your development and special events staff can use Firstgiving to initiate any fundraising campaign quickly, easily, and without extra cost to your nonprofit.
top
We charge a registration fee for our event and require custom questions, such as T-shirt size. Can Firstgiving help?
Registration and custom questions are included in the Premium Nonprofit Account. Just send us your event waiver text, questions, and any team details, and our support team will set up your registration.
top
I am an eTapestry customer. Is there anything I need to know?
Yes, Firstgiving has partnered with eTapestry to make online fundraising as seamless as possible. Fundraiser and donor data collected via Firstgiving automatically synchronizes with your eTapestry database on a weekly basis. Please contact one of our support reps to learn how to turn on this feature (API).
top
Are Firstgiving donations tax deductible?
A Firstgiving online donation is just as tax-deductible as writing a check, only faster and more convenient. The tax deductibility of any given donation depends on many factors, and it’s up to each nonprofit organization to communicate the deductibility information to its own donors. This is easy to do by personalizing your Firstgiving Start Page, individual Fundraising Pages, and donation acknowledgement emails.
Firstgiving does not provide tax advice on the deductibility of donations. We encourage nonprofits and donors to consult legal or accounting professionals.
top
