CROWDRISE FAQs

CrowdRise is about volunteering, raising money for Charity and having the most fun in the world while doing it. Read More. 

How Does CrowdRise Work? 

STEP 1: CREATE YOUR CHARITABLE LIFE PROFILE PAGE Sign up to create your own Profile. Your Profile Page is meant to show everything you're doing to give back. It's basically a summary of your Charitable Life. You can upload photos, videos and stories to make your page super compelling. From your Profile Page, you can start or join as many Fundraising pages as you want. View Some Examples. 

STEP 2: START A FUNDRAISER Whether you're running a marathon, volunteering or have causes that you care deeply about, create your own Fundraisers on CrowdRise or join someone else's Fundraising Team and help them out. Be sure to choose a 501(c)3 Charity when you set up your Fundraiser so you can raise lots of money for your favorite causes. View Some Examples. 

STEP 3: SHARE YOUR FUNDRAISER Share your Fundraiser with all your friends by selecting the ASK FOR DONATIONS button and then share your page via email, Facebook, the Facebook Send Messages Service, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Ask everyone you know to donate to the Charity you picked and be sure to tell them about our Best Promos Ever so they can see the cool stuff they can win if they donate to your cause. If your friends don't help you, we'd recommend not getting ‘em a birthday present this year. 

STEP 4: CHARITIES GET THEIR MONEY Donors will make donations to the Charities of their choice by using the Network for Good or Amazon Payments secure credit card processing service. Charities will receive their payments less the Transaction Fee in 30 days or less. 

Is my donation tax-deductible? 

Your donation to a US-Based 501(c)3 charitable organization through CrowdRise is 100% tax deductible to the extent allowed by law. Network for Good provides an electronic receipt at the time of the donation. The receipt you get via email shortly after you complete your donations meets all IRS requirements as a record of donation. If you are asked to provide a paper receipt for IRS purposes, please print out a copy of your email receipt or send a request for a duplicate receipt to crowdrise@networkforgood.org. Be sure to include your first and last name and the email address you used to make the donation and you'll get a gorgeous copy of your donation receipt. If your donation is made through Amazon Payments, CrowdRise will immediately send you an email receipt. 

Is my donation secure? 

This will sound really official because we know how important it is. CrowdRise processes donations through Network for Good and Amazon Payments. Amazon Payments is not affiliated with CrowdRise and they offer best in class security. Network for Good is not affiliated with CrowdRise. Network for Good uses industry-leading Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. Network for Good, who processes the credit card donations, is a Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance accredited charity that meets all of the BBB standards for charity accountability. They have processed more than $400 million in donations for 50,000 charities through their giving system. When donors checkout through CrowdRise, they agree to the CrowdRise Terms of Use, CrowdRise Privacy Policy, the Network for Good Privacy Notice and Network for Good User Agreement, and the Amazon Payments Privacy Policy and Amazon Payments User Agreement.

Do I need an account to make a donation? 

You do NOT need a CrowdRise account to make a donation. We've timed it, and you can make a donation on CrowdRise in less than 30 seconds. 

How do I make an anonymous donation? 

When you're ready to make a donation, click the "DONATE" button on your selected charity or fundraiser and then select the "Don't show my name (Give Anonymously)" checkbox. You can also choose to hide your donation amount by clicking the "Hide Amount" checkbox. 

How do I donate to my own Fundraiser? 

We highly recommend that you make a donation to your own Fundraiser. The reason is that when your friends see that you're investing your time, and also your money to the cause you care about, they'll be encouraged to donate, too. To donate to your own fundraiser, simply go to your own Fundraising page, and click the link in the middle of the page that says "Donate to your own Fundraiser." 

Is CrowdRise Free? 

Yes, CrowdRise is entirely free to use. You can set up as many Fundraisers as you want and there is no charge. Our goal is to help everyone raise lots of money for Charity and have the most fun in the world while doing it.

When you or anyone else donates to a Fundraiser or Charity through CrowdRise, we take a Transaction Fee and in some cases, a Processing Fee on the donation. More riveting information on this below.  

What are the Transaction Fees? 

When a donation is made through CrowdRise, a Transaction Fee is deducted from it so we don't go out of business. Our pricing starts at a flat 4.95% on donations. So on a $100 donation, $95.05 goes to the Charity. We think you'll find that's really good pricing. We try to keep our pricing as low as possible so your donation can have the greatest possible impact.

Nonprofit organizations can choose from three Charity Account Types, each with its own Transaction Fee. We made this gorgeous chart of Charity Account Types to make it really easy to see the pricing options. You'll see that the Transaction Fee ranges from the flat 4.95% charge on each donation, to a 4.95% charge on each donation plus $1 on each donation, to a 5% charge on each donation plus $1 on donations under $25 and $2.50 on donations $25 and over. Really good news: Our pricing INCLUDES all credit card fees.

Transaction Fees cover CrowdRise's costs associated with processing credit card payments and developing, maintaining and hosting the Site, plus other value-added services so we can give you the best, most innovative fundraising platform in the world.

Compared to traditional ways of fundraising like sending direct mail or putting on a charity dinner, both of which we encourage you to keep doing if they work well, CrowdRise is an inexpensive and efficient way to raise additional money for Charity. Someone that sounded really smart told us that charities usually spend 20%-30% of every dollar they raise to get people to donate, leaving less cash for all the amazing things they do around the world. CrowdRise charges a fraction of that amount. Check out some of our very satisfied charities. 
 
If you have any questions, please email us at falco@crowdrise.com and we'll give you the greatest customer service in the world. 

What is the Processing Fee? 

The Processing Fee is entirely optional. When applicable, it is paid for by the donor. CrowdRise is able to offer lower transaction fee options to charities because generous donors choose to leave a processing fee. The optional Processing Fee defaults to 10% and the donor can adjust to zero at their discretion before processing their donation. The optional processing fee helps cover the charities' and CrowdRise's costs associated with (i) providing "the best customer service in the world"; (ii) providing a secure charitable giving system; (iii) vetting nonprofits through Guidestar's third party web service; and (iv) all other business expenses including, but not limited to, legal fees, insurance, the best staff on the planet, and staple removers.

Processing Fees charged through Network for Good are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law and will show up on your credit card under the name Network for Good. CrowdRise also shares part of the Processing Fee with Network for Good. The Processing Fee charged through Amazon Payments is not tax deductible and will show up on your credit card statement under the name CrowdRise. I know we said it already but it's so important we want to say it again. CrowdRise is able to offer lower Transaction Fees to Charities because generous donors leave a Processing Fee.

Click here to check out our transaction fees and charity account options.

How does my Charity get its money? 

Donors will make donations to the Charities of their choice by using either Network for Good or Amazon Payments. Both are secure credit card processing services. Amazon Payments sends payment to charities in real time. Network for Good sends payments to charities on the 15^th of each month that include all donations made in the previous month. For example, donations processed in October will be paid on November 15^th. Charities will receive their payments less the Transaction Fee. These payment schedules are subject to change at any time at the sole discretion of CrowdRise. The money is sent to the address that the Charity has on file with GuideStar. Charities will be responsible for taxes based on their net income or gross receipts.

Is my donation secure? 

This will sound really official because we know how important it is. CrowdRise processes donations through Network for Good and Amazon Payments. Amazon Payments is not affiliated with CrowdRise and they offer best in class security. Network for Good is not affiliated with CrowdRise. Network for Good uses industry-leading Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. Network for Good, who processes the credit card donations, is a Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance accredited charity that meets all of the BBB standards for charity accountability. They have processed more than $400 million in donations for 50,000 charities through their giving system. When donors checkout through CrowdRise, they agree to the CrowdRise Terms of Use, CrowdRise Privacy Policy, the Network for Good Privacy Notice and Network for Good User Agreement, and the Amazon Payments Privacy Policy and Amazon Payments User Agreement. 

When does the Charity get the money from CrowdRise? 

Donors will make donations to the Charities of their choice by using the Network for Good or Amazon Payments processing service. Amazon Payments sends payment to your charity's Amazon Payments account in real time, less the Transaction Fee. Network for Good sends payments to charities on or around the 15^th of each month that include all the donations made in the previous month. For example, donations processed in October will be paid on or around November 15^th. The money is sent to the address that the Charity has on file with GuideStar. Charities will receive their payments less the Transaction Fees and/or Processing Fee, if any. These payment schedules are subject to change at any time at the sole discretion of CrowdRise. Charities will be responsible for taxes based on their net income or gross receipts. 

How do I find a Friend's Fundraiser on CrowdRise? 

To find a Friend's Fundraiser, hover over the DONATE button at the top of the site and one of the options in the dropdown will be "Find a Friend's Fundraiser." From there, you can easily search for your Friend's Fundraiser. If you need any help, please Contact Us. 

Why can't I find the Charity I'm looking for on CrowdRise? 

To find a Charity, hover over the DONATE button at the top of the site and one of the options in the dropdown will be "Donate to a Charity." From there, you can easily search for any charity. The charities on CrowdRise are US-based, 501(c)3 nonprofits provided to CrowdRise by a third party service called GuideStar that collects charity information from the IRS and the charities themselves. If you're trying to start a fundraiser benefiting a charity or want to donate to a charity and you can't find them, the best thing to do is figure out the exact name of the charity or, even better, find out their Tax ID number. If you need any help, please Contact Us. 

How do I Find Friends? 

In the upper right of your Profile page, there is an INVITE/FIND FRIENDS button. Click the button and a lightbox will appear that enables you to share your Charitable Life with everyone you know through email, Facebook, the Facebook Send Messages service, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can ask them to support your causes so you can raise lots of money for charity. You can easily email a bunch of people at once by clicking on the email icon where you can then import your address book. We won't store your password or email your friends. 

How do I Add Friends? 

Go to the Profile page of the person you want to be friends with and click the "Add to Friends" link in the upper right part of the page. This will send a Friend Request to that person and, assuming they don't despise you, they'll accept you as a friend and everything will be great. 

How do I invite my friends to Join CrowdRise? 

In the upper right of your Profile page, there is an INVITE/FIND FRIENDS button. Click this to invite friends to join CrowdRise or to find friends that have already joined the CrowdRise community. You can write to your friends using your own personal email or you can use our version. You can easily email a bunch of people at once by importing your address book. To do this, just click on the INVITE/FIND FRIENDS button and we won't store your password or email your friends. You can also use the INVITE/FIND FRIENDS button to post your page to Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn and to use the Facebook Send Messages service. 

Why can't I upload a photo? 

Please make sure that your photo is a maximum of 3 MB and a minimum of 375x375 pixels. Please also ensure that the file is in any of the following formats: jpg, jpeg, gif or png. The bigger your photo, the longer it will take to upload but it should only take between 3 seconds and 1 minute to upload. 

Why does my photo look stretched out? 

Just make sure that any photo you upload is at least 375x375 pixels (that just means you don't want to use really small photos or they won't look as good). Also, your photo may have been originally cropped by you and then uploaded to the site. Please ensure that you upload the original photo (uncropped) and you may have the ability to crop it through the CrowdRise picture upload system. 

Why is my photo facing the wrong direction? 

Make sure your photo is facing the right direction before you upload it. Mac computers will automatically turn your photo the correct direction on your computer, but it isn't really saved that way. So, even if it looks right on your computer, you should open the photo software on your computer to double check that your photo is actually facing the right direction, and then save it. Then upload it to CrowdRise and all will be perfect. 

How do I add a video to my Profile, Fundraising or Event Page? 

It's super easy to add a video to your page if you know how to use YouTube or Vimeo. If you don't know how to use YouTube or Vimeo, ask a friend, any high school student or ask us. Anyway, to get your video on CrowdRise, first upload your video on YouTube or Vimeo. Then all you need to do is go to your page on CrowdRise, click on the "Add/Edit Video" link that's below the photos and copy and paste the YouTube or Vimeo URL (web address) into the box. Then hit the SAVE CHANGES button and your video will magically appear. 

How do I invite my friends to look at my Fundraising page? 

Go to the Manage Campaign tab and click any of the icons under Ask For Donations to send everyone you know a link to your fundraiser. You should assume that email will work best but spread the word in as many ways as you can. If you ask people to support you, they'll do it. Ask twice if you have to. Be relentless. It's for a good cause.

What is a CrowdRise Team? 

There is no better way to make a fundraiser viral than by creating or Joining a Team. A Team is a group of Fundraisers or Volunteers, all working together for a common cause. It's like communism, but more fun. Start or Join a Team if you want to go beyond donating money and get more involved by spreading the word about your Fundraiser to your friends, family, co-workers, etc. Everyone on the Team gets their own Fundraising page with the click of a button. We make it quick and easy to Join the Team and even easier to tell your friends about it. Donating cash to a fundraiser is amazing and much appreciated, but imagine the impact you can have if you go a step further and create your own page and ask everyone you know to donate, too. And then a couple of them Join the Team and spread the word to all their friends. We've seen this work successfully over and over.  

How do I invite my friends to Join My Team to help Fundraise or Volunteer? 

In the upper right of your fundraising page, there is an INVITE TEAM MEMBERS button. Click this to email an invitation to anyone you want to Join your Team. You can write your own personal email or use our version. You can easily email a bunch of people at once by importing your address book. 

How do I Join Someone's Team to help Fundraise or Volunteer? 

On every Fundraising page, you can join someone's team by clicking the JOIN THE TEAM button on the right side of the page. 

What do I do now that I've Joined Someone's Team as a Fundraiser or Volunteer? 

As soon as you Join a Team, you'll have your own Fundraising page that you can personalize by editing the information that copies over with your own photos, stories and video. Once your Fundraising page looks compelling, ask everyone you know to donate and help spread the word about the fundraiser. Hopefully you'll not only help raise money yourself, but you'll get some of your friends to become fundraisers, too. This is viral fundraising and it's the easiest, best way for you to have a huge impact on the causes you care about the most. 

What is a CrowdRise Event? 

An Event is a fundraising landing page that allows you and your participants to create teams and fundraise for one or multiple charities. When you're the Event organizer (that means you're in charge of putting on the entire event), you'll want to create a main page where individuals and teams can come and join your event. For example, if you're putting on an event like a marathon, a walk-a-thon or a bowl-a-thon and you have lots of teams all raising money for a single charity or many charities, you want to start an Event. Your Event will have team leaderboards, fundraiser leaderboards, registration tools, and tons of reporting so you can manage your event and raise more money than ever. You'll also get the best customer service in the world from eventgirl@crowdrise.com. Examples of events are the ING New York City Marathon and the UTA Big Bowl event. If you have any questions about whether you should or how to start an Event, please Contact Us. 

What's the difference between a Fundraiser and an Event? 

A Fundraiser is the most common way to fundraise on CrowdRise. If you're raising money for a single charity and not putting on a competitive "event" with lots of teams, you should create a Fundraiser. Examples of when you want to create a fundraiser is if you're running a marathon and want to raise money for a charity, giving up your birthday so you get donations for charity instead of gifts, or just want to raise money for a charity that you're personally passionate about. You can Fundraise for over 1.5 million charities and you can share your Fundraiser with everyone you know so you can raise lots of cash money for the charity of your choice. You'll also get the best customer service in the world from eventgirl@crowdrise.com. Examples of Fundraisers are 50G – For Our Sisters, Scholarships for Cancer Survivors, and a team of people coming together to raise money to Help the Maasai Buy Two Much Needed Trucks.  

An Event is a fundraising landing page that allows you and your participants to create multiple teams and fundraise for one or more charities. When you're the Event organizer (that means you're in charge of putting on the entire event), you'll want to create a main page where individuals and teams can come and join your event. For example, if you're putting on an event like a marathon, a walk-a-thon or a bowl-a-thon and you have lots of teams all raising money for a single charity or many charities, then you want to start an Event. Your Event will have team leaderboards, fundraiser leaderboards, registration tools, and tons of reporting so you can manage your event and raise more money than ever. You'll also get the best customer service in the world from eventgirl@crowdrise.com. Examples of events are the ING New York City Marathon and the UTA Big Bowl event. If you have any questions about whether you should or how to start an Event, please Contact Us.

How do I create an Event? 

If you don't already have a CrowdRise account, Sign Up for either a Personal Account (if you're a human person) or a Charity Account (if you're working for a charitable organization). After you login or sign up, click here or hover over the I'M A NONPROFIT button at the top of the Site and one of the dropdown menu choices will be "For Event Organizers." Click on it and then select the START AN EVENT button. Enter your event details and 27 seconds later, your event page will be ready to go. From there, you can add Teams on your own or invite participants to come and Join your Event. Participants can join as an individual, start a new team, or join an existing team. At the end of the super quick process, each participant will have their own personal fundraising page as part of your Event. Remember to contact eventgirl@crowdrise.com with any questions about Events or dating tips.  

How do I get individuals and teams to Join my Event? 

Getting people to join your event and inspiring them to fundraise is the key to raising lots of money for charity and having the best event ever. To invite people to join your event, you can either send them a link to your event page using your own email program like Outlook, Gmail, etc., or you can use our INVITE TEAMS TO JOIN EVENT button on your event page, where you can import your contacts and send them an invitation. However you do it, make sure you include a link to your event page and make sure you tell everyone that to join the event, all they need to do is hit the big button that says FUNDRAISE FOR THIS EVENT. 

How do I set up a team(s) for my Event? 

Its up to the event organizer if you want to invite people and teams to Join your Event on their own or if you want to set up the Teams in advance and then get everyone to join the existing teams you already set up. If you want to set up the team(s), be sure you're logged in to your account and then choose the ADD A TEAM ON YOUR OWN button on your event page and you'll be able to set up the team name, enter info about your team, pick a fundraising goal, and select the charity you'd like the team to raise money for. You can set up as many different teams as you want. 

How do I start fundraising? 

If you're an individual participating in an Event, once you join the Event by clicking on the FUNDRAISE FOR THIS EVENT button, you'll get your own fundraising page to share with everyone you know. Make your fundraising page compelling with photos/video/text and then bother your friends and enemies at least 2 times and ask them to donate. Be relentless. It's for a good cause. 

What's the difference between "Join as an Individual" and "Create a New Team"?

If you want to start your own personal fundraiser for the event and choose the charity you want to raise money for, click on "Join as an Individual." For example, if John wants to start his own individual page, he could title it something like: "John's Fundraiser." If you're putting a team together as a charity team or just a group of friends, choose "Create a New Team." For example, if your bowl-a-thon team name is Holly Star Lanes, you would select "Create a New Team and then title your team page "Team Holly Star Lanes."  

How do I get people to Join my Team in an Event? 

If you set up a team in an event, you can either use your own email program like Outlook, Gmail, etc. to send a link to your team's page or you can use the big INVITE TEAM MEMBERS button. Just be sure to tell whomever you send the invitation to that when they get to your page, all they need to do is hit the big JOIN THE TEAM button and they'll have their own personal fundraising page as part of your team. 

How do I join an existing team in an Event? 

Go to the event page, click the big FUNDRAISE FOR THIS EVENT button and choose "Join an Existing Team." You can search for the team you'd like to join or choose from any of the Featured Teams. Once you select your Team, you'll be taken to the Team's page and all you need to do is hit the JOIN THE TEAM button. 

How do I select a charity to raise money for my Event? 

The charities on CrowdRise are US-based, 501(c)3 nonprofits provided to us by a third party service called GuideStar that collects charity information from the IRS and the charities themselves. If you're trying to select a charity to raise money for and you can't find them, the best thing to do is figure out the exact name of the charity or, even better, find out their Tax ID number. You can choose from over 1.5 million charities. 

When you create your Event, you can require teams to raise money for a single, specific charity or you can allow teams to fundraise for multiple charities. To require everyone to raise money for one charity that you choose, click on the checkbox toward the bottom of your Event page after you select "Edit this Page" that reads "Require all Event Teams to fundraise for the same charity that you choose." If you want to allow teams to fundraise for multiple charities or the charity of their choice, don't check this box. If you need any help, please Contact Us.

Why doesn't my Event/Fundraiser show up on my designated charity page? 

Charities have the ability to display or hide projects on their CrowdRise charity page. They can review the fundraisers and events beforehand and decide which ones they want to show on their page. Don't take it personally if your fundraiser or event doesn't show on the charity's page. They still love you and appreciate everything you're doing to help their cause. Plus, they might just not have clicked the "unhide" link yet that tells us to show your fundraiser or event on their Charity page. 

Are there Event reports? 

You can download a Team Member Report to view how much each team member has raised on CrowdRise, how much they've raised offline (in case they receive checks from friends) and how much they've raised in total. You can also see how each event participant is doing compared to their fundraising goal so you can encourage and incentivize them to raise more money for their charity. To access the Team Member report, simply login to your account, go to your Event page and select the link in the center of the page that says: "Download Team Member Report." 

What is Sponsored Volunteerism? 

Sponsored Volunteerism is the idea that whether you're volunteering to mentor students for a year, helping to build an orphanage in Kenya, doing community service at a local shelter on weekends, or just getting a bunch of friends together to help clean up a hiking trail, you should be getting sponsored. If you don't know what that means, here's the easiest explanation ever – marathon runners email all their friends before a race and ask them to sponsor their effort and all the money they raise goes to their favorite charity. All we're saying is, that's exactly what we want volunteers to do. 

Simply create a fundraiser on CrowdRise to show the amazing volunteer work you're doing and then message your friends, family, co-workers, and everyone you know and ask them to sponsor you. 

We're huge believers in Sponsored Volunteerism at CrowdRise but we need your help to make it the coolest, most exciting way to raise money for Charity. There is a culture of giving around marathons we love and support, but it just doesn't exist around volunteerism and it should. Volunteers put in the time and energy and deserve to get sponsored. Together we are going to make that happen and one day you can tell your grandkids that you were part of the Sponsored Volunteerism movement. Watch this video on Sponsored Volunteerism and see the iMentor Sponsored Volunteerism example. 

Can anyone comment on my profile? 

By default, anyone in the CrowdRise community can comment on your Profile or Fundraiser. You can edit this under My Account > Settings. 

How can I tell if someone commented on my profile? 

An email alert will be sent to the email address associated with your account. You can opt out of these alerts under My Account > Settings. 

What are CrowdRise Impact Points (CIPs)? 

CrowdRise recognizes the extraordinary service of the best Volunteers and Fundraisers, who get the most CIPs. Everyone in the CrowdRise Community starts off with 250 CrowdRise Impact Points (CIPs). When you login, your number of CIPs will show at the top right hand of your page. Your number of CIPs are earned over your Charitable Life on CrowdRise. You can use your CIPs to redeem CrowdRise Rewards. When you redeem CrowdRise Rewards, your CIPs will go down in number. But, great news, your Lifetime CIPs will never go down in number as you redeem your CrowdRise Rewards. 
Your Lifetime CIPs never go down. As your Lifetime CIPs rise, you will earn CrowdRise Royalty status and CrowdRise Badges. In other words, when you redeem CrowdRise Rewards for amazing Charitable Causes, the best CrowdRise tees, hats, and hoodies, and other great stuff, you will not lose your CrowdRise Badges or CrowdRise Royalty status. 

How do I earn CrowdRise Impact Points (CIPs)? 

The CrowdRise Community can earn CrowdRise Impact Points in the following ways: 

1. Raise Money: Get 10 CIPs for every $1 you raise for Charity from your supporters. Get 20 (or double) CIPs for every $1 you raise for a Fundraiser that supports a Featured Charity. 


2. Give to Charity: Get 10 CIPs for every $1 you donate to a Fundraiser or Charity. Get 20 (or double) CIPs for every $1 you donate to a Fundraiser that supports a Featured Charity or that you donate directly to a Featured Charity. 


3. Get Votes: Get 25 CrowdRise Impact Points (CIPs) every time you get a vote. The more you Volunteer and Fundraise, the more pictures you post and stories you tell about all the great things you’re doing, the more likely you are to get votes. Invite your friends to join CrowdRise and get them to vote for you, too. You can vote once a month, for as many people as you want. Vote for someone by clicking on the PLUS (+) button on the upper left side of the page to the left of the person’s name and leave them a super nice comment about the great things they are doing to change the world.


4. Send Us a Picture: The CrowdRise brand is all about answering the call to service and having the most fun in the world while you do it. Send us a picture of you making a difference in the world while wearing a piece of CrowdRise Apparel or holding a CrowdRise Flag and we'll give you 1,000 CIPs. 


5. Answer Trivia Questions: We have trivia questions hidden all over the Site. We also have daily giveaways on Facebook and Twitter and, if you're signed up to receive CrowdRise's emails, you may get some trivia sent to you. 


6. Enter our Contests. Or don't. 

What do I get with my CrowdRise Impact Points (CIPs)? 

They said you aren't even allowed to volunteer or fundraise without a little bit of CrowdRise. Earn CIPs by raising lots of money for charity. Redeem your CIPs on our CrowdRise Rewards page for amazing Charitable Causes or for the best CrowdRise tees, hats and hoodies. We're trying to work out a deal so you can use your CIPs to get your hair done, but that might take a little time. 

CrowdRise also recognizes the extraordinary service of the best Volunteers and Fundraisers by making you CrowdRise Royalty. If you earn enough points to reach royalty status, you'll get the very prestigious title of Doctor, Tsar, Mime, Baron, DJ, and if you're really, really good, as Sir or Dame. Needless to say, this is very important stuff. Doctors (100,000+ Points) Earn 100,000 points and you can put Dr. in front of your name and legitimately wear those doctor pajamas in the coffee shop. Tsars (200,000+ Points) Earn 200,000 points and you can join the long lineage of benevolent Tsars. I have no idea what that means but Tsars get to wear a cape year round. Mime (300,000+ Points) Earn 300,000 points and you'll be a CrowdRise Mime. That means you don't have to talk to anyone until you earn another 200,000 points. Baron (500,000+ Points) Earn 500,000 points and you'll be a CrowdRise Baron. Barons get a special moat, a bunch of invisible medallions and full time use of a really tall Knight. DJ (750,000+ Points) Earn 750,000 points and you'll be a CrowdRise DJ. DJs get to choose the music at the always magical CrowdRise Prom, and if we ever have a CrowdRise Airlines, DJs get to fly first class. Sirs and Dames (1,000,000+ Points) Earn 1,000,000 points and we will anoint you Sir or Dame. This is the highest honor that can be bestowed upon you. What I wouldn't give to date a CrowdRise Dame. 

You can also use your CIPs to earn CrowdRise Crests, which are the best and most important marks of distinction in the world – more important than a Nobel Prize, a Lombardi Trophy and winning Best Smile in the 7^th grade mock elections. We recommend that you spend all of your time giving back, having fun and finding every way possible to rack up CrowdRise Crests. Those who gather every CrowdRise Crest get invited to a secret ceremony where we get in our PJs and eat those cranberry sauce discs that come from a can. 

What are Crowdrise Rewards? 

They said you aren't even allowed to volunteer or fundraise without a little bit of CrowdRise. Earn CrowdRise Impact Points (CIPs) by raising lots of money for charity. Redeem your CIPs on our CrowdRise Rewards page for amazing Charitable Causes or for the best CrowdRise tees, hats and hoodies. We're trying to work out a deal so you can use your CIPs to get your hair done, but that might take a little time. 

How do I win prizes? 

You can win prizes on CrowdRise through our Best Promos Ever. Our mean lawyer said to remind you to read the riveting rules. 

How do I get a free CrowdRise Tee? 

We give away a free CrowdRise Tee every day and announce the winner on Facebook and Twitter. All you need to do for your chance to win is Follow Us on Twitter and/or Like Us on Facebook. One new winner is posted daily so make sure you check to see if you won. Contact Us if you see your name posted and the tee is yours. We will send your free CrowdRise Tee to your U.S. mailing address. You can buy any CrowdRise stuff you want. Just Click Here to see all the CrowdRise Stuff. 

How do I get a free CrowdRise flag? 

CrowdRise is all about answering the call to service and having the most fun in the world while you do it. Take your super cool CrowdRise Flag with you while you're out there changing the world and send us a photo so we can post it on the site and give you 1,000 CrowdRise Points. To get your free CrowdRise Flag, contact us at quintas@crowdrise.com with your U.S. mailing address and what kind of Volunteering, Fundraiser or Event you've got going and we'll get a CrowdRise Flag out to you right away. 

What are the CrowdRise promotions and how do I use them for my Fundraisers?

 
Use our Best Promos Ever to get everyone you know to donate more money, more often. Here's a really good example of how you can use our Best Promos Ever to make your fundraiser more successful. Let's say CrowdRise currently has the following promotion on the Best Promos Ever page: "Donate $39 for a chance to win an Amazon Fire." Simply copy and paste this text and post it on your Fundraising page so it will give extra incentive for your friends, family, and strangers to donate to your cause. CrowdRise will send out the prizes, deal with the official rules and send out a prize receipt to the winners so all you need to do is spread the word about your Fundraiser and the promotion and get everyone you know to donate. 

How do I remove my Account or a Fundraising Page? 

To remove your account or delete a Fundraiser, please Contact Us. You can delete your own Fundraiser if you haven't raised any money yet. Use the "Delete Fundraiser" button within the "Edit Basic Fundraiser Info" section of the Edit Fundraiser tab. If you already raised lots of money, but you don't want your Fundraiser to display on your Profile or the Site, you can hide your Fundraising page. To make it happen, while on your Profile page, scroll down to your Fundraisers to find the Fundraiser you wish to hide, then click the "Hide Fundraiser" link within Fundraiser box.

Why should my Charity use CrowdRise? 

CrowdRise is meant to complement your Charity's website and existing fundraising and volunteering activitites. Our goal is to (1) give you an extremely easy platform to create compelling, viral fundraising campaigns that raise new money for your Charity, (2) give you a way to turn your donors, supporters, and volunteers into Fundraisers by asking them to create their own free fundraising pages on CrowdRise, (3) let you use our Promotions to incentivize your donors and fundraisers to raise more money with a greater sense of urgency, (4) make volunteering and fundraising fun. 

Are there start-up costs? 

Your charity pays nothing to get started on CrowdRise. You can build a super compelling page for your Charity on CrowdRise in about 2 minutes and you don't need any programmers, IT staff or graphic designers. We make it so easy you won't even believe it. During the sign up process, you'll claim your charity and then have the option of signing up for a free Basic Account, a $49/month Featured Account, or a $199/month Royale Account. View Account Types. CrowdRise charges Transaction Fees on donations to ensure a secure charitable giving system, process credit card payments, and develop, maintain, and host the Site, plus other value-added services to give you the best platform in the world to raise money for charity. You'll also have the option of receiving your donations through Network for Good or through your own Amazon Payments account.

What are the Transaction Fees? 

When a donation is made through CrowdRise, a Transaction Fee is deducted from it so we don't go out of business. Our pricing starts at a flat 4.95% on donations. So on a $100 donation, $95.05 goes to the Charity. We think you'll find that's really good pricing. We try to keep our pricing as low as possible so your donation can have the greatest possible impact.

Nonprofit organizations can choose from three Charity Account Types, each with its own Transaction Fee. We made this gorgeous chart of Charity Account Types to make it really easy to see the pricing options. You'll see that the Transaction Fee ranges from the flat 4.95% charge on each donation, to a 4.95% charge on each donation plus $1 on each donation, to a 5% charge on each donation plus $1 on donations under $25 and $2.50 on donations $25 and over. Really good news: Our pricing INCLUDES all credit card fees.

Transaction Fees cover CrowdRise's costs associated with processing credit card payments and developing, maintaining and hosting the Site, plus other value-added services so we can give you the best, most innovative fundraising platform in the world.

Compared to traditional ways of fundraising like sending direct mail or putting on a charity dinner, both of which we encourage you to keep doing if they work well, CrowdRise is an inexpensive and efficient way to raise additional money for Charity. Someone that sounded really smart told us that charities usually spend 20%-30% of every dollar they raise to get people to donate, leaving less cash for all the amazing things they do around the world. CrowdRise charges a fraction of that amount. Check out some of our very satisfied charities. 

If you have any questions, please email us at falco@crowdrise.com and we'll give you the greatest customer service in the world.

What is the Processing Fee? 

The Processing Fee is entirely optional. When applicable, it is paid for by the donor. CrowdRise is able to offer lower transaction fee options to charities because generous donors choose to leave a processing fee. The optional Processing Fee defaults to 10% and the donor can adjust to zero at their discretion before processing their donation. The optional processing fee helps cover the charities' and CrowdRise's costs associated with (i) providing "the best customer service in the world"; (ii) providing a secure charitable giving system; (iii) vetting nonprofits through Guidestar's third party web service; and (iv) all other business expenses including, but not limited to, legal fees, insurance, the best staff on the planet, and staple removers.

Processing Fees charged through Network for Good are tax deductible to the extent permitted by law and will show up on your credit card under the name Network for Good. CrowdRise also shares part of the Processing Fee with Network for Good. The Processing Fee charged through Amazon Payments is not tax deductible and will show up on your credit card statement under the name CrowdRise. I know we said it already but it's so important we want to say it again. CrowdRise is able to offer lower Transaction Fees to Charities because generous donors leave a Processing Fee.

Click here to check out our transaction fees and charity account options.

How does my charitable organization get its money? 

Your organization can choose to receive its donations through Network for Good or Amazon Payments. If you set up your own Amazon Payments account, which is really easy, you'll receive better pricing and you'll receive your donations less the Transaction Fee in real time directly to your Amazon Payments bank account. Amazon Payments is not affiliated with CrowdRise and they offer best in class security and service. If you choose to use Network for Good, they send payments to charities on the 15^th of each month that include all donations made in the previous month. For example, donations processed in October will be paid on November 15^th. Charities will receive their payments less the Transaction Fee. If you use Network for Good, the check is sent to the address that the Charity has on file with GuideStar. Charities will be responsible for taxes based on their net income or gross receipts. These payment schedules are subject to change at any time at the sole discretion of CrowdRise.  

What information does CrowdRise provide to my nonprofit? 

We know how important the information on your donors and fundraisers is to your organization and we provide you with everything you'd ever want. As a charity on CrowdRise, you will have access to the following information when someone donates to your charity through CrowdRise: name, email, physical address, amount of donation, the date/time the donation occurred and the CrowdRise fundraiser that generated the donation should the donation have come through a CrowdRise fundraiser. Note that donors can choose to Donate Anonymously. You have the ability to sort these items in you "Account Manager" tab along with the ability to download them into Excel reports for importing into your donor database. 

Are donations Secure for our Donors? 

This will sound really official because we know how important it is. CrowdRise processes donations through Network for Good and Amazon Payments. Amazon Payments is not affiliated with CrowdRise and they offer best in class security. Network for Good is not affiliated with CrowdRise. Network for Good uses industry-leading Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. Network for Good, who processes the credit card donations, is a Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance accredited charity that meets all of the BBB standards for charity accountability. They have processed more than $400 million in donations for 50,000 charities through their giving system. When donors checkout through CrowdRise, they agree to the CrowdRise Terms of Use, CrowdRise Privacy Policy, the Network for Good Privacy Notice and Network for Good User Agreement, and the Amazon Payments Privacy Policy and Amazon Payments User Agreement. 

How do I set up my Charity on CrowdRise? 

Select "Sign Up" on the upper left of the homepage and then at the bottom, click on the link that says: "If you're a Nonprofit Organization and want to claim your charity, Click Here" and then fill out your charity details. You can search for your charity by name, keywords or Tax ID. On the next page, it will ask you to determine whether you want a free Basic Account, Featured Account, or Royale Account. Please select one of those options. In order to protect your charity's privacy and security, we'll contact you through the phone number listed with GuideStar or on your Charity's website or via email that we get from your Charity's website to give you a super secret Pin Number which you'll use to complete the Charity Sign Up process. All of this can be done in about 2 minutes and then your charity can start turning your grassroots supporters into grassroots fundraisers. The super secret Pin Number is needed if you want to have access to your charity donor report. Please Contact us with all questions. 

What's the difference between a Free Basic Charity Account, a Featured Charity Account and a Royale Charity Account? 

Our pricing is already great but Featured and Royale charities using Amazon Payments to receive their donations get preferred pricing so they can keep more of the money donated to their charity. Also, as a Featured or Royale Charity, your charitable organization will be featured throughout the CrowdRise website and emails. Plus, your donors will receive double CrowdRise points for every dollar they donate. So, if a donor were to raise $100, for example, for any of the Featured Charities, they would receive 2,000 CrowdRise Points and CrowdRise Impact Points. That way, your supporters will be more likely to want to donate to your charity so they can also receive more points which they can use toward CrowdRise Rewards. Featured and Royale Charities receive premium account support, which means we send you super secret contact info so you can talk and email with real CrowdRise humans so fast you'll probably ask to be put on hold just to enjoy our hold music. If all that's not good enough, Featured and Royale Charities receive a 1-Year Guarantee. That means if you aren't satisfied with anything for any reason in your first year, let us know and we'll make a donation to your charity up to the amount you paid for your account. Finally, Royale Charity Accounts offer a fully custom solution so you can brand your fundraising events and campaigns with custom emails and page design. Learn more by checking out the Charity Account Types. 

Why can't I find my Charity on CrowdRise? 

Crowdrise uses a third-party web-service from GuideStar that contains information on over 1 million US-based 501(c)3 nonprofits. If you can't find your nonprofit on CrowdRise, first try searching by your EIN (Tax ID) since that's the most accurate way to search. If you still can't find your nonprofit, here's what you need to know: GuideStar receives a file from the IRS an average of 11 times a year of organizations who are deemed eligible to be listed as a nonprofit so it will take at most, a month and a half before your nonprofit can be automatically included in the GuideStar database. 

What is GuideStar? 

GuideStar collects information on nonprofits from the IRS and other sources and organizes it into one of the most respected databases of information about nonprofits. To qualify for a Charity Account on CrowdRise, nonprofits must be in the GuideStar database and recognized as a US-based 501(c)3 nonprofit. 

What is Network for Good? 

Network for Good is a nonprofit that makes it easy for donors to support any charity, anywhere online and that helps nonprofits raise funds for their missions through simple, affordable and effective online fundraising services, including donation processing and email outreach tools. Through partnership with corporations, Network for Good enables charitable giving solutions on company websites like CrowdRise. Network for Good is a Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance accredited charity that has processed over $400 million in donations for more than 50,000 nonprofits since its 2001 founding by AOL, Cisco and Yahoo!. When you and your donors use Network for Good, you agree to the CrowdRise Terms of Use, CrowdRise Privacy Policy, the Network for Good Privacy Notice and Network for Good User Agreement. 

What is Amazon Payments? 

If your charity chooses to receive donations through an Amazon Payments account, Donors will make their donations using the Amazon Payments trusted credit card processing service. The donation will be deposited in the charities' Amazon Payments Account less the Transaction Fee. Charities have immediate ownership over their donations and can electronically transfer the funds from their Amazon Payments Account to their Charity's Bank Account per the Amazon User Agreement. Donors will be responsible for a modest "Processing Fee" which makes it so CrowdRise can keep the prices to charities lower and increase the amount of the donation that goes to the charity, since the charity will be paying a lower Transaction Fee. Charities will be responsible for taxes based on their net income or gross receipts. 

How do I change the address where my Charity's check is sent? 

To change the address listed for your nonprofit profile in GuideStar, click here or email nposervices@guidestar.org. Updates to that form will be shared with CrowdRise and Network for Good for future payments. 

I received a check from Network for Good and want more information. 

If you received a check from Network for Good on behalf of CrowdRise and want the details of the donor information, you can login to Network for Good's donation tracking report. You will need to establish a login using your charity's nine-digit EIN (Tax ID) number. Once you are registered, you will have access to a real-time online report detailing information about your donors who have chosen to share their contact information. You can also create or login to your CrowdRise Charity Account and export all donor information. If you have any questions about your check, Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) or donations, contact Network for Good customer service at crowdrise@networkforgood.org or call 888.284.7978 or email CrowdRise at quintas@crowdrise.com. 

How do I sign up for Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) with Network for Good? 

To get your donations more quickly (and to save paper), have them sent to you electronically via EFT. You can Sign Up for EFT Here.

How do I remove my Charity from the CrowdRise website?

Crowdrise uses a third-party web-service from GuideStar that contains information on over 1 million 501(c)3 nonprofits to populate its website. To remove your charity from CrowdRise, simply send an email to nposervices@guidestar.org and simply tell them to remove your charity from their third-party web service and you'll be removed within 24-48 hours. We want to give you the greatest service in the world and we're here to help you so if you have questions or want any help with anything, email us at falco@crowdrise.com.