Fundraising in Zoom Events

A Zoom Event can be turned into a fundraiser as a result of Zoom Events. As a result of this feature, you will be able to allow attendees to make direct donations during your Meeting or Webinar directly to verified nonprofit organizations. Additionally, you will be able to see a live feed of donors.

This article covers:

• General questions

  • What is Pledge?

  • What is the Pledgeling Foundation?

  • Where can I add or see charitable fundraisers on Zoom Events?

• Zoom Events charitable fundraisers: Host questions

  • How do I add a fundraiser to my Zoom Events event?

  • Can I raise funds for anyone or am I limited to nonprofits?

  • When will my attendees be able to donate to nonprofits?

  • How do I display live donations during my Zoom Events event?

  • Can I display live donations if I’m hosting a Zoom Events event on my iPad or mobile device?

  • Can my Zoom Events fundraiser contribute to more than one nonprofit?

  • Will the nonprofit be notified that donations came from my Zoom Events charitable fundraiser?

  • How do I remove charitable donations from my Zoom Events?

  • Can I set custom donation amounts on the Zoom Events donation form?

  • How will I know when someone donates to my Zoom Events?

  • How do I track the donations raised for my fundraisers?

• Zoom Events charitable fundraisers: donor questions & donations to charitable organizations

  • What fees are taken out of my donation?

  • How do I know my donation was received by the nonprofit?

  • Where is my tax receipt?

  • What nonprofit organizations can Pledge send donations to?

  • Are my donations tax-deductible?

  • I want to donate to a nonprofit, but it’s not listed. Now what?

  • US nonprofit organizations

  • Non-US charitable organizations

  • What data is shared with nonprofits?

  • How do I review, change, or delete my personal information?

  • Can I donate from outside of the US?

• Credit card charges

  • How do I cancel my recurring (monthly) donation?

  • Can my charitable donation be refunded?

  • I don’t recognize this charge on my credit or debit card!

  • How do I change the credit card on my recurring (monthly) donation?

  • How secure are my identity and card information?

  • Why did I get a refund from Pledge?

General questions

What is Pledge?

In order to power charitable donations through Zoom Events, pledgeling Technologies is Zoom Events’ technology partner. There is no doubt that it is the leading platform for charitable giving and crowdfunding for nonprofits, corporations, and individuals who are driven by missions. On the Zoom App Marketplace, Pledge is the app that powers the Donations by Pledge app, a top 5 finalist in the 2020 Whale Watch Zoom App Marketplace Competition. For questions, contact zoomdonations@pledgeling.com.

What is the Pledgeling Foundation?

There is a nonprofit organization, Pledgeling Foundation, that simplifies charitable giving by offering donor-advised funds that are IRS 501(c)(3)-qualified. Donations are processed from more than 90 countries and granted to over 2 million organizations worldwide, including all 501(c)(3) nonprofits registered in good standing with the Internal Revenue Service, as well as hundreds of thousands of vetted and verified international charities operating throughout the world. In addition to being nonpartisan and operating out of Los Angeles, California (Federal Tax ID: 46-2440594), the Pledgeling Foundation also has a national presence.

Where can I add or see fundraisers on Zoom Events?

The Zoom Events platform allows the creation, modification, and access to charitable fundraisers, which can be used to raise funds for charities.

Zoom Events charitable fundraisers: Host questions

How do I add a fundraiser to my Zoom Events event?

When creating a Zoom Events event, you have the option of adding a fundraiser to your event to help raise funds to support a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.

Can I raise funds for anyone or am I limited to nonprofits?

There are currently more than 2 million nonprofit and charitable organizations across the world that are eligible to donate, including all US 501(c)(3) “public charities” in good standing with the IRS, as well as qualified charitable organizations in 90 countries around the globe. Within the next few months, Pledge expects to roll out a crowdfunding platform that will allow individuals to make donations to charities they support. Stay tuned!

When will my attendees be able to donate to nonprofits?

The following information will be available to attendees so that they can donate to a fundraiser before, during, or after the event:

• Before: The event page and ticket dashboard are the two places where attendees can donate

• During: If a Host decides to display live donations with the Pledge virtual donation overlay on the screen and displays the dedicated URL on the Host’s screen, attendees can donate via the event page or by going to the dedicated website URL displayed on the Host’s screen.

• After: The event page and the ticket dashboard will both allow attendees to donate to the event

How do I display live donations during my Zoom Events event?

A link to instructions will be sent to you once the fundraiser has been created on your Zoom Events event and you have been given instructions on how to set up the virtual donation overlay on Pledge.

Can I display live donations if I’m hosting a Zoom Events event on my iPad or mobile device?

It is currently only possible to activate the Pledge virtual donation overlay on desktop computers.

Can my Zoom Events fundraiser contribute to more than one nonprofit?

It is possible for event hosts to choose as many as 10 nonprofit or charitable organizations to receive donations from their event at a time. The host, on the other hand, has the possibility of changing the beneficiary organization as often as he or she wants. If you have set up a birthday party on Zoom Events, and you raise $250 for your favorite nonprofit organization, after the party, you can switch the beneficiary organization so that new donations will be made to this other nonprofit organization.

Will the nonprofit be notified that donations came from my Zoom Events charitable fundraiser?

The details of your Zoom Events event are currently not shared with non-profit donation recipients via Pledge, such as the name of the Host or the event, at this time. Pledge only shares donation details with nonprofits, such as a donor’s name (if the donor doesn’t wish to remain anonymous), the date of the donation, and the amount of the donation. Donor data can be viewed by authorized representatives from the nonprofits by logging into their account and accessing the information that is in their account.

How do I remove charitable donations from my Zoom Events event?

If you wish to remove the fundraiser from your event page, you can go to the Event Options section on the Zoom Events event creation or edit page, and uncheck the Fundraising option.

It will become impossible for people to make donations, but any funds that have already been processed and forwarded to the organization you have designated will be forwarded to that organization.

By clicking on the Manage tab, you will be able to edit your previously created event if you change your mind or want to donate to an entirely different organization than what you originally chose.

Can I set custom donation amounts on the Zoom Events donation form?

The dollar amounts that are pre-set on the donation buttons ($25, $50, $100, and $250) cannot be customized. It should be noted that if the donors wish to donate any amount outside of the limits of these amounts, they can type it in the custom $ USD box regardless of what amount they choose to donate. A minimum donation of $5 is required to make a donation.

How will I know when someone donates to my Zoom Events event?

A list of donations will be accessible on a Zoom Events host’s dashboard if he or she has created a fundraiser and has created a fundraising page.

In the case of a fundraising goal being set, if at least one donation has been made, the total amount raised to date will be displayed on the donation form visible to all if a fundraising goal has been set. If a fundraising goal has not been set, and there has been at least $25 donated, then the total amount of donations to date will be displayed if there has not been a fundraising goal set.

How do I track the donations raised for my fundraisers?

In order to see a general overview of how much money you have been able to raise from your fundraiser events, please follow these steps:

1. Join Zoom Events by signing in to your account.

2. Click on the Manage button at the top-right corner of the page.

3. Click on Event Summary from the navigation menu on the left.
   The total donations from your fundraiser events will appear in an overview that provides a general idea of how the event performed.

In order to see details about donations that are specific to an event, please follow these steps:

1. Zoom Events can be accessed by signing in.

2. Select Manage from the top-right corner of the screen.

3. Click on the Events link in the navigation menu.

4. If you would like to view the details of an event, click the Past Events tab and find the event that you are interested in.

5. Select the ellipses by clicking on them.

6. You can view the summary of the event by selecting View Event Summary.

7. The View Details link can be clicked if you would like to see who donated to your fundraiser and the amount of their contribution.

Charitable Fundraisers by Zoom Events: Questions and Answers from Donors and Donations to Charitable Organizations

What fees are taken out of my donation?

There is none. The Zoom Events team will cover the costs associated with credit-card processing, so that 100% of the funds donated through Zoom Events will be distributed directly to nonprofits that have been verified.

How do I know my donation was received by the nonprofit?

• Donations to US organizations: If you wish to confirm that the charitable organization has received a payment from the Pledgeling Foundation, you should contact the organization directly. As a result of hosting an event that brought in donations over a period of more than one calendar month, those donations are typically spread across more than one payment to the nonprofit.
  Please provide your Zoom Events event ID to the Pledge support page if you need further confirmation and Pledge will be able to provide you with the information you require. It is possible for Pledge to track when your donation has been paid to the recipient organization and confirm that the check has been cashed by the organization. In the event that images of the checks are required, Pledge can provide them.
  In the first fifteen days of the following month, all donations received by Pledgeling Foundation during the previous month are bundled together and re-granted within the same calendar month.

• For donations outside the US: Pledge works through a number of international disbursement partners, and we do not send donations for regrant to a specific charitable organization until we have received a minimum of $500 in donations to that particular charity. Funds can be delayed as a result of this.

Where is my tax receipt?

The email should have been sent to you. If you do not receive an email receipt from Pledge to you within minutes of successfully completing a donation, please search your email for the word “Pledge” and make sure to check your junk or spam folder in case you did not receive it.

In case your email address is missing from the list, it may be because you mistyped it on the donation form. To get in touch with our support team, please send an email to help.pledgeling.org with your name, the email address you would have entered on your donation form, the organization you donated to, and the approximate date and amount of the donation. Providing us with the exact amount and date, as well as your credit card number’s last four digits, is going to be a huge help, and we will be able to process your order efficiently. This is not something Pledge needs, but if Pledge cannot locate your record immediately, then it can help cut down on the amount of back-and-forth emails you have to send.

What nonprofit organizations can Pledge send donations to?

Pledge can regrant donations to:

• Nonprofits who are registered with the IRS as 501(c)(3) ‘public charities’ are eligible to apply. One exception to that is that Pledge’s database has virtually all active US nonprofits listed in it (though nonprofits that have just recently been approved by the Internal Revenue Service may not be listed yet).

• The charitable organizations are located in hundreds of countries all around the world, including Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, where there are thousands of charitable organizations operating.

Have an organization in mind, but not sure if it qualifies? For US nonprofits, visit guidestar.org or search the IRS site directly.

The following information can be found on this page if you would like to request the addition of an organization to Pledge.

Are my donations tax-deductible?

As long as you are within the scope of the law and your personal tax situation, contributions to Pledgeling Foundation are tax deductible. Since Pledgeling Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization approved by the IRS, donations made to the foundation are treated as if they were made to any other nonprofit organization.

When you make a donation, Pledge will send you a receipt immediately after the donation, which will include all the necessary details to substantiate the deduction on your tax return. The “Pledge” email can be found in your junk, spam, or trash folder of your email account.

I want to donate to a nonprofit, but it’s not listed. Now what?

US nonprofit organizations

There are virtually all 501(c)(3) nonprofits in the United States listed in the Pledge system. It is most likely that one will not appear in search results for the following reasons:

• It’s a brand new program that hasn’t been updated by the IRS which monitors the database that Pledge uses.

• There is a different official name for this device than the one we use in our everyday lives. A daycare center established by a church, for example, may be listed under the church’s EIN number.

• This is a fiscally sponsored program, which means that another organization handles the actual donation processing and receipting.

• The name that Pledge has stored has (or doesn’t have) any abbreviation, hyphenation, or other punctuation that has been used in the name, which resulted in the search not finding it. In order to find what you are looking for, you must try different variations of the keywords or use a less specific search term.

• In the case of the organization not filing tax returns despite IRS warnings, its 501(c)(3) status has lapsed.

• As a matter of fact, it’s not a 501(c)(3), it’s a type of nonprofit organization that is less common, such as one that is political in nature. It is only possible for Pledge to grant donations to nonprofits which receive a 501(c)(3) designation as a ‘public charity’.

On the IRS website, you can search for US nonprofits, both 501(c)(3) organizations as well as other types.

I would be glad if you could suggest a US 501(c)(3) organization if you’d like to see it included in the list. Please include as much information as you can about the organization you are looking for and what you searched for (such as its name, EIN if you know it, its address, its website, etc.).

Non-US charitable organizations

Pledge’s partners provide listing information about non-US organizations, and they do not have any direct control over the information provided by their partners. Our partners have the option of adding an organization to their listing at Pledge, but they incur research, vetting, and processing costs that they pass on to Pledge in the process. In the event that Pledge’s partners are able to perform this service for the non-US charitable organization that wishes to add to its database, Pledge charges a minimum of $500 to do so, and depending on the country, the amount may be much higher.

What data is shared with nonprofits?

By default, Pledgeling Foundation will provide the following services to the recipient organization:

• Donor name (can be removed at your option)

• Donor email (can be removed at your option)

• Donation amount

• Donation date

• Partner name (Zoom)

In the same way, they will receive the same information if you donate directly to them online by using their website.

If you choose to hide your name and email address as a donor, you have the option of doing so. You can choose to make an anonymous donation if you don’t want Pledge to pass along your name and email to the charity that you’re donating to. The amount and the date will only be passed along to the recipient in this case.

It is possible for you to share your contact information with the nonprofit organization that you donated to through Zoom Events if you made a donation using Zoom Events. Following the submission of your donation, you will be presented with this option on the Thank You screen. Depending on which settings are selected, the charitable organization is able to see the following information:

• Anonymous Donation: Nonprofit organization sees no name or email address.

• Non-Anonymous Donation, but Share Contact Info NOT checked: NPO sees name, but not your email

• Non-Anonymous Donation, Share Contact info checked – NPO sees name and email

For more information, please refer to the privacy policy of Pledge. In the event that your donation is initiated through a partner with whom you have an account, such as Zoom Events, you should also be aware of their privacy policies if you are donating through a partner.

How do I review, change, or delete my personal information?

If you would like to know what information Pledge collects, when it collects it, and how Pledge uses it, please review Pledge’s current privacy policy.

It is not the intention of this article to replace that policy, but rather to summarize some of it. The following terms and conditions are subject to change at any time; however, in the event there are any differences, Pledge’s privacy policy takes precedence:

• Personal Information: Any piece of information about you that is personally identifiable to you, whether it has to do with your name, your address, your phone number, your email address, or any other information that is related or is associated with any of the above.

• In the event that you have an account with us, you can access certain of your Personal Information and review or change it if you wish to. The Personal Information in your account can also be reviewed, updated, corrected, or deleted by providing details in a Support Ticket on the support site and detailing your request (however, if some or all of your Personal Information is deleted, then your account might become deactivated). In the same way, you can request that we close your account by following the same procedure described above.

• Despite our best efforts, we are unable to remove all of your personal information. We will not be able to delete your Personal Information at your request, even if you request that it be deleted for you, since some of this information is necessary to provide you with the services you require and to maintain the integrity of our records, which cannot be deleted entirely. It is possible that we will need to keep certain Personal Information for various reasons, including complying with laws, preventing fraud, resolving disputes, troubleshooting problems, assisting with investigations, enforcing our Terms of Use, enforcing our Terms of Use, and taking other actions that are permitted by law or are part of our legitimate business operations. We will, if at all possible, move your Personal Information into Anonymous Information if we are unable to delete all of it for these or other reasons. In the context of anonymizing information, we mean information that has not been associated with or linked to your personal information in any way. Information that is anonymous cannot be used for the purpose of identifying or contacting individual individuals.

• When your Personal Information has already been shared with a third party, we will not be able to access that Personal Information any longer if it has already been disclosed to a third party. Furthermore, we cannot force the parties to whom we have already disclosed that Personal Information, including charitable organizations, to delete or modify the information.

• Those of us residing in the European Economic Area have the right, in accordance with the EU General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (GDPR), to request access to and rectification or erasure of your personal data from us (GDPR), as well as the right to be able to port your data from us to another location, the right to restrict your personal data from being processed, the right to object to the processing of your personal data, and the right to file a complaint with a supervisory authority. Outside of the European Economic Area, you may also have rights that are similar to those within your country’s laws if you reside there. Your personal data can be accessed, rectified, portable, or erased by you, and your account can be deleted if you wish. Please use the “New Support Ticket” form at help.pledgeling.com (Pledgeling Technologies) or help.pledgeling.org (Pledgeling Foundation) to submit your request, or feel free to write us at Pledge, Attn: Data Controller, 3rd Floor, 1638 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291.

• It is important to note that you have the right to restrict processing and to object to processing. It doesn’t matter if you live in the European Union or if you don’t live there In the event that you wish to exercise your right to restrict processing or your right to object to processing, or you do not live in an EU country, Despite the fact that you believe that you are entitled to restriction of processing or the right to object to processing based on your local laws, you can submit your request by using the “New Support Ticket” form at pledgeling.com (Pledgeling Technologies) or help.pledgeling.org (Pledgeling Foundation), or write us at: Pledge, Attn: Data Controller, 3rd Floor, 1638 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291.

Can I donate from outside of the US?

Unless otherwise stated, all donations will be processed in US dollars unless otherwise noted. If you are located in Australia or Canada, then the $ sign means “US$” even if you are in Australia or Canada. Please keep that in mind when donating.

Pledgeling Foundation is a non-profit organization that accepts donations from US taxpayers that are tax deductible. There may be other tax benefits available if you are living outside of the United States so be sure to check with your local tax authority.

As of right now, Pledge is only able to provide tax receipts to donors in the United States. In that case, if you are living in Australia and donating to a charity there, it is possible that your tax authority may not accept Pledge’s receipt for tax purposes.

Credit Card Charges

How do I cancel my recurring (monthly) donation?

In your most recent email receipt, you’ll find a manage your subscription link at the beginning of the paragraph with the words, “This is a monthly donation…” As soon as you click the link, you’ll be taken to the Subscription page for managing your subscription. Find the Cancel recurring donation button at the bottom of the Subscription page. To cancel a recurring donation, click the Cancel button at the bottom of the page.

It is very likely that you will not receive an email receipt for recurring donations if you hadn’t checked your spam or junk mail folders for anything with the word “Pledge” in it.

In the event that you are still unable to locate the receipts, please open a support ticket by clicking on New Support Ticket. In order for Pledge to find your recurring donation more easily, you need to make sure that you enter your email address correctly, the date, the amount of the charge, and the last four digits of the credit card that is being charged. This is important since the reason you are not receiving receipts is probably a problem with the email address Pledge has on file for you.

Can my charitable donation be refunded?

Unfortunately, many donations are considered “irrevocable gifts”, and there are no refunds available to donors due to laws and regulations governing charitable contributions and the inability of Pledge to recover funds already sent to nonprofit recipients.

Please send us an email if you have made the following pledge:

• Done the wrong charity when I directed a donation to it

• Paid a donation twice

• Donated the wrong amount (such as 10x or 100x what you intended)

The funds still have not been regranted to the nonprofit that received the erroneous donation, in which case, if they have not yet been regranted to the nonprofit that received the erroneous donation, Pledge may be able to help.

The designated charitable organization will have to be contacted directly if Pledge has already forwarded the funds to your chosen charity. If the funds have already been forwarded, you must contact them directly.

I don’t recognize this charge on my credit or debit card!

Please investigate your email, including your spam and junk mail folders, if you do not recognize a charge and contact Pledge before disputing the charge with your credit and debit card company. If the charge is not recognized by you, please search your email for “Pledge” on or right after the date of the charge.

It is important to note that the Pledgeling Foundation is a nonprofit donor-advised fund which accepts donations from many sources and re-grants these funds to the organizations that have been designated by the donor.

As soon as a donation is processed, Pledge emails tax receipts almost immediately after it has been processed. You should have that as proof that nothing was wrong with your email address unless there was a typo. If you are unable to find this email in your email box, check your spam folder as well as your junk folder for “Pledge”.

If you recall, you were invited to a Zoom Events event around the time of the charge, so you may want to search for those. You can view the donations you have made through the Activity tab of the event’s web page by clicking the link to the event’s web page.

If you have a spouse, partner, or family member who made the payment, they may have given Pledge their e-mail address when they made the payment, so, if they did, you should ask them to look for an email sent by Pledge around the time of the charge.

You can still submit a “New Support Ticket” here if you don’t recognize the charge, and Pledge will be able to find out more about your donation if you submit a “New Support Ticket”. If possible, please include the following information:

• According to the statement you received from your credit card company, the date of the charge was

• There is an exact amount charged for the service

• It is the last four digits of the credit or debit card number that appears on the statement to indicate the charge has been made

• I would like to know your first and last name

• Please provide any email addresses you might use when making an online donation

In this case, if you decide to contact your credit card company, Pledge’s credit card processor will charge you $15 for any “dispute” that you initiate against your credit card company. During the next month, Pledge will deduct $15 from the next donation that Pledge will make to the charitable organization for which you have donated, and that will come from other people’s donations. The $15 will come from other people’s donations. Before you contact your bank or credit card company to dispute a charge, you should contact Pledge first.

How do I change the credit card on my recurring (monthly) donation?

The most recent emailed receipt that you received contains a link that will allow you to manage your subscription in the paragraph that begins “This is a monthly donation …”. If you click the link, you will be taken to a page titled “Subscription,” as shown in the screenshot below. A large red button labelled “Cancel recurring donation” can be found at the top of that page – click on it to cancel your automatic payment!

It is very likely that you will not receive an email receipt for recurring donations if you hadn’t checked your spam or junk mail folders for anything with the word “Pledge” in it.

Please open a support ticket if you are still unable to locate your receipts using the New Support Ticket button on this page if you have not already done so. As the reason you are not receiving your receipts is most likely due to a problem with the email address that Pledge has on file for you, please make sure that the date and amount of the charge is entered correctly, as well as the last four digits of the credit card that is being charged, so that Pledge can quickly locate your recurring donation.

How secure are my identity and card information?

There is no capturing, transmitting, or storing of your credit card information by Pledge itself. There is no need for Pledge’s system to pass through any of that data, since it is encrypted and sent directly from your device to Stripe, Pledge’s payment processor, without passing through their system. A Pledge system or network does not store or pass through any credit card information at any point, regardless of whether or not it is encrypted.

There are so many companies out there that utilize Stripe as their payment processor. Examples include Lyft, Shopify, Foursquare, Kickstarter, Pinterest, Slack, and many other companies that use Stripe as their payment processor. For more information on Stripe’s security, you can visit their website.

When encrypting, storing, or transmitting data, Pledge uses strict standards and protocols to make sure that the data is protected. In order to ensure that your data is secure, Pledge uses a hosting service that is SOC1 / SOC2 / SOC3 certified. There are regular security updates that Pledge installs on its systems, and they actively monitor their systems to prevent suspicious activity from taking place.

Why did I get a refund from Pledge?

Reasons for refunds on both charitable donations include:

• The contribution has been flagged as suspicious by Pledge’s payments processor. As a precaution, Pledge operates cautiously whenever possible, which is why the funds are refunded up front, before the funds are delivered to the nonprofit, event organizer, or their designated beneficiary. This helps prevent potential chargebacks in the future.

• The company that manages your credit card disputed a charge that you received.

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