FirstGiving

Funds can be raised for any registered US nonprofit

• Person to person online fundraising pages are free to set up.
• Online templates, clear instructions and FirstGiving support make it quick and easy to get started.
• All funds can be automatically transfered directly to the selected nonprofit by electronic funds transfer (EFT).
• Your nonprofit does not need to sign up or register with FirstGiving; if your organization is registered with Guidestar, a database of comprehensive information of over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations, you and your supporters can begin using FirstGiving right away.

Are you listed with Guidestar?

FirstGiving hosts, manages and supports all data

• Online fundraising pages, Start Pages, online reporting is all hosted, managed and supported by FirstGiving, eliminating the need for technical support from your organization.
• Free unlimited support is available for you, your fundraisers and your donors.
• Any nonprofit who has received at least one donation through a FirstGiving online fundraising page has free access to a Subscriber Account, which includes an online reporting area and electronic funds transfer (EFT).

To get login details for online reporting and EFT setup, email us at .

What it costs

• There is no upfront cost to fundraise on FirstGiving. It is free to set up an online fundraising page and to make a donation.
• A 7.50% transaction fee (including credit card processing fee) is applied to all funds raised before they are transferred. FirstGiving’s commission is less than 5% of each donation.
• If you use a FirstGiving branded Start Page, there is an annual fee of $300 (see Using a FirstGiving Subscription)

Privacy
FirstGiving does not pass on end user (fundraiser and donor) information to third parties except when necessary to process a donation, for administrative purposes. FirstGiving never rents or sells lists. A link to the privacy policy is on every online fundraising page.

Security
FirstGiving credit card transactions are completely secure. Industry standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to encrypt all personal and credit card information is used so that information cannot be read over the Internet except by the processing bank. 

Set-up a FirstGiving Account
As part of your FirstGiving Account you receive access to an online reporting area, which includes: online reporting (fundraising page results; donor, financial and IT reports); email management (edit thank you and matching gift content) and account management (change your password; add, modify or delete users).

Using a FirstGiving Account: Let your supporters know!
Let your supporters know about FirstGiving person to person online fundraising pages as a way to fundraise for your organization in addition to donating directly to your nonprofit. FirstGiving is just another way for your supporters to give to your organization, while including their community in doing so.

• Place a link to www.firstgiving.com or a FirstGiving button on your organization homepage and/or in the help section of your website. Also, explain on your website that FirstGiving is another way supporters can give to your organization, while including their family, friends, community and extended network. In addition, announce FirstGiving in your organization newsletter, emails and at events. You could always set up a online fundraising page yourself to lead the way!
• All funds raised through online fundraising pages can be automatically transfered directly to the selected nonprofit by electronic funds transfer (EFT). Contact to get set-up. If not, all funds raised will be sent by check directly to the nonprofit. FirstGiving is partnered with Guidestar, a database of comprehensive information of over 1.5 million nonprofit organizations, therefore, the check will be sent to the address listed in Guidestar. Are you listed with Guidestar?
• Online fundraising pages are free for fundraisers and donors. A 7.50% transaction fee (including credit card processing fee) is applied to all funds raised before they are transferred. FirstGiving’s commission is less than 5% of each donation.

FirstGiving Branded Start Page
Your FirstGiving branded Start Page is a webpage where your supporters can go to create a person to person online fundraising page for your cause or event. Your Start Page is completely hosted and managed by FirstGiving, eliminating the need for technical support from your organization. The FirstGiving support team will help customize your Start Page by adding a banner on the top of your Start Page (includes your logo, organization name, etc.), and will assist you in adding images and description text about your organization, event or cause. In addition, you can display top fundraising pages and top fundraising teams, as well as links to your main website or a contact email. You can use your Start Page for an unlimited amount of events and fundraising programs throughout the year.

Person to Person Online Fundraising Pages
In addition to your banded Start Page, your FirstGiving Subscription includes unlimited person to person online fundraising pages for your supporters. Your supporters can set up their own online fundraising pages from your Start Page. Our fundraising pages are very simple to use; if your supporters know how to use the Internet they can set up a page. Your supporters are able to personalize their online fundraising page by writing a personal message, uploading a photo and updating their friends and family on their progress or thank their supporters. Once their page is personalized your supporters send out their page to family, friends and their extended network (college friends, coworkers, community groups) and begin receiving donations. Your supporters have access to tools, which will help them reach their extended community.

Online Event Registration
When using FirstGiving online event registration, event participants can register and pay any applicable entry fee and then go on to create their online fundraising page. You can access online registration reports from your Subscriber Account.

Event Teams
All participants register online through your Start Page and create their own online fundraising page. They will be asked to join an existing team, create a new team or simply raise funds on their own. By joining a team, participants online fundraising pages and fundraising results will automatically connect to their team details page, which can be found on your Start Page. The team details page includes the team name, online total, members, online fundraising pages and their individual online totals. 

Subscriber Account
The Subscriber Account is an online area that your organization can access: online reporting (fundraising page results; donor, financial, registration and IT reports); email management (edit thank you and matching gift content) and account management (change your password; add, modify or delete users; edit elements of your Start Page; add an event to your Start Page). The Subscriber Account is available to any nonprofit who has received at least one donation through a FirstGiving online fundraising page.

Cost
There is a $300 annual fee for a Start Page. This includes a branded Start Page, unlimited events, online fundraising pages, support and Subscriber Account access.

• A 7.50% transaction fee (including credit card processing fee) is applied to all funds raised before they are transferred.
• Online registration is included in the cost of a Start Page. However, if participants must pay a registration fee to enter, a 3.3% transaction fee is applied to cover the credit card fee. If there is no registration fee for the event, no transaction fee is applied.