Is this site secure?

Firstgiving is committed to maintaining the highest possible standards of data security. We have implemented key international standards of best practice in online and data security.

Thousands of non-profits outsource their transaction security to us. It is our top priority to ensure that transaction data is kept secure at all times.

We take an active role in the overall reduction of identity theft and fraud on the internet by guaranteeing the security of our IT systems, personnel and infrastructure.

Our staff is trained in all aspects of web application security, including infrastructure vulnerabilities, cross-site scripting, secure data storage, and using the software development life cycle to maintain and improve security.

Firstgiving has been certified PCI compliant by Trustwave, an official Visa Qualified Security Assessor. This means our systems and services comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard and that we actively protect our customers' identities, personal information and financial details.

For more information, please visit our security policy.

Does it cost anything to make a donation?

No, Firstgiving's services are free for fundraisers and donors. We subtract a small transaction fee before sending the donation to your nonprofit.

What makes a fundraising page successful?

The most successful fundraisers personalize their page with photos and compelling personal stories of why they are fundraising. They send their page everyone in their address book, not just family and friends. The internet is global, so make the most of it!

We also suggest sending multiple emails, periodically updating donors and potential donors on your fundraising and training progress. Don't forget about including your fundraising efforts on blogs and social networks, such as Facebook and MySpace.

What tactics have you done to raise money for your favorite nonprofit? Contact us at support@firstgiving.com so we can share your experience with your fellow fundraisers!

How does my nonprofit receive the funds I have raised online via my fundraising page?

Firstgiving forwards donations to the nonprofit at intervals determined by Firstgiving and the nonprofit. Donations are sent by weekly electronic funds transfer or monthly check.

If you are concerned with the destination of your donations, please feel free to contact us support@firstgiving.com to confirm the payment address.

What is a team?

Some nonprofits provide fundraisers with the option to be a part of a team. A team consists of a group of individual fundraising pages that are associated with the same team. When you create a fundraising page and select a team to fundraise with, then your fundraising page will display in the team area of the nonprofit's Premium Start Page.

Create, join, or edit a team

If the event you are fundraising for uses teams, you can create, join, or edit a team during the page creation process, as well as after you have created your fundraising page.

To create, join, or edit your team after the page creation process, please visit your fundraising page, and click Your Account in the upper right corner.

1. Sign-in using your e-mail address and password, and click Your Fundraising Page.
2. On the right side of the page, under the title Team Name click Change Team.
3. a) If you dont want to be on a team, click Leave team
   b) If you want to change your team click Join team next to the team you want to join
   c) To create a team, type the name under Team name and click add team


If you have registered for an event, this change will update your registration details as well.

Please note: You cannot edit the team name once your team has been created and fundraising pages and/or registrations are associated with it. If you need to edit the team name, please contact support@firstgiving.com

How do I associate my registration with a team?

If you are fundraising with a nonprofit that supports teams and youneed to associate your registration with a team, please contact support@firstgiving.com and we will make this edit for you.

Why can't I upload my photo?

Is your image too large? Make sure it is 250 X 250 pixels and no more than 800k.

What type of image are you trying to upload? You can only upload a jpg or gif file.

Still having trouble? Feel free to e-mail your image to support@firstgiving.com.

How do I edit my photo?

To edit your personal photograph, please visit your fundraising page, and click Your Account in the upper right corner.

1. Sign-in using your e-mail address and password, and click Your Fundraising Page.
2. Click Go next to the title of the page you wish to edit, under the heading Manage this page.
3. Click Edit your page. This will bring you to the Editing Page. Click here to see an example of an Editing Page.
4. On the left side of the page beneath your current photo or image, click change this image.
5. A pop-up window will display. Click upload your own image.
6. Click browse and select the image you wish to use from your computer.
7. Click upload. Please be patient while your image is being uploaded to our server.
8. Your image should display in the section titled Current page image, Once you see it, click I'm happy with my image.

How can I add more than one photo to my fundraising page?

Before you start, you need to make sure your photos are on Flickr and that your Flickr permissions are set to ‘public’.

1. Click on Your Account
2. Enter your email address and password and click on Continue using our secure server
3. Click on Your fundraising pages
4. Click on Go next to the page you want
5. Click on Add images from Flickr
6. Enter your Flickr ID (idGettr will help), plus any tags you want to add, and click on Save

How do I change the text on my page?

To change the text on your fundraising page during the page creation process, click on any yellow highlighted text box and begin to type.

How do I format and edit the personal message text section?

To make edits to Your Personal Message text using the rich text editor:

Under Your Personal Message, type your message in the yellow highlighted text box.

1. Highlight the text you want to change
2. Select the feature you want to use

Below is an overview of features provided, as displayed on the menu bar (starting left to right):

SYMBOL	WHAT IT DOES	HOW TO USE IT
	Hides or Un-hides the rich text editor tool bar	Click on symbol
	Bold text	Highlight text, click symbol To remove bolded text : Highlight text, click symbol
	Italicsize text	Highlight text, click symbol   To remove italiciszed text : Highlight text, click symbol
	Underline text	Highlight text, click symbol   To remove underlined text : Highlight text, click symbol
	Creates a hyperlink (links to another web address)	Highlight text, click symbol
	Removes a hyperlink	Highlight text, click symbol
	Changes the color of your text	1. Highlight text 2. Click symbol 3. Click color
	Changes the font type of your text	Highlight text Click arrow next to font name (e.g. Times New Roman) Click font name
	Change the size of your type	Highlight text Click arrow next to size name Click size

Please note: If you are having trouble with the formating of your personal message text, it could be because you copied and pasted text from another rich text formated document (e.g. Microsoft Word). To remove the formatting, copy and paste text into a simple text program (e.g. Notepad); then copy and paste text back into your personal message text section.

If you are still having trouble formatting this section, please email support@firstgiving.com.

How can I add a video to my fundraising page?

1. Log into Your Account
2. Enter your email address and password and click on Continue using our secure server
3. Click on Your fundraising pages
4. Click on Go next to the page you want
5. Click on Add video from YouTube
6. Enter the web address of your YouTube video and click on Add video

How does my nonprofit receive the funds I have raised online via my fundraising page?

Firstgiving forwards donations to the nonprofit at intervals determined by Firstgiving and the nonprofit. Donations are sent by weekly electronic funds transfer or monthly check.

If you are concerned with the destination of your donations, please feel free to contact us support@firstgiving.com to confirm the payment address.

Why do I need an account?

You need an account if you want to do the following:

• Register for an event
• Create a fundraising page

If you want to cancel your account, please contact support@firstgiving.com

How do I edit my account?

To edit your account, please visit your fundraising page, and click Your Account in the upper right corner.

1. Sign-in using your e-mail address and password, and click Your details.
2. Edit your information
3. Click Update when finished

How do I find my password?

Click here to retreive your password.

Why can't I access my account?

1. Do you have the correct password? If you arent sure, retrieve your password or contact support@firstgiving.com.
2. Check your Internet browser security settings. It could be that your cookie settings are extremely secure. Firstgiving uses cookies, small bits of data, including an anonymous unique identifier, which are sent to your browser from a website's computers and stored on your computer's hard drive. Most browsers will automatically accept cookies. However if your browser is set to reject cookies, you may experience troubles accessing your account.
3. Are you using a corporate computer? Sometimes the firewalls and security settings can bump you out. If you can't edit your settings, please contact an IT professional to help you.
4. Are you using security software (e.g. Norton Antivirus or McAfee)? It could be that the settings are extremely secure. Try changing your settings to an average security setting. If you cant edit your settings, please contact an IT professional for help.

Where is my page?

After making your page, Firstgiving will send you an email that includes your page URL. If you are having trouble finding the email, be sure to check your spam folder.

You can also find your page by logging into your account. To do this, visit: www.firstgiving.com and click Your account in the upper right corner of the page.

Once you are logged-in, click your fundraising pages.

How do I edit and maintain my fundraising page?

To edit your fundraising page, visit www.firstgiving.com and click Your Account in the upper right corner.

1. Sign-in using your e-mail address and password, and click Your Fundraising Page.
2. Click Go next to the title of the page you wish to edit, under the heading Manage this page.
3. Click Edit your page. This will bring you to the Editing Page. Click here to see an example of an Editing Page.
4. You can edit any of the yellow highlighted text boxes, as well as upload a personal image.
5. When you are finished, click Continue or Update and preview. If you are satisfied with the way your page looks, click I am happy with the way my page looks. Once you have done this, your fundraising page will have been created.

How do I find out more about my donors?

For more information about your donors, go to the top of your online fundraising page and click Your Account.

1. Sign-in with your e-mail address and password, and then click Your Fundraising Page.
2. Click Go next to the title of the page you wish to edit, under the heading Manage this page.
3. Click See who has sponsored you, next to the piggy bank icon. Click here to see an example of the Managing Page.

To view a comprehensive list of donors, the donation amount, and donation date, click option one - View all the donations on your page.

If you would like to view your donors' e-mail addresses, click option two - See which donors want to be kept updated about your fundraising. Donors who have elected to share their e-mail addresses with you will be listed here.

How do I display offline donors on my fundraising page?

Firstgiving does not track or vouch for offline donations. However, you can display your offline donors on your fundraising page.

For more information about your donors, go to the top of your online fundraising page and click Your Account.

1. Sign-in with your e-mail address and password, and then click Your Fundraising Page.
2. Click Go next to the title of the page you wish to edit, under the heading Manage this page.
3. Click Edit your page. This will bring you to the Editing Page. Click here to see an example of an Editing Page.
4. Type your offline donors name and donation amount into the Personal Message Text. You can also add the total in the offline donation total amount text box, located on the bottom right of the page.
5. When you are finished, click Continue or Update and preview. If you are satisfied with the way your page looks, click I am happy with the way my page looks. Once you have done this, your fundraising page will have been created.

Oops! I fundraised for the wrong charity - what do I do?

STEP 1

Cancel your fundraising page. You do not want to collect any donations on your page. If you have collected donations already, you do not want to collect any more.

To cancel your fundraising page, go to the top of your online fundraising page and click Your Account.

1. Sign-in with your e-mail address and password, and then click Your Fundraising Pages.
2. Click Go next to the title of the page you wish to edit, under the heading Manage this page.
3. At the bottom of the next screen there is an option to cancel your page. Click here, to see where this link is on the Managing Page.

STEP 2

Contact us at support@firstgiving.com and provide us with the following information:

• Name of charity you intended to raise funds for
• If applicable, the event you are participating in
• Your e-mail address associated with your fundraising page

Any donations already collected through your cancelled page are final and non-refundable by Firstgiving.

However if you would like your donors to get a refund, you can contact the recipient charity directly. We will carry out refunds in exceptional circumstances, and with the charity's consent.

How does my nonprofit receive donations I've raised via my fundraising page?

Firstgiving forwards donations to the nonprofit at intervals determined by Firstgiving and the nonprofit. Donations are sent by weekly electronic funds transfer or monthly check.

If you are concerned with the destination of your donations, please feel free to contact us support@firstgiving.com to confirm the payment address.

How do I change my fundraising page close date?

To adjust how long your fundraising page will collect donations, please contact support@firstgiving.com with the date you want your page to close.

How do I cancel my page?

To cancel your fundraising page, go to the top of your online fundraising page and click Your Account.

1. Sign-in with your e-mail address and password, and then click Your Fundraising Page.
2. Click Go next to the title of the page you wish to edit, under the heading Manage this page.
3. At the bottom of the next screen there is an option to cancel your page. Click here, to see where this link is on the Managing Page.

Can my donors get a receipt for their donations?

Once donations are processed, donors will receive an e-mail titled Donation Acknowledgement. They can print this e-mail for their records.

However, please note that Firstgiving is not an accounting, taxation or financial advisor, and you should not rely on information given on this site to determine the accounting, tax or financial consequences of making donations to nonprofit organization. We strongly recommend that you consult your own advisor(s) about any accounting, taxation or financial consequences that may affect you.

My donor's company can provide a matching gift, what do I do?

Remind your donors that the nonprofit organization could greatly benefit from their company's matching gift.

Your donor should:

1. Ask Human Resources Department for instructions regarding matching gifts
2. Ensure he or she has all necessary information included in the form, such as nonprofit name and address.
3. Fill in the information according to Human Resources Department instructions. After the donation is processed, donors receive a Donation Acknowledgement e-mail - this should be sufficient proof of donation. If not, please contact the nonprofit directly.

How can a supporter make a donation via personal check?

If someone would rather donate via personal check, please be in touch with the nonprofit and ask them how to handle this. Firstgiving only processes online donations.

Don't forget to include the check amount in the "amount raised offline" section on your fundraising page!

Why did a donation disappear from my page?

The only reason a donation previously listed on your fundraising page is removed is when your donor's credit card is rejected. A card can be rejected for a variety of reasons - your donor may have entered an incorrect expiration date or card number, for instance.

You dont need to do anything. We will automatically contact the card owner to explain the problem and invite him or her to donate again. Once your donor has contributed again successfully, the donation will re-appear on your page.

How do I find out more about my donors?

For more information about your donors, go to the top of your online fundraising page and click Your Account.

Sign-in with your e-mail address and password, and then click Your fundraising page.

Click Go next to the title of the page you wish to edit, under the heading Manage this page.

Click See who has sponsored you, next to the piggy bank icon. Click here to see an example of the Managing Page.

To view a comprehensive list of donors, the donation amount, and donation date, click option one - View all the donations on your page.

If you would like to view your donors' e-mail addresses, click option two - See which donors want to be kept updated about your fundraising. Donors who have elected to share their e-mail addresses with you will be listed here.