FAQs


Shift My Gift FAQ's

What is Shift My Gift?
Shift My Gift is a web-based service which enables anyone to celebrate any occasion in their lives by redirecting money which would have been spent on gifts they don't want or need, to the nonprofits and causes with real need in the world.


What nonprofits are available to be selected as gifts?
Through our partnership with Guidestar (www.guidestar.org), most nonprofits registered in the US are available on Shift My Gift, from large international organizations to small, local nonprofits. Simply select "search" when choosing a nonprofit, and enter the name of your favorite nonprofit.


Why did we create Shift My Gift?
Shift My Gift was created when one of the founders sought to do this online during the holiday season and could not find a website that would let him quickly and easily shift his gifts to the causes he cared about. In that moment, Shift my Gift was born.


How are donations processed?
Donations are processed by our nonprofit partner Network for Good, a Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance accredited industry leader in processing online donations. Network for Good, in technical terms, is a "donor-advised fund," a 501(c)(3) organization that collects contributions from donors and distributes such contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations in good standing with the IRS recommended by you, the donor.


Is my donation tax deductible?
Your donation to a 501(c)3 charitable organization is 100% tax deductible.

Network for Good provides an electronic receipt at the time of the donation. Both the receipt you see onscreen at the completion of the donation process and the e-mail you receive shortly thereafter meet all IRS requirements as a record of donation. If you are asked to provide a paper receipt for IRS purposes, please print out a copy of your email receipt or send a request for a duplicate receipt to donations@networkforgood.org.

The tax deductibility of donations is dependent on the recipient organization maintaining approved Section 501c(3) status as well as the donor's individual tax circumstances. Please consult your tax advisor for more information.


How Do I Know My Donation is Secure?
Both Shift My Gift and Network for Good use industry-leading Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to keep your personal information as secure as possible. Network for Good helps to protect your information by working with partners that provide a secure and safe environment for credit card donations.

Furthermore, Network for Good, who processes the US credit card donations, is a Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance accredited charity that meets all of the BBB standards for charity accountability (BBB). They have processed more than $550 million in donations for 60,000 charities through their giving system.

Please check out our Privacy Policy for more information.


Is Shift My Gift a Nonprofit?
Shift My Gift is not a nonprofit; we operate as an LLC with a social mission. We can therefore maintain extremely low overhead, and any revenue we make helps pay for operations and lets the people who work at Shift My Gift make a living.


Is there a fee involved?
Shift My Gift charges each gifter a small, $1.49 processing fee to help us self-support our operation. This fee is more than offset by the tax deduction and savings the gifter receives by eliminating the cost of a material gift, gas, wrapping paper, etc. This fee is not tax-deductible.


Are there other costs involved in making a donation through this site?
In addition to the small, fixed $1.49 fee from Shift My Gift, the donation to your chosen nonprofit(s) is being processed by Network for Good, a Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance accredited nonprofit 501(c)3 donor advised fund. Network for Good re-grants the donation funds to your designated charity(ies), but there are costs associated with processing and distributing online donations to your favorite charity(ies). A 4.75% grant is made to Network for Good with each donation transaction to fund its mission and help support the expense of maintaining the technology to process and distribute your donations. Note that your entire donation, including the 4.75% grant, is tax deductable.


When will a charity receive my donation?
Network for Good sends payments to nonprofits on the 15th of each month that include all donations made in the previous month. For example, donations processed in February will be paid on March 15th.


FAQ's for Nonprofits:

How do I participate as a nonprofit in Shift My Gift?
Through our partnership with Guidestar (www.guidestar.org), chances are if you are a registered nonprofit in the US you are already available to be selected as a gift. To check, enter the name of your nonprofit under the "search all" feature in "nonprofits" (you will need to log-in to do this). Shift My Gift also offers nonprofits the opportunity to create shift my gift campaigns to extend their fundraising reach at no cost - simply register for a nonprofit account and follow the instructions here: www.shiftmygift.com/smg-for-nonprofits.php.


How will my nonprofit organization receive funds from donations made through this site?
Donations to US nonprofits are processed by our nonprofit partner Network for Good (http://www1.networkforgood.org/allaboutnfg); an industry leader in processing online donations with a charitable giving system that is approved by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance (BBB). Payment for donations made to your nonprofit are sent on the 15th of each month and will include all donations made in the previous month. For example, donations processed in February will be paid on March 15th. Checks will be sent to your nonprofit's address as listed in GuideStar and will include an insert describing how to access the donation information (including the source) of all donations processed by Network for Good.