What is an Inspiration Gift?

These are early donations to the campaign, made before the public campaign opens. Early donations set the tone and build momentum for everything that follows. They are a part of your participation agreement.

How can donors pay?

ACH, mailed check, or credit card. Please direct donors to always fill out the form, even if they are choosing to mail in a check.

What if a donor writes the check out to me?

Please ask your donor to write a new check or use our online portal. Our Inspiration Gift portal is set up to receive, receipt, and acknowledge gifts designated for your nonprofit, quickly and easily. If the donor has not actually given to the campaign, we should not put their name on our website as a campaign donor since they didn’t actual make a campaign donation. I am happy to have a conversation with your donor about why it needs to go through us.

Why can’t I just write you a check for their amount?

Our audit reveals this to be an issue with our 990, and likely yours. It creates circular contributions on your accounting. One $500 gift becomes $1,000 of reported contributions and $500 of reported grants, for money that was always yours.

For us, money that just passes through an organization on its way somewhere else doesn’t count as that organization’s revenue. That treatment only flips if the two organizations are formally tied together, like a university and its own foundation, and Give Pikes Peak and your nonprofit are separate, unrelated organizations, so a gift that loops through both of us can’t be counted as new revenue twice. Read More: Whose Money Is It? Recording Contributions Held for Others

Is there a minimum gift size?

Yes. $500 is the smallest amount the portal accepts per gift. There is no maximum. You must secure at least one gift of $500 per your participation agreement.

Is there a fee?

Give! has a 3.5% processing fee on all gifts processed through the campaign, which covers our accounting and banking costs. At checkout, donors have the option to cover that fee themselves, to offset the processing costs.

When does the portal close?

The portal is open now through September 30th. We encourage you to reach out to all of your potential donors in August so they have plenty of time to complete the transaction, especially if paying by check.

Will these show up on our profile?

Yes. Inspiration Gifts will appear on your public profile page, and you’ll get a chance to proofread them in October. Only gifts paid in full will display. Any gift that comes in after September 30 counts as a campaign gift instead and will not be shown publicly, so don’t wait until the last minute.

Can we do a pooled board matching grant?

Yes, but only one per nonprofit. Reach out to Victoria if you have questions about how to set one up.

How do we track our gifts?

You’ll get an email receipt every time a donor completes the gift form, so you can track them as they come in. They’ll also show up on your daily report starting in November.

Not sure where to start with soliciting?

Reach out, I’m happy to coach you through it. Don’t wait until the last minute to figure out your strategy.