Signing up for online donations

Community groups are increasingly using online donations as a way of supplementing traditional methods of fundraising. Online donations do not necessarily replace existing fundraising methods but they can allow your group to attract new donors – and research shows that online donors generally give double the average donation. Using an online donations service can also increase your potential to engage, involve and interact with donors, who will benefit from around the clock and around the world access to your group.

To help Brisbane community groups tap into these benefits, Brisbane City Council and ourbrisbane.com have set up the Brisbane Gives Donations Centre. This is a secure, commission-free online donations service established through the ourcommunity.com.au National Community Giving Centre. Signing up for this service will allow your group to accept donations 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

And the best thing is that it is the only free online donations service meaning there are no commissions or fees charged for this service. The only charges that will be incurred by your group are the credit card fees and a bank transaction fee.

You also retain ownership of all your data – neither Brisbane City Council nor Our Community (which powers the service) will use any of your details in any way.

There are five simple steps involved in signing up your non-profit organisation to receive online donations:

• Step 1: Register your organisation
• Step 2: Send your appeal or fundraising details
• Step 3: Sign and return the donations agreement
• Step 4: Send your electronic banking details
• Step 5: Receiving your funds

And the beauty is most of the process can be carried out at the Brisbane Gives Donations Centre - all of the forms are right here, ready to be downloaded and posted/faxed off.

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Step 1: Register your organisation

You only need to register once for online donations with this service no matter how many appeals you post. Skip this step and go straight to Step 2 if you are already registered to receive online donations.

Note: If you have already registered for online donations at ourcommunity.com.au, you do not need to register again through the Brisbane Gives Donations Centre.

The Organisation Registration Form will ask you to provide the following information:

• Name of your organisation
• Your organisation’s ABN
• Whether or not your organisation has DGR (deductible gift recipient) status
• A contact name, address, email address, telephone and fax numbers for administration (not for public viewing)
• A contact name, address, email address, telephone and fax numbers to appear on your appeal page
• Information about your receipting options. You can choose from two methods - either:
  • Our Community provides a receipt via email (including all the details required by the donor for claiming a tax deduction), or
  • You arrange your own receipt, using donor information supplied to you by Our Community.

You will also need to send copies (not originals) of the following documents to verify your fundraising status:

• A certificate of registration or incorporation as a company or an incorporated association.
• Your organisation’s Authority to Fundraise certificate. Under Queensland law, if you want to carry out public fundraising you need to either:
  • be a registered charity, or
  • have been granted a sanction to fundraise by the Office of Fair Trading. For more information, visit the Office of Fair Trading website (go to Business > Charities) or call 1300 658 030.
• If applicable, a letter from the Australian Taxation Office advising of their endorsement of your organisation as a Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR). For more information visit the For Non-Profit Organisations section of the ATOassist website or call the ATO Non-Profit Infoline on 1300 130 248.

These documents can be sent or faxed to the address given at the end of this help sheet.

• Organisation Registration Form

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Step 2: Send your appeal or fundraising details

Once you have signed up for the online donation service and your details vetted by Our Community, you will be assigned an “appeal page”. Donors visiting your page will be able to find out:

• The name of your organisation
• Why you are collecting funds
• How the funds will be used
• The tax deductible status of their donation
• How their receipt will be provided
• How they can contact you for more information
• Details about how to give to your appeal either online, by phone or through the post.

To allow us to put together your appeal page, you will need to fill in an Appeal Sign up Form and fax or post to the address at the end of this help sheet. (You will need to fill out a new Appeal Sign up Form every time you lodge a new appeal, but you do not need to repeat Step 1).

To make your appeal page more attractive and instantly identifiable with your organisation, you may electronically send to Our Community your appeal or organisation logo. This will be used to make a banner for your appeal page.

• Tip: Campaigns that are “punchy” and outline specific causes are more successful in generating donations. Appeals for donations to cover general administrative costs, for example, usually do not perform very well.
  
  
• Appeal Sign up Form

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Step 3: Sign and return the donations agreement

Your next task is to sign and return the Online Donations Agreement, which outlines your organisation’s responsibilities. (You will need to sign a donations agreement for every appeal that you conduct but you do not need to repeat Step 1.)

The agreement includes the following key points:

• Our Community is a fundraising agent for your organisation. That means they do not take responsibility for ensuring that your organisation has completed the necessary communication with the Office of Fair Trading. It is your responsibility to make sure you have all the necessary government approvals.
• This is a non-exclusive agreement between your organisation and Our Community. You may both work with other organisations to do the same sort of fundraising exercise.
• When people make online donations to your organisation Our Community will pass the payments on to your organisation directly to your bank account.
• You will be the owners of the donor details.
• Our Community takes NO percentage of the donations collected online. You receive 100% of the donations collected, less credit card commission and bank fees only.

Fill in the Online Donations Agreement and fax or post to the address at the end of this help sheet.

• Online Donations Agreement

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Step 4: Send your electronic banking details

So that Our Community can deposit your donations directly into your bank account, please fill in the Electronic Funds Transfer Application and send it to the address at the end of this help sheet.

• Electronic Funds Transfer Application

Step 5: Receiving your funds

Congratulations! If you’ve followed all of the steps above you are now set up for online donations. Your appeal will remain active on the Brisbane Gives and www.ourcommunity.com.au sites until your nominated expiry date, or 12 months from the activation date, whichever is sooner.

You will receive your donated funds in the following manner:

• Our Community will send a monthly email and letter detailing all of your donations for that period, including donor details and addresses.
• Our Community will send a cheque of your donations monthly.

The guidelines are outlined in greater detail in the Online Donations Agreement. Again, it is important to reiterate that Our Community DOES NOT take any fees for this service. 100% of the donation is given to your organisation, less bank fees only.

Please Note: Currently donations are issued to your group by cheque at the end of each month. Our electronic transfer system, where donations are electronically transferred directly into your bank account is currently in development. Please complete the EFT Application to authorise the transfer of funds to your nominated account. This will allow us begin the transferring of donations directly to your account once the system is in place.

Now all you need to do is promote your online donations appeal.

Where to send your forms

Completed forms and other documents can be sent to:

Or faxed to:

If you have any queries or need help with your registration, contact Amy Johannsohn at the above address and fax numbers, telephone (03) 9320 6806 or email to donations@ourcommunity.com.au.

• STOP! Before you lick the stamp, make sure you have enclosed your:

• Organisation Registration Form
• Certificate of registration or incorporation
• Authority to Fundraise
• Letter from the ATO confirming your Deductible Gift Recipient status (if applicable)
• Appeal Sign up Form
• Online Donations Agreement
• Electronic Funds Transfer Application

• Please note that we reserve the right to remove appeals or fund-raising events that may contravene the principles and philosophies of Our Community Pty Ltd or Brisbane City Council.

Resource links

• ourbrisbane.com Brisbane Gives Donations Centre
  www.ourbrisbane.com/community/bris_gives/
• ourcommunity.com.au National Giving Centre
  www.ourcommunity.com.au
• Queensland Government Office of Fair Trading
  www.fairtrading.qld.gov.au
• Australian Taxation Office ATOassist
  www.ato.gov.au

This help sheet has been prepared by www.ourcommunity.com.au, a national resource for Australia's 700,000 community and non-profit organisations.

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Brisbane Gives is an initiative of Brisbane City Council and ourcommunity.com.au