FAQ
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Q. What is Great Community Give and how does it work?
The eighth annual Great Community Give is a one-day event that promotes charitable giving to 501 (c)3 nonprofit organizations located in and serving Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.
Join us on April 16, 2025, from 6 a.m.- 8 p.m.
There is no entry fee or charge to nonprofits to participate. The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County contributes administrative resources and giving platform costs.
This event enables anyone (around the world!) to invest in our community and the capacity of local nonprofits. Prize money offered through fun competitions through the day can amplify each organization’s efforts and the impact of its donors.
Q. What is the goal?
The Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham hosts and supports this event with the following goals:
- Highlight the nonprofits making valuable contributions to our community
- Engage with community and nonprofit organizations to advance their social media presence
- Attract a new generation of donors for nonprofit organizations
- Help our nonprofits connect with new donors.
Q. Is there a fee for participating nonprofits?
There is no fee for nonprofits to participate; the subscription cost of the online giving platform, as well as administrative resources and staff time, are provided by the Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County as a benefit to the area nonprofit community.
Q. Is there a fee to donate?
Donations will incur a 3% platform fee plus a 2.5% + $.30 credit card processing fee or a $3.00 flat processing fee for e-check donations made through ACH (e-check donations must be over $100 to use ACH). Donors will always have the option to cover these fees on your behalf.
Any donations processed outside of the event’s donation period through GiveGab.com, or subsequent recurring donations are subject to transaction fees outlined on the GiveGab.com pricing page: http://info.givegab.com/pricing.
Q. Why should donors give through the Great Community Give?
It's as easy as Point, Click, Give! This event enables anyone around the world to invest in our community and increase the capacity of local nonprofits.
Prize money given by our sponsors is offered through fun competitions through the day, which can amplify your donation's impact. Thank you to all of our Great Community Give 2025 Sponsors!
Q. Do I need an account on GiveGab to donate?
No, donors do not need to create an account to make a donation. A donor account will, however, collect tax receipts in one location, enable tracking of donations, provide the ability to follow supported charities, and engage in future volunteering and donations. Even if you do not create an account, a tax receipt is emailed to you immediately after your donation is processed.
Q. Can I fundraise for my favorite nonprofit?
Yes! You can be a champion for the cause(s) you care about! Join the organization's "peer to peer" fundraisers by either saying yes to invitation from your organization OR visit the organization's page and click "Fundraise." (In order to create a Fundraising Page, you will need to create a user account.)
For more information, visit the “Fundraiser Guide.”
Q. What is 'Early Giving'?
Donors can make a gift to a participating nonprofit organization starting April 2, 2025. These gifts will not be displayed on the website until 6 a.m. on April 16, 2025.
"Early Gifts" will be counted towards overall fundraising totals, Leaderboard and Board Member prizes. Early gifts will NOT count towards the determination of Power Hour prizes or Golden Tickets on the day of Great Community Give.
Q. What are Offline Gifts?
We encourage use of the online giving platform because it makes record-keeping and receipting easy. We want everyone to participate, regardless of their giving format preference, and we understand that some donors may prefer to give in check or cash format.
Organizations may accept donations via other methods besides the online giving platform. Check or cash donations, including checks from IRAs or Donor Advised Funds, should be mailed or delivered DIRECTLY to the participating nonprofit no later than 8 p.m. on April 16. Profile administrators must log all cash and check gifts by 8 p.m. on April 16. You will have the option to receipt the donor during hte logging process. Review this step-by-step tutorial to learn both the easy process and what information is necessary.
Donations made with a credit card made directly to the nonprofit are NOT ELIGIBLE to be counted for in totals for any GCG prize competition and should not be logged.
Q. When do organizations receive the funds that were contributed?
Nonprofits will receive the donated funds by direct deposit to their bank account within 5-7 business days of the event. GiveGab uses a PCI Level 1 compliant payment service to ensure that all financial data is secure.
Q. What about a tax receipt?
Donors automatically receive an emailed receipt from GiveGab after making their donation. The receipt includes everything needed for tax purposes.
Q. The profile of the organization I am interested in supporting has tiles with dollar amounts. What does this mean?
Some organizations may outline what a specific donation amount (i.e., $25) means to their organization's impact for their organization. Others might use this area to simply suggest a donation amount. Please note that unless specifically stated by the organization, donation levels illustrate examples of what your gift means to that nonprofit. This means ALL gifts are unrestricted unless the nonprofit is fundraising for a specific project, program, or service. If these suggested donation amounts do not align with your capacity, you may use the Donate button on the organization profile to make a gift in the amount of your choosing of the $7 gift minimum or more. Please reach out to the nonprofit(s) for more information if you have questions.
Q. How can I set up a recurring gift?
When entering a donation, you can select the recurring gift option of monthly or quarterly. However, only donations actually received during the “early giving” stage or the Great Community Give day itself will count towards that day’s total and eligible for the prize money.
Please note that recurring gifts charged after the Great Community Give event will be subjected to Bonterra fees and not the same fees incurred during the giving day itself. Please use a chat button to contact Bonterra about their standard fees on recurring gifts.
Q. How will the donation be reported on my credit card?
The name of the nonprofit you have donated to will appear on your credit card statement. If you donate to multiple nonprofits at the same time using the checkout cart feature, the credit card statement will list each donation with the nonprofits’ name as the subject line.
Q. Is my donation tax deductible?
Donations are tax deductible. After making your donation, you will immediately receive an email from the organization confirming your tax-deductible gift. Save it for use for tax purposes. If you need another copy of your receipt, use the little blue chat bubble on the bottom right hand corner for assistance.
Q. Is my donation safe and secure?
Our technology partner Bonterra has conducted many giving days for community foundations and is the recognized technology leader for fundraising initiatives of this type. Both credit card and ACH (automated clearing house) transactions are secure, backed by a PCI Level 1 secure service provider certification.
Q. What does ACH mean?
In banking, ACH stands for Automated Clearing House, which is a network that coordinates electronic payments and automated money transfers. ACH is a way to move money between banks without using paper checks, wire transfers, credit card networks, or cash. ACH payments must be $100 or more.
Q. What is Plaid?
Plaid makes accepting ACH easier and more profitable by efficiently connecting and authenticating accounts.
Q. What is Mobile Pay?
GiveGab accepts mobile wallet options such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Microsoft Pay.
Q. If I am unsatisfied with my donation, can I get a refund?
For more information about asking for a refund (under extenuating circumstances only) or processing a refund, please visit this page.
Q. I'm concerned about the privacy of my information. Who receives my information?
Your personal contact information is the only kind of information available to both the nonprofit recipient of your donation and the Community Foundation of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County, as the event host. Your personal banking information is not available. Please be aware that when you check the box to make an anonymous donation, you are only choosing to be anonymous for sharing purposes on the organization's profile page. Your personal contact information will still be visible to the nonprofit recipient and the Community Foundation. Nonprofit administrators are asked to respect the desire for anonymity by not adding donors who wish to remain anonymous to email or mailing databases.
Q. What if my credit card is declined?
Credit cards can be declined for many reasons. First, make sure all the information entered is correct, including the cardholder’s correct name, address, zip code, expiration date and CSV. If your credit card continues to be declined after re-entering, contact the issuing bank.
Q. Can donors be anonymous?
Givers who wish to remain anonymous can specify that their name not be seen on the Great Community Give website. However, the nonprofit organization will receive anonymous donors’ names and addresses. We ask all nonprofit organizations to respect their desire for anonymity (by requesting that anonymous donors not be added to nonprofit email or mailing databases).
Q. Are nonprofits vetted before being allowed to participate?
Participation in the Great Community Give is predicated on two criteria: 1) 501(c)(3) status as validated through legal records and 2) a location in and a service area of Harrisonburg and Rockingham County.
As with any gift, donors should practice due diligence in researching the organization's financial health, leadership, and program effectiveness. Sites such as Charity Watch, Charity Navigator and Guidestar are useful resources to review financial information and other documentation, such as policies that contribute to organizational accountability and transparency.
The Community Foundation encourages prospective donors to contact the nonprofit of interest with specific questions and/or concerns. Before donating, consider asking the charity for a copy of their conflict or interest and whistleblower policies, as well as procedures for receiving and distributing funds. Charity Watch also suggests the following steps: Review the charity’s IRS Form 990 to see if its board of directors is adequately large and independent (Parts VI & VII), if any close family relationships exist (Part VI, line 2 & Schedule O), and if there are any related party transactions between the charity and the people operating it (Schedule L). Also check to see if the charity has reported a diversion of assets (Part VI, line 5) or any excess benefit transactions (Part IV, lines 25a & 25b). Read more about how smaller nonprofits differ in reporting requirements from large nonprofits.