Nonprofit FAQ

Check out the Donor FAQs here

Q. If I have questions, who can I contact?

Please contact the GiveGab Customer Success team at support@givegab.com or through the chat bubble in the bottom right corner of the Give DeKalb County website for assistance. Note that using the chat bubble may not result in an immediate reply. If GiveGab Customer Success Representatives are unable to respond via chat, they will follow up by email.

Q. What is Give DeKalb County?

Give DeKalb County is a philanthropic event featuring multiple ways for donors to support nonprofit organizations located in or serving DeKalb County, Illinois. Donors can give in a variety of ways both online during the 24-hour giving day at GiveDeKalbCounty.org or by mail.

Q. When is Give DeKalb County?

Give DeKalb County is on May 4, 2023. Donors can give online from midnight to midnight.

Q. Which organizations can participate?

Access the nonprofit eligibility policy here.

Q. How much does it cost to participate?

A fee is charged to participate. This participation fee is based on the organization’s operating budget and is withheld from the final donation distribution so there is no need to pay it upfront. View participation fee amounts here.

Q. How much of the donation will go to our organization?

GiveGab retains a 2.25% campaign management fee from all donations. Credit card processing fees are an additional 2.5% + $0.30 for all major credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover). Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law. There is no fee for offline donations. All donations are officially receipted for tax purposes by GiveGab.

Donors have the option to cover the fees and if this is selected, 100% of the online charitable gift goes to the receiving organization. Any online donations processed outside of the Give DeKalb County donation period, through GiveGab.com, or subsequent recurring donations are subject to transaction fees outlined on the GiveGab.com pricing page: http://info.givegab.com/pricing.

Q. What forms of donations are accepted?

Donors can give online at GiveDeKalbCounty.org by MasterCard, Visa, Discover, and American Express, Mobile Wallet, or via ACH bank transfer. Donors may also give by check using our mail-in donation form or can make a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD) from an IRA. Learn more about Ways to Give and using a bank account for donations.

Q. How do I donate by mail?

Follow these steps:

  • Download and print a mail-in donation form.
  • Complete the form indicating the organization(s) and donation amount(s).
  • Write a single check for the total amount payable to “DCCF.”
  • Mail your check and form DeKalb County Community Foundation, 475 DeKalb Avenue, Sycamore, IL 60178.

Mail-in donations must be postmarked April 20 - May 4 to be included in Give DeKalb County.

Completed donation forms and checks may also be dropped off at the DeKalb County Community Foundation using the secure exterior dropbox to the right of our main entrance.

Q. When will mailed donations be visible on the website?

Donations will not appear on the website until the giving day on May 4. Depending on the number of donations, there is no guarantee that donations postmarked after April 27 will be visible on the website by May 4. As mailed donations continue to arrive after the giving day, they will be added to the website and the leaderboard and organizational totals will continue to increase.

Q. What else should I know about mailed donations?

A few tips:

  • Complete the donation form entirely and legibly - this makes a big difference when processing your gift.
  • Double-check your math on the form so your total donation amount equals the sum of all your individual donations (if making multiple gifts).
  • Be sure to include how you want your name to appear publicly or if you prefer to be anonymous to the public.

Q. What is the deadline to ensure my participation in Give DeKalb County?

Nonprofits must be 2023 DCNP members by March 1, 2023 to participate. The deadline to register for Give DeKalb County is April 1, 2023. Your Give DeKalb County profile should be completed by April 7, 2023.

Q. Can more than one person claim admin access on our organization’s page?

Yes, pending approval from existing administrators. All administrators need to create profiles on GiveGab. Every person with administrative access receives emails about updates to their page. Click here to learn how to add an admin and click here to learn how to remove an admin.

Q. How do I request admin access to an organization?

During the registration process, you will be prompted to request admin access. Follow the steps here.

Q. Can I preview the donation process that my donors will experience?

While you won't be able to preview the donation process for Give DeKalb County before May 4, this video summarizes how to make a gift and all of the options available.

Q. How does my organization know who has donated and how much? Can I download a donor report?

All organizations that participate in Give DeKalb County can access and download a .CSV file of their donations via their administrative dashboard on GiveGab.

Q. How will we receive the donated funds?

Give DeKalb County payouts are distributed to each organization by the DeKalb County Community Foundation. This occurs either by check or via Automated Clearing House (ACH) utilizing your bank routing and account number. Specific details about payouts will be provided to your giving day admin.

Organizations will receive their total amount raised, less applicable fees, within 30 days of Give DeKalb County. Timeline subject to change if unexpected circumstances arise.

Q. Who issues the tax-deductible donation letter to donors?

All donations are officially receipted by GiveGab automatically after the donation is processed. Since donations made during Give DeKalb County pass through the DeKalb County Community Foundation, any donation made appears as a donation to the Community Foundation. These funds are distributed to the intended organizations.

Q. How does the Bonus Pool work?

The Bonus Pool is awarded to all participating nonprofits based on the percentage of the overall Give DeKalb County total they raise. For example: If a nonprofit raises 2% of our giving day total, they receive 2% of the Bonus Pool…if they raise 5% of the grand total, they get 5% of the Bonus Pool. No single organization may receive more than 7% of the total Bonus Pool in a given year. Learn more here!

Q. What is GiveGab?

GiveGab is a nonprofit giving platform that helps nonprofits raise money, engage donors and manage volunteers. GiveGab offers a full portfolio of simple and easy to use products that allows organizations to function more efficiently.

Q. What portion of a donation made on GiveGab is tax deductible?

GiveGab offers the option for donors to increase the amount they give to “cover the fees” associated with their gift. Even when a donor decides to cover the fees, the entire amount is still tax-deductible as allowed by law. Donors see the total amount they give to each organization reflected in their tax-deductible donation letter. The tax-deductible amount in the letter includes any additional contribution they made to cover the fees.

Q. What is state charitable solicitation registration?

Nonprofits are held to a high standard of government regulation and public scrutiny. Eligible 501(c) nonprofits are exempt from federal corporate taxes and have access to public funding. These benefits are not typically available to for-profit businesses, so laws are in place to protect the public and ensure nonprofits do not abuse their financial advantages. The IRS and states all have requirements for nonprofits.

Q. Why is state charitable solicitation registration compliance important?

While 501(c) nonprofits receive key financial benefits, the penalties for noncompliance can be serious. The IRS can revoke a nonprofit’s tax exempt status and impose fines that can accrue daily. The states can administratively dissolve a nonprofit corporation and levy steep financial penalties. Perhaps worst of all, an organization can lose out on a grant or large donation because it has not kept itself in good standing.

Taking a proactive approach to compliance helps ensure the sustained success of the organization. The cost of staying compliant is small in comparison to the much larger costs of noncompliance.

Q. What are the key aspects of state charitable solicitation registration compliance?

The IRS scrutinizes organizations when they apply for 501(c)(3) and ensures that those organizations meet the ongoing obligations to remain eligible.

Each state has their own set of requirements. Nonprofits are typically incorporated in a given state as a nonprofit corporation. The state in which the nonprofit has incorporated will impose requirements on the nonprofit, and those responsibilities typically span across multiple state agencies. Usually nonprofits must submit an annual filing to the corporations division of the secretary of state, maintain its license to fundraise (charitable solicitation registration), file for a state business license, and maintain state-level tax exemption with the revenue department. As nonprofits expand outside of the state or operate nationwide, they must comply with the same items in each other state as well.

In addition to IRS and state filing requirements, nonprofits must keep adequate records. Keeping accurate and complete records is critical in the event that an organization is audited. It is also common that board members or donors request information from the organization. Finally, records are necessary for submitting applications and renewal filings with various government agencies.

Q. When I check the box on GiveGab to declare state charitable solicitation registration compliance, what am I attesting to?

When you check the box you are attesting (defined as "declaring that something exists or is the case") that your organization is compliant with applicable state fundraising requirements in the states in which you may solicit donors using the GiveGab platform.

Q. Do you have additional resources to reference about state charitable solicitation registration?

Yes! Here are resources from Harbor Compliance: