Any donor who makes an online contribution at GlobalGiving.org and is not satisfied with their giving experience may get a refund of their donation in the form of a GlobalGiving gift certificate equal to the value of the original donation, up to $10,000 per donor per year.
The Guarantee can be activated at any time within a year after the original donation has been made by contacting GlobalGiving. Anyone making an online donation can take advantage of the Guarantee. However, employees and their immediate families, GlobalGiving Board members, Project Leaders, staff of project organizations, board members of those organizations and the family members of these persons are not eligible.
For legal reasons, GlobalGiving must award a voucher, instead of cash back, to any donor invoking the guarantee. Here's why: For a donor to receive the benefit of a tax deduction, the IRS requires there be a clear transfer of "control and discretion" of the funds to GlobalGiving. U.S. laws and regulations prevent any 501(c)(3) organization from giving up this control and discretion.
Further, once a donor has claimed tax deductibility, "reversing" it is problematic, particularly if the donation is made in one year and the guarantee is called in the following year. For these reasons, we are issuing a voucher equal to the amount of the original donation.
We will continue to monitor these laws and regulations with a view toward making GlobalGiving Guaranteed the most comprehensive possible.
The projects on GlobalGiving go through a rigorous due diligence review, satisfy IRS guidelines for international grant-making and tax deductibility, and follow Treasury Department guidelines for anti-terrorism.
If you have questions about GlobalGiving Guaranteed, please contact us.