Richland Gives FAQS

General FAQ

Richland Gives is an online giving event that encourages everyone to contribute to Richland County’s nonprofits through an online giving platform.  

Richland Gives will take place through from November 18 at 7 a.m. through December 3 at 7 p.m. 

Starting on November 18 at 7 a.m., Richland Gives donors will be able to make their online donations early and they will still count toward the giving day totals for each nonprofit. Donors are also encouraged to give on December 3rd because prize grants will be awarded to nonprofits that win particular giving day contests.    

3 PRIMARY GOALS:

  1. Grow philanthropy in Richland County – bring new donors to our nonprofit organizations.
  2. Grow revenue for nonprofit organizations – create a new funding stream.
  3. Grow supporters – educate the community on the positive impact on their lives because of Richland County’s nonprofit organizations

Richland County Foundation hosts Richland Gives to encourage charitable donations through an online giving platform powered by Mightycause.

The Richland County Foundation provides toolkits, webinars, mass media, and social media coverage to make it easy for nonprofits to participate. Each participating organization will have an individualized web page to promote their cause. This web page can also be used for year-round online fundraising.

Individuals will be able to donate money to the nonprofit organizations of their choice. All donations are tax-deductible and irrevocable. (Donations will not be refunded). Donors will receive a receipt for their gift. The nonprofit will receive contact information for each donor unless the donor elects to remain anonymous.

The Mightycause Foundation, a 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organization which permits donors to advise a re-granting of their donations to other IRS recognized qualifying 501(c) (3) organizations, will accept the gifts and will then re-grant the monies to the nonprofits selected by the donors.

Richland Gives is hosted by the Richland County Foundation and made possible via a giving platform run by Mightycause. Mightycause is the industry leader in giving days, with a crowdfunding platform built to serve all 501c3 nonprofits.

Philanthropy is the core mission of Mightycause, and the company is committed to creating opportunities to support nonprofits.

During Richland Gives: The platform fee of 4% will be covered by the Richland County Foundation. 

During the checkout process, the donor has the option to cover the credit card transaction fees of 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation. For donations of $100 or more, donors can give via their bank account if their bank has integrated with the Plaid App. Locally Park National Bank participates with the Plaid App and Mechanics Bank does not. Credit card processing fees will be replaced by a 1% transaction fee, plus a $1.50 fixed fee per transaction (total ACH processing fees will be capped at $5.00). Donors have the option to cover these fees during the checkout process, allocating 100% of their intended donation to your nonprofit. No fees apply for intentions made by DAF/IRA payment method. 

Outside of the Richland Gives giving period: The total transaction fees are 6.9% plus $0.30 per transaction for Mightycause Foundation expenses and campaign costs (including credit card transaction costs). For donations of $100 or more, donors can  give via their bank account. Credit card processing fees will be replaced by a 1% transaction fee, plus a $1.50 fixed fee per transaction (total ACH processing fees will be capped at $5.00). The 4% platform fee still applies to donations made via bank account. Donors have the option to cover these fees during the checkout process, allocating 100% of their intended donation to your nonprofit. 

Donors giving over $100 can donate via ACH by selecting "Bank Account" from the dropdown payment method within the checkout form. The option will not appear to donors giving less than $100. 

Paying by bank account allows donors who give in larger amounts to pay less in fees. This is done through an integration with the Plaid (a third-party banking tool) which allows donors to log into their bank's website and connect to the payment portal. As with credit card information, logins and transactions are encrypted and secure. Plaid has more information on its website. Plaid integrates with over 12,000 financial institutions.  

Only banks integrated with Plaid will be eligible to pay via bank account.  For banks integrated with Plaid, donors select "Bank Account" from the dropdown payment method within checkout and then click "Link bank." From there, Plaid prompts the donor to select their institution. The donor is then redirected to their banking site to authenticate and once completed re-directs them back to the Richland Gives sites to complete the payment. 

Local banks: Park National is integrated with Plaid, Mechanics Bank is not integrated with Plaid

The minimum donation for Richland Gives is $10. There is no maximum donation limit.

There is no maximum amount an organization may receive during Richland Gives.

No, you do not need to create an account to make a donation. However, if you plan to give multiple times during Richland Gives, creating an account means you only have to enter your credit card information once. Your account also collects your tax receipts in one location and enables you to track your donation, review the charities you support and schedule future giving.

Yes – this site is mobile friendly! Simply visit www.richlandgives.org on your smartphone to browse all the amazing nonprofits participating. 

Yes! You can be a hero for the cause(s) you care about – we call these Free Agent Fundraisers! Alternatively, you can visit the Organization Page of any nonprofit listed on Richland Gives and click “Fundraise” to start the page creation process. Please note that in order to create a Fundraising Page you will be prompted to sign into a Mightycause user account, or create one if you don’t already have an account. 

The nonprofit organization receiving the donation will receive the contact information for the donor in order to conduct follow-up communications. As the host of Richland Gives, the Richland County Foundation will also receive the information in order to send news and updates about Richland Gives related activities. We will not share your information.

Nonprofit FAQ

Nonprofit 501(c) (3) tax-exempt organizations that are located in Richland County or primarily serve Richland County residents (at least 50% of the clients are located in Richland County) are eligible to participate in Richland Gives. Nonprofits must register each year. The registration deadline is October 31.    

  • Raise funds for your organization
  • Educate the public about your cause
  • Find and cultivate new donors through the conversation surrounding the day: media, advertisements, and social media. Richland Gives is held on Giving Tuesday an international day of giving held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
  • Ability to empower your ambassadors to advocate and leverage their networks on your behalf
  • Reinvigorate lapsed donors
  • Convert check-writing donors to online donors

This campaign’s success will depend on our collective enthusiasm and implementation. We are asking nonprofit professionals, volunteers, businesses, and citizens to bring their skills and experience to this effort.

  • Register your nonprofit. A nonprofit must register each year. Deadline October 31.
  • Create a landing page for your organization using the Richland Gives platform.
  • Broadcast your campaign's message using existing communication networks.
  • Utilize the Richland Gives logo and hashtag #RichlandGives and other images and messages consistent with the branding guidelines.
  • Secure matching grants and prizes to entice donors to your group.
  • Recruit individuals to be Free Agent Fundraisers for your organization.
  • Consider organizing an outreach event or community stunt to help further increase exposure for your organization.
  • Attend the Leader Board Watch Party on December 3 from 5-7 p.m. in person at the Mid-Ohio Educational Center.
  • Think outside the box, be engaged and have fun!!
  • For more tips, visit the Nonprofit Toolkit on richlandgives.org

There is no fee to participate. All donations during Richland Gives are made to the Mightycause Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization which permits donors to advise a regranting of their donations to IRS 501(c)(3) organizations. 100% of your online charitable gift is receipted and advised for regrant to the chosen charity. 

During Richland Gives: The platform fee of 4% will be covered by the Richland County Foundation. 

The fee charged to a donor will include the credit card transaction fees of 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation. For donations of $100 or more, donors can give via their bank account if their bank has integrated with the Plaid App. Locally Park National Bank participates with the Plaid App and Mechanics Bank does not. Credit card processing fees will be replaced by a 1% transaction fee, plus a $1.50 fixed fee per transaction (total ACH processing fees will be capped at $5.00). Donors have the option to cover these fees during the checkout process, allocating 100% of their intended donation to your nonprofit. No fees apply for intentions made by DAF/IRA payment method. 

Outside of the Richland Gives giving period: The total transaction fees are 6.9% plus $0.30 per transaction for Mightycause Foundation expenses and campaign costs (including credit card transaction costs). For donations of $100 or more, donors can  give via their bank account. Credit card processing fees will be replaced by a 1% transaction fee, plus a $1.50 fixed fee per transaction (total ACH processing fees will be capped at $5.00). The 4% platform fee still applies to donations made via bank account. Donors have the option to cover these fees during the checkout process, allocating 100% of their intended donation to your nonprofit. 

In order to participate in Richland Gives, each organization is required to register each year. Even if you participated last year, your organization will need to complete this process.  The deadline to register is October 31.

Set up an administrative page and make sure your nonprofit's profile and the page is up-to-date and motivating. 

If your nonprofit is not listed in the search on richlandgives.org please be sure you have registered your organization to participate in this year's event.

You can verify if your organization is registered by logging into your organization page and going to your "Overview" on the left side dashboard. If you have submitted a registration your approval status will be shown at the top of the page. You will see registered, pending review, or a note letting you know Registration is open if you have previously participated but not registered yet.

Yes. You can view videos on Mightycause's YouTube channel.

Organizations that have registered on Richland Gives can track donations in real-time by logging in to their Mightycause account. Organizations will also receive an email notification for every donation. Nonprofits can download a detailed donation report at any time through their account to thank and follow up with individual donors and tabulate donation value and the number of donors. This .csv file can be used in Excel and is widely compatible with other spreadsheet applications.

If a donor has selected DAF as their payment method your organization will need to follow up directly with the donor and the relationship manager listed to receive the funds. 

Mightycause does not follow up on DAF payments. Donors, relationship managers (if listed), and your organization will receive emails notifying you to follow up. 

Please note, that the Mightycause DAF payment selection is not a legally binding pledge, it is an intention to make a donation and it is your organization's responsibility to follow up with the donor to confirm the donation has been completed. DAF donations will show on your organization leaderboard totals.

No, donations made through Richland Gives and Mightycause will be receipted from the Mightycause Foundation. However, we do encourage you to send a thank you note to your donors letting them know how awesome they are!

Organizations have the option to sign up for electronic funds transfer or checks to receive funds from the giving day. EFT funds are distributed around the 10th and 25th of the month. For more information or to sign up for EFT, click here. EFT is recommended as checks incur a $5 fee.

For organizations with EFT, Nonprofits can expect to receive their donations on the:

  • 10th of the month, for donations made from the 16th of the previous month through the last day of the previous month.
  • 25th of the month, for donations made from the 1st through the 15th of that same month.

For organizations with checks, Nonprofits can expect to receive their donations on the:

  • 10th of the following month, and will include donations made to your organization during the previous month. (Ex: You will receive a check on December 10th for donations made during November.)

Stay tuned to richlandgives.org for more information and detail as the event draws closer. 

Also “like” and “follow” the Richland County Foundation  https://www.facebook.com/RichlandCountyFoundation/ and on Twitter at 

https://twitter.com/RichlandFoundat

Use the hashtag #RichlandGives on all social media. 

Mightycause can modify any restrictions or conditions if, in the sole judgment of the Board of Directors, such restriction or condition becomes unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the community. As such, Mightycause reserves the right to deny or condition the distribution of prize grants if, in the judgment of its Board of Directors, such restriction or condition becomes necessary.

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