FAQ
Nonprofit FAQ
Q. What is Give Big Kern?
Give Big Kern is one day to celebrate the giving spirit of Kern County. It is designed to bring the county together as one community, raising dollars and volunteer hours for Kern County’s nonprofits through a 24-hour crowd-funding campaign. Give Big Kern shines a light on hard-working, local nonprofits and empowers them to advance their marketing, board engagement, and donor development capabilities while encouraging connectivity and collaboration across the sector.
Q. When is Give Big Kern?
Give Big Kern is on May 2, 2017 from midnight to midnight.
Q. Who is behind Give Big Kern?
Give Big Kern is an initiative of Kern Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of growing community and growing philanthropy. The 24-hour giving day is a part of the Foundation’s initiative of Nonprofit Strengthening, which increases visibility, builds capacity, and improves sustainability for local nonprofits.
Q. What is the goal of Give Big Kern?
Give Big Kern’s goal for 2017 is to engage 8,000 individuals to donate money or pledge volunteer hours.
Q. Is my nonprofit eligible to participate?
To be eligible to participate in Give Big Kern 2017, your nonprofit must meet the following criteria:
- Be a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization
- Be headquartered or provide services with a physical office or branch in Kern County
- Be registered with Kern Community Foundation. Learn how to register on the Foundation website here.
Q. Why should my nonprofit participate?
Give Big Kern is a great way to increase your nonprofit’s visibility and capacity in the areas of fundraising and volunteer recruitment. Give Big Kern provides eligible nonprofits the opportunity to reach new donors or volunteers and provides the type of visibility that only a county-wide effort of this type can generate. Additionally, Give Big Kern provides local nonprofits’ with opportunities to advance their marketing, board engagement, and donor development capabilities through the campaign’s
customized training and
toolkit resources.
Q. How can my nonprofit participate?
All nonprofits interested in participating (including the nonprofits that have already participated in last year’s Give Big Kern) must complete the three-step registration process described below.
- Attend an Orientation on January 17 or 18
- Register Online at www.givebigkern.org by February 28
- Complete Your Customized Profile on www.givebigkern.org by March 31
Q. How much does it cost?
It is FREE for nonprofits to participate in Give Big Kern and to maintain a profile on the GiveGab platform year round.
There are transaction fees for gifts given during Give Big Kern which are broken down as follows:
GiveGab technology provider processing fee of 2% capped at $20 per donation. This portion of the fee goes to our partners at GiveGab for hosting the site, preventing fraud, and ensuring a positive user experience.
Credit Card processing fees are an additional 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction for standard credit cards and 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction for AMEX.
Donors are given the option to cover the fees and a majority of them do. If they cover the processing fees, 100% of their online charitable gift will go to your nonprofit.
Q. What is GiveGab?
GiveGab is an online giving platform that helps nonprofits raise money, engage donors, and manage volunteers quickly and efficiently. GiveGab offers a full portfolio of simple and easy-to-use products that allow nonprofits to function in a more streamlined manner.
Q. What is the deadline to ensure my participation in Give Big Kern?
There are three important deadlines to ensure your participation in Give Big Kern:
- Attend an Orientation on January 17 or 18
- Register Online at www.givebigkern.org by February 28
- Complete Your Customized Profile on www.givebigkern.org by March 31
Q. Can more than one person claim admin access on our nonprofit’s page?
Yes, Give Gab has the capabilities for each participating nonprofit to have multiple page administrators. Once you have completed the registration process, you will have access to instructions for setting up multiple administrators.
Q. How much of the donation will go to our nonprofit?
GiveGab will remit all donations, net of the processing fees (see above for details), directly to your nonprofit. 100% of all donations are tax-deductible for the donor and all donations will be officially receipted for tax purposes by GiveGab.
Q. When will we receive the donated funds?
Nonprofits will receive all donations, less any uncovered processing fees (see above for details), within 3 business days via direct deposit as long as bank routing and account information has been verified. GiveGab uses a PCI Level I compliant payment service to ensure that all financial data is secure.
Q. How does a nonprofit know who has donated and how much? Can I download a donations report?
All nonprofits that participate in Give Big Kern will be able to access and download a .CSV file of their donations via their administrative dashboard on GiveGab. The report is updated in real-time and will include the donation payout date for bank account reconciliation, donation information (including a breakdown of the fees), and the donor's name and contact information. Click here to download a sample donation report.
Q. How can our nonprofit be most successful with the Give Big Kern event?
We strongly encourage nonprofits to attend the workshops and webinars provided. View and register for workshops
here. Also, be sure to use the
Nonprofit Toolkit which includes helpful tips, tools, and downloads to prepare for and promote Kern County’s giving day.
Q: If I still have questions, who do I contact?
You can reach out to our nonprofit support team by emailing info@givebigkern.org.
Q. What portion of a donation made on GiveGab is tax deductible?
Tax deductibility for a donor is based on giving to a nonprofit; it's not dependent upon how that nonprofit uses the funds. On GiveGab, the nonprofit pays for the fees, regardless if the donor elects to cover. GiveGab gives donors the option to increase their donation by an amount equal to the fees the nonprofit will pay so that the nonprofit realizes the full amount of the intended donation after payment of the fees. Just because the donor is given this option does not make the additional amount non-deductible.
Outside of using GiveGab, nonprofits do not provide their donors a breakdown of what portion of their donation is deductible (unless the donor receives something of value in return as a dinner, etc). That's because deductibility is based on giving to the nonprofit, not how the nonprofit chooses to use the funds. You could almost consider when the donor elects to cover the fees, that portion of the donation is a restricted gift that will be used to pay for the expenses incurred to receive the gift. Restricted gifts are tax deductible, because it's based on who is receiving the gift (nonprofit) not what the gift is used for.
Ultimately, whether a donor decides to deduct the fees as a donation on their tax returns is their option, and we do not provide tax advice. If they want to be ultra-conservative they can choose to not take a deduction for the fees when they file. Who receives the donation is what determines tax deductibility, not how the donation is used. If it were the opposite, nonprofits would have to provide a full accounting to each and every donor how every penny of each donation was used - that is obviously impractical and would increase nonprofit administrative expenses exponentially.
GiveGab does not provide tax advise. Please consult your local tax professional about what portion of the full donation amount can be claimed as a charitable contribution.
Donor FAQ
Q. What is Give Big Kern?
Give Big Kern is one day to celebrate the giving spirit of Kern County. It is designed to bring the county together as one community, raising dollars and volunteer hours for Kern County’s nonprofits through a 24-hour crowd-funding campaign. Give Big Kern shines a light on hard-working, local nonprofits and empowers them to advance their marketing, board engagement, and donor development capabilities while encouraging connectivity and collaboration across the sector.
Join us here to find your passion, donate to your favorite causes, pledge volunteer hours, learn about new nonprofits, and share the excitement!
Q. When is Give Big Kern?
Give Big Kern is on May 2, 2017 from midnight to midnight.
Q. Who is behind Give Big Kern?
Give Big Kern is an initiative of Kern Community Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with the mission of growing community and growing philanthropy. The 24-hour giving day is a part of the Foundation’s initiative of Nonprofit Strengthening, which increases visibility, builds capacity, and improves sustainability for local nonprofits.
Q. What is the goal of Give Big Kern?
Give Big Kern’s goal for 2017 is to engage 8,000 individuals to donate money or pledge volunteer hours.
Q. Which nonprofits can participate?
To be eligible to participate in Give Big Kern 2017, a nonprofit must meet the following criteria:
- Be a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization
- Be headquartered or provide services with a physical office or branch in Kern County
- Be registered with Kern Community Foundation.
Give Big Kern is offered at no cost to participating nonprofits.
Q. Who can donate?
Anyone with a credit card or debit card may donate via www.givebigkern.org.
Donations through the Give Big Kern online portal to charitable nonprofit organizations are completely tax-deductible. Contributions may be made via credit and debit card only. Donations will be received and receipted by GiveGab.
Q. What is the minimum donation?
The minimum donation is $5. If you can’t donate, consider pledging volunteer hours to the nonprofit of your choice.
Q. What is GiveGab?
GiveGab is an online giving platform that helps nonprofits raise money, engage donors, and manage volunteers quickly and efficiently.
Q. How will donations be distributed?
Each donation made to a participating nonprofit will be disbursed directly from GiveGab via direct deposit within 24-48 hours.
Q. How much of my donation goes to the nonprofit?
You are given the option to cover transaction fees at the time of your donation. If you choose this option, 100% of your online charitable gift will go to the receiving nonprofit and is also tax deductible.
The transaction fees for gifts given during Give Big Kern are broken down as follows:
GiveGab technology provider processing fee of 2% capped at $20 per donation. This portion of the fee goes to our partners at GiveGab for hosting the site, preventing fraud, and ensuring a positive user experience.
Credit Card processing fees are an additional 2.2% + $0.30 per transaction for standard credit cards and 3.5% + $0.30 per transaction for AMEX.
Q. Who will receive my contact information?
Only the nonprofit(s) you choose to support will have access to your name and email address. This information is used solely to send thank you messages, provide the option to receive future notifications, and to notify you of future activities.
You have the option to make your donation anonymous. Anonymous donations will be displayed as "Anonymous" on the nonprofit's page but that nonprofit will still have access to your name and email address.
Q. Do I need to create an account with GiveGab?
No, you do not need to create an account to make a donation but the benefits of creating an account include having your tax receipts collected in one location, being able to track your donations, follow the charities you support, and engage in future volunteering and donation opportunities. Your tax receipt is emailed immediately upon processing your donation.
Q. Can I make donations via a mobile device?
Q. Can I pre-schedule a donation for Give Big Kern Day?
You can make a donation towards Give Big Kern starting on April 1! All donations made from April 1 - May 2 at 11:59PM will count towards prizes.
Q. What if my preferred nonprofit is not listed?
You can directly contact the nonprofit to make sure they are aware of Give Big Kern or you can send an email to info@givebigkern.org to request that we contact them.
Q. What portion of a donation made on GiveGab is tax deductible?
Tax deductibility for a donor is based on giving to a nonprofit; it's not dependent upon how that nonprofit uses the funds. On GiveGab, the nonprofit pays for the fees, regardless if the donor elects to cover. GiveGab gives donors the option to increase their donation by an amount equal to the fees the nonprofit will pay so that the nonprofit realizes the full amount of the intended donation after payment of the fees. Just because the donor is given this option does not make the additional amount non-deductible.
Outside of using GiveGab, nonprofits do not provide their donors a breakdown of what portion of their donation is deductible (unless the donor receives something of value in return as a dinner, etc). That's because deductibility is based on giving to the nonprofit, not how the nonprofit chooses to use the funds. You could almost consider when the donor elects to cover the fees, that portion of the donation is a restricted gift that will be used to pay for the expenses incurred to receive the gift. Restricted gifts are tax deductible, because it's based on who is receiving the gift (nonprofit) not what the gift is used for.
Ultimately, whether a donor decides to deduct the fees as a donation on their tax returns is their option, and we do not provide tax advice. If they want to be ultra-conservative they can choose to not take a deduction for the fees when they file. Who receives the donation is what determines tax deductibility, not how the donation is used. If it were the opposite, nonprofits would have to provide a full accounting to each and every donor how every penny of each donation was used - that is obviously impractical and would increase nonprofit administrative expenses exponentially.
GiveGab does not provide tax advise. Please consult your local tax professional about what portion of the full donation amount can be claimed as a charitable contribution.
