2020 Giving Season Accelerator Terms + Conditions

Overview

• The Accelerator is GlobalGiving’s onboarding program for nonprofits interested in joining the GlobalGiving community as permanent partners. The Accelerator experience involves having approved due diligence, a free virtual training program (Nov. 16 - 19), submitting your GlobalGiving project page (by Nov. 20), and participating in an online crowdfunding campaign (Dec. 1 - 31).
• GlobalGiving does not provide donors to your project or promote your Accelerator project. The Accelerator crowdfunding campaign is the final stage of GlobalGiving’s rigorous vetting process. The crowdfunding campaign helps us determine whether your organization has a community of supporters that cares about your work. The Accelerator is also your opportunity to test out GlobalGiving’s donor management tools and decide whether or not the platform is a good fit for your online fundraising needs.
• Your organization must raise at least $5,000 from 40 unique donors during the crowdfunding campaign to graduate from the Accelerator and become a permanent GlobalGiving partner.
• GlobalGiving determines unique donors using numerous criteria, including name, email address, credit card number, mailing address, and IP address. We monitor these and other parameters in our system to ensure that unique donors count towards the Accelerator thresholds and cash prizes.
• Leaderboards: During the campaign, you can track your fundraising totals and prize progress on the leaderboards.
  • The Main Leaderboard will capture all fundraising activity from the start to finish of the campaign.
  • The Bonus Day Leaderboard will only capture fundraising activity during the 24-hour Bonus Day.
• The Accelerator is best-suited for organizations with supporters who can donate online. Please read the “Donation Methods + Eligibility” section to learn more about eligible and ineligible donation methods.
• During the online crowdfunding campaign, GlobalGiving deducts a fee from each donation to your project. Please see the “Tax-Efficient Giving, Fees, & Vetting” section to learn more.
• Projects that do not raise at least $5,000 from at least 40 unique donors during the fundraising time frame will be retired (no longer visible on GlobalGiving or able to receive donations) after Thursday, Dec. 31, 23:59:59 E.T.

Important Dates

• Oct. 16: Application submission deadline - only completed applications will be considered by our Vetting & Grants Team.
• Nov. 16 - 19: Free, virtual training program - register here!

• Nov. 20: Project submission deadline

  5 p.m. ET

• Nov. 25: Optional deadline to lower your fee
• Dec. 1, 00:00:00 ET: #GivingTuesday and crowdfunding campaign begin!
• Dec. 9, 00:00:00 ET - 23:59:59 ET: 24-hour Bonus Day
• Dec. 14 - 18: Monthly Donor Drive
• Dec. 31, 23:59:59 E.T: Crowdfunding campaign ends
• Late January 2021: GlobalGiving disburses funds raised during the Accelerator. Please see the “Disbursements” section for more details.

24-hour Bonus Day Terms + Conditions

• From 00:00:00 ET - 23:59:59 ET on Wednesday, Dec. 9, all Accelerator participants will compete for a share of GlobalGiving’s $20,000 Incentive Fund and two $1,000 bonus prizes.
• Only ONLINE DONATIONS up to $5,000 per donor per project will count towards winning a portion of the Incentive Fund.
• Your portion of the Incentive Fund will be displayed and fluctuate on the Bonus Day Leaderboard throughout the day. The leaderboard will recalculate every 3 minutes.
• The Bonus Day Leaderboard will lock at 23:59:59 E.T., and you can check how much you have won in incentive funds in the column labeled “Matching.”
• $20,000 Incentive Fund: Will be distributed to participants proportionally based on final fundraising totals during the day. At the end of Bonus Day, the project that brings in the most dollars will win the most significant slice of the Incentive Fund, and every project that activates donors will earn something. Your final share of the Incentive Fund will not be determined until Bonus Day ends on Dec. 9, 23:59:59 E.T.
• Each participants’ portion of the Incentive Fund is determined as follows: [Total Project Donations on Bonus Day] ÷ [Total Donations To All Projects on Bonus Day] * [$20,000] ≈ Your portion of the Incentive Fund
• GlobalGiving will indicate in your donation manager, which donations count towards your total raised on Bonus Day based on the time of the donation, the method of payment, and the unique donor criteria.
• There will be two Bonus Day Cash Prizes.
  • Most Funds Raised: $1,000
  • Most Unique Donors: $1,000
• Prize money (incentive funds and bonus prizes) does not count towards the $5,000 and 40 donor thresholds.
• Recurring Donations: On Bonus Day, any new, unique recurring donors secured will count as two individual donors towards the Most Unique Donor prize as well as towards the project’s overall donor count in the Accelerator. Additionally, new recurring donations up to $200 per donor per project will have their initial donation matched 100% after the fourth donation. See the “Monthly Giving Offers!” section for complete details.
• GlobalGiving reserves the right to make final decisions on all matters concerning the allocation of cash prizes.
• Please note that all donations are final. GlobalGiving cannot change the time, date, or status of a donation after processing takes place.
• Information on tax-efficient giving, fees, exchange rates, disbursements, disqualification, unique donors, and vetting applies to the Accelerator Bonus Day.
• Only organizations participating in GlobalGiving’s 2020 Giving Season Accelerator are eligible to participate on Bonus Day.

Overall Prizes

• At the end of the Accelerator, GlobalGiving awards cash prizes to projects in the following categories:
  • Most Funds Raised: $3,000, $1,500, 500
  • Most Unique Donors: $2,000, $1,000, $500
  • Most Recurring Donors: $1,000, 500, 250
• Promotional prizes: Awarded to all projects that meet the corresponding thresholds at the end of the Accelerator:
  • Email Promotion: All projects that raise at least $7,500 from 50 unique donors during the Accelerator will feature an exclusive email promotion following the Accelerator’s end.
  • Homepage Time: Projects that raise at least $10,000 from 60 unique donors during the Accelerator will earn a spot on GlobalGiving’s homepage for a full day in 2021.

Monthly Giving Offers

• Monthly Donors Count Twice: To encourage donors to set up recurring donations supporting your project, each active, unique recurring donor to your project counts twice towards your goal of 40 unique donors and donor bonus prizes. (For example: If an organization gets three unique recurring donors, those three donors will count as six towards the Accelerator graduate goal of 40.) If a donor cancels the recurring donation before the Accelerator’s end, the unique donor will only count once.
• Recurring Donation Match: During 2020 Giving Season Accelerator, new recurring donations up to $200 per donor per project will have their initial donation matched 100% after the fourth donation. (Example: Your organization gets one $50 monthly donor during 2020 Giving Season Accelerator. After their March 2021 payment, GlobalGiving matches the initial donation at 100% with $50.) If the donor cancels the recurring donation before the third automatic payment, the match will not be applied. Recurring donations made by project leaders or staff of the recipient project or organization are not eligible for matching.
• GlobalGiving will cancel all recurring donations to organizations that do not raise at least $5,000 from 40 unique donors during the 2020 Giving Season Accelerator.

Monthly Donor Drive (Dec. 14 - 18)

• To help you grow your monthly support base during the year-end fundraising season, GlobalGiving is offering a 200% match on all new monthly donations set up between Dec. 14, 2020, at 00:00:00 ET and Dec. 18, 2020, at 23:59:59 ET.
• New monthly donations to your GlobalGiving Accelerator project that start during the Monthly Donor Drive will be matched at 200% up to $200 per donor, per project. Monthly donations above $200 per month will still receive the maximum $400 match to the project.
• The 200% match only applies to the first donation in the monthly series. New monthly donations started this week must remain active for three months after the initial donation (a minimum of four donations total) to qualify for the match. For example, new recurring donations started during the monthly donor drive in December that remain active through January, February, and March will be matched
• To be eligible for the match, monthly donations must be set up online using a credit card, debit card, PayPal, or ApplePay. No other available giving options will qualify for the match.
• Monthly donations made by project leaders or staff of the recipient project or organization are not eligible for matching.
• Only monthly donations created on GlobalGiving are eligible for this matching offer, and if you don’t graduate from the Accelerator, all recurring donations will be canceled.

Donation Methods + Eligibility

• Eligible Donations: Online donations (credit card, debit card, PayPal, ApplePay, and individually purchased GlobalGiving gift cards) and mobile donations through M-Changa will count towards your Accelerator progress.
• Donations must be made by the account or credit cardholder.
• Ineligible Payment Methods: Cash, checks, text-to-give, CAF check, CAF online, wire transfers, ACH, DAFs, donations made by JustGiving, corporate gift cards, donations made on GlobalGiving corporate or organizational giving site, donations made directly to an organization rather than a project, or donations made through Facebook.
• GlobalGiving is moderating any activity not in the spirit of requesting separate individuals to support organizations.
• GlobalGiving reserves the right to disqualify organizations for any attempts of misconduct permanently.
• Please note that all donations are final. GlobalGiving cannot change the time, date, or status of a donation after it is processed for any reason.

Disbursements

• The exchange rate will be estimated at the time of the donation but may be subject to change until the donation settles with the donor’s bank or credit card. GlobalGiving disburses funds using the exchange rate based on the settlement value of each transaction.
• GlobalGiving disburses funds raised by US-based organizations during the Accelerator in late January 2021. We will also disburse funds raised by non-US organizations that raise at least $100 in late January 2021.
• Non-US organizations that raise less than $100 will not receive their funds in late January 2021. GlobalGiving will hold these funds until your organization reaches the $100 threshold in a future Accelerator for as long as your due diligence is valid. If, after two years, when due diligence expires, your organization has not raised the disbursable amount, GlobalGiving will reallocate the funds.
• Please note that GlobalGiving maintains the right to make a final decision on all matters concerning the adjudication of unique donors and the Accelerator’s final results.

Tax-Efficient Giving, Fees, & Vetting

• Tax Efficiency: GlobalGiving is a registered nonprofit charity in the United States and England and Wales. Donations made by eligible donors in the United States can be claimed as tax-deductible contributions on United States tax returns. Donations made by eligible donors in the United Kingdom can claim Gift Aid (an extra 25% added to eligible donations by the UK Government) when they donate in GBP.
• Gift Aid does not count towards project totals in the Accelerator but will appear in your Donation Manager once HMRC receives the payment. It may take up to 2 months for Gift Aid transactions to show up in your Donation Manager.
• Fulfillment Fee: GlobalGiving charges a 12% nonprofit support fee plus a 3% processing fee on the organization’s first $5,000 raised on the platform. After organizations raise $5,000 on GlobalGiving, the nonprofit support fee reduces to 5% for U.S. and U.K. registered organizations and 7% for organizations registered outside the U.S. and U.K. The 3% processing fee remains fixed.
• The fee does not apply to bonus prizes or matching funds awarded in the Accelerator. The GlobalGiving fee helps cover the costs we incur to conduct due diligence, promote your organization and projects, provide you with fundraising training and tools, and maintain and improve our online technology to keep you connecting with new donors.
  • Are you interested in accessing the lower fee immediately? Participants have the option to pay a small start-up fee in advance of the Accelerator start date. This offer expires Nov. 25, 2020, and only online payments are accepted. To learn more and check your eligibility, visit the advanced fee payment page.
• Vetting: GlobalGiving may conduct additional due diligence on your organization both during and after the Accelerator campaign. We reserve the right to remove your project from the site at any time if your organization does not comply with our vetting standards, Non-Discrimination, and Faith-based Activities policy, or any other GlobalGiving Terms + Conditions.

Have questions? Check out the Accelerator Resource Document, Accelerator FAQs, and join the Accelerator Facebook group. If you still have questions, please don’t hesitate to email us at accelerator@globalgiving.org. We typically respond in one-three business days.