General
- What is your privacy policy?
- Do you charge a fee or take a commission?
- How are funds for projects used?
- Can I share information on Facebook?
Account
- Why do I need to verify my account?
- I forgot my password! Is there a way to reset my password?
- How can I keep be sure of whether you are getting my donations?
- Is there a way to see what I've donated so far?
- Can I switch my registered email account?
Teams
- How do I create a team?
- Can I hand off ownership of a team or have co-owners?
- How do I join a team?
- How do I invite a friend to my team?
- How do I make a donation and have it count towards my team fundraising goal?
- My friend is already registered and I want to invite him but I don't know which email address he used to register.
Projects
- What is a Project Owner?
- Can my organization be listed on this site?
- Why don't all projects display a Project Owner?
Donations
- Is my donation tax-deductible?
- What are the methods of payment?
- How are funds processed?
- Are the donations secure?
- How are offline payments handled?
- Can I purchase a gift certificate for someone else to use?
Support Letters
- How can I manage my support letter?
- How do I create a support letter?
- How do I add a picture to my support letter?
- How do I send a support letter?
General
What is your privacy policy?
Refer to our section on privacy.
Do you charge a fee or take a commission?
The payment processor may deduct a small fee associated with electronic payments. For example, if you donate $100 using a credit card, PayPal may take $3 for their fees and deposit $97 into our account. We will then use 100% of the amount we receive to fund the project.
How are funds for projects used?
We work with partners to provide an accurate description of projects and project items. To protect the operational integrity and security of our partners, we may choose to aggregate several projects into one project listing. This also gives us flexibility to adapt to uncertain conditions and maximize the efficiency of use of funds. Therefore, although we guarantee that donations will be used to promote project's objectives, we cannot guarantee that donations at the item level will be used only for the specified item. We will make a sincere effort to ensure that partners align item donations with actual project expenditures but partners often need the freedom to determine project needs based on the most current field conditions. Please contact us if you have specific questions about your donation and how it will be utilized.
Can I share information on Facebook?
Yes. You can share any public information on Facebook. From any page, click on the Share/Save button on the top right of the screen and select Facebook. You can also share on Twitter, MySpace, and many other blogging services. After logging into the service, some general information will be automatically populated which you can edit and post to your favorite service.
Account
Why do I need to verify my account?
The verification procedure helps us increase security and reduce fraud by confirming that users own the email address they signed up with. This is standard registration protocol on many donation sites. You will need to verify your account every time you change your email address. If you signed up through a team invitation, your account is automatically verified if you registered with the same email address as your team invitation. Unverified accounts have limited access to the features of the site.
I forgot my password! Is there a way to reset my password?
Yes. Go to the homepage and click the "Login" link in the top right corner of the page. At the bottom of the "Existing Users" section, click on the link "Forgot your password?" and fill out your email address. Please make sure it is the email address you registered the account with.
How can I keep be sure of whether you are getting my donations?
If you pay with a credit card or bank transfer using PayPal, you will automatically get a tax receipt via email after your transaction has been validated. If you select an offline payment method, we will email your receipt after we receive your donation which may take 1-2 weeks to process. You can always check the status of your donation by going to "Transaction History" under "My Profile."
Is there a way to see what I've donated so far?
Yes. If you go to the "My Profile" page, click on the link for "Transaction History." It will give you a detailed summary of each transaction and the associated status.
Can I switch my registered email account?
Yes. In order to switch your registered email account, click on "Edit Profile" from your profile page. Enter your new email account in the field titled "Email Address." Please note that your email address is also your login ID.
Teams
How do I create a team?
Teams are designed to encourage donors to become mobilizers. To create a team, go to the Teams page and click the link for "Create a Team." Fill out the required fields, denoted by the asterisk (*), to create your team.
Can I hand off ownership of a team or have co-owners?
Sorry, but not currently. The website is still in development and we are working on ways to allow dual-ownership and/or assign privileges to edit teams.
How do I join a team?
That depends on the join option of the team. A team has one of three join options. If the team is an "open" team, then anyone can join. You may only join "Invite Only" teams with an invitation from any member of the team. You may only join "Private" teams with an invitation from the team owner. For more information on inviting friends please read the "How do I invite a friend to my team" question.
How do I invite a friend to my team?
To invite friends to join your team, go to your team page and click on the link for "Invite Friends." Enter one or more email addresses separated by commas. Although a default message is provided, we encourage you to type a personal message to your friends. Click the "Send Invitations" button to send the email. Your friends will receive an email with a link to join the team. If they are not registered, they will be asked to register before they can join a team. Please note that you must be the team owner in order to invite friends to "Private" teams.
How do I make a donation and have it count towards my team fundraising goal?
When you add an item to your gift basket, the item will default to your team if the item you added is one of the adopted projects for the team. The donation for that item will then count towards the team fundraising goal which is reflected in the fundraising progress statistics. If the item is not part of an adopted project for the team, the donation for that item cannot count towards the fundraising goal of the team. Either ask your team owner to adopt the project or choose one of the items from an adopted project.
My friend is already registered and I want to invite him but I don't know which email address he used to register.
Don't worry. If you enter the wrong email address, the system allows him to click the link and sign in using his existing account and he will automatically be added to the team. The invitation is unique and can only be used once to join a team.
Projects
What is a Project Owner?
Project Owners represent the organization that administers the project. Most Project Owners are our field partners who live in or regularly travel to the country where the project is located. We partner with other Project Owners with similar mission, vision, and core values.
Can my organization be listed on this site?
To partner with us, please email us and inquire about becoming a partner.
Why don't all projects display a Project Owner?
Due to the nature of their work, some project owners have requested to remain anonymous. We can assure you that each anonymous project owner goes through the same due diligence process as anyone else and is a trusted organization. Some projects do not have Project Owners listed because the project is a collection of multiple Project Owners.
Donations
Is my donation tax-deductible?
We are a registered nonprofit and your donation is tax deductible to the extent of local laws. You will receive an email receipt automatically when checking out with electronic payment methods or after we receive a paper check. If you did not receive a tax receipt or deleted the email, please contact us and we will send another email receipt upon request.
What are the methods of payment?
The available methods of payment are listed in the shopping cart once you checkout. Follow the payment instructions to fulfull your donation.
How are funds processed?
Once we physically receive the funds through payment providers, we aggregate all donations for each project. On a regular basis, we send the aggregated funds to each of our project partners who in turn use the funds based on project needs. You can elect to receive updates for project donations.
Are the donations secure?
All identifiable content pages are encrypted using SSL. Credit card transactions are outsourced using PayPal, a service provider and global leader in online payment solutions. Since third parties are used for online transactions, we do not collect or retain credit card numbers.
How are offline payments handled?
In the case that offline donations are available for checkout, follow the instructions to send us the funds. Once we receive the funds, we will issue a tax receipt for your records and update the online status of your transaction to payment processed.
Can I purchase a gift certificate for someone else to use?
Not at this time. However, we are planning to implement a gift certificate feature in the near future. Please check back soon.
Support Letters
How can I manage my support letter?
The Project Manager can give you access to your support letter through an email invitation. Click on the link in the email to accept the invite and manage your support letter. You are now the owner of the item.
How do I create a support letter?
After you accept the invitation, you can create a support letter from the "My Profile" page by clicking on "Edit Letter" from the appropriate project. Give your support letter a title and edit the form to create your letter.
How do I add a picture to my support letter?
From the "Edit Letter" page, click the "Image" icon on the support letter menu. You can link to any image by adding a URL from the "Image Info" tab or you can upload an image by choosing a file from the "Upload" tab and clicking "Send it to the Server." The image will then appear on the edit support letter form. You can right click on the image and select "Image Properties" to edit borders and the alignment of the image.
How do I send a support letter?
From your "My Profile" page, click on "Send Letter" from the appropriate project. Enter the email list, type a personal message, and enter the security code to send your support letter. The support letter can be emailed as many times, to as many different people as you want.
