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Frequently asked questions about online donations - for community groups
1. Why do online donations?
More than 600 separate online donation community appeals have been listed on the Australian
Giving Centre at www.ourcommunity.com.au
since opening in April 2001, and more than $4,000,000 has been donated through this service in that time.
Online donations have continued to grow in Australia,
mirroring the situation in the United States post-September 11.
Online donations are a quick and efficient way to donate and as more people become comfortable in banking, buying and paying
bills online it will only continue to expand.
Other trends identified by Our Community:
- Donations for the 12 months to the end of May 2003 increased by 196 per cent
on the previous year.
- The average donation rose to $118 - up from $99 in May 2002. The highest
donation recorded has been $5000 while the minimum donated was $5.
- The number of individual donations rose by 149 per cent in the 12 months to May 2003.
- Evidence from groups that the online donations service is bringing
new donors to their attention who had not given before through traditional
means.
- The emergence of a new group of "trawler" donors who
are regular visitors to the site, selecting a number of different appeals
to support.
- Online donors tend to donate higher average amounts than those
who give through traditional methods.
2. Who manages the Whitehorse Gives donations service?
The Whitehorse Gives Donations Centre is a free service provided by the City of Whitehorse
in conjunction with Our Community. Our Community manages the donations
service, including registration of community groups and collection, processing
and transferral of online donations.
Our Community is a private social venture company that works with community groups,
peak associations, business and government to deliver services and products
for strengthening the community sector across Australia. For more information
about Our Community, see ourcommunity.com.au About Us.
3. What does this service cost?
- Membership costs = $0
- Online Donations start up costs = $0
- Online Donations commission = 0%
- Online Donations credit card fees = 2.65% of all transactions are taken
by the bank for processing the credit card transactions. This is a fee
directly charged to Our Community.
It is true - there is no catch, you do not need to give Our Community a single
cent to become a member organisation that is listed for online donations.
Our Community is non-exclusive, non-binding and fee-free. They generate their
income from the sale of newsletters, sponsorship and training fees, and the
City of Whitehorse is funding the online donation service
for Whitehorse community groups. Our Community does offer low priced products
to the sector, but these are ABSOLUTELY at your discretion. You do not now,
or ever, need to purchase anything from Our Community to receive donations online.
4. Is this service secure?
Our Community hosts the Whitehorse Gives online donation payment pages,
and they are as concerned about security as you are. Any time they ask
for financial information from an individual or an organisation they use
industry practice and protocols. These processes have been endorsed with
Thawte Secure Certification, an industry leader in Internet safety. All
account and profile information located on ourcommunity.com.au is password-protected
to provide additional security. All transactions conducted on ourcommunity.com.au
are treated with the privacy and respect that all such transactions deserve.
For more information about security and privacy aspects of this service refer
to ourcommunity.com.au Privacy & Ethics.
5. Who owns the donor details?
You do. Our Community collects the donor details, but they are not allowed to
use this data without your consent.
6. Who issues the receipts?
Our Community have spoken to the ATO and they are able to issue receipts on your behalf.
They do this in email form immediately after the donation has been accepted.
However, you can choose to do the receipting after Our Community send the donor details
through at the end of each month. Please advise Our Community when you send in your
agreement (see our help sheet Signing up for online donations).
7. When and how do I receive our donations?
Our Community will send to you a cheque for the total of your donations that are
collected at the end of each month, less the 2.65% credit card bank fees.
This will include the full details of your donors.
8. Who else is using the online donations facility?
Our online donations service is used by smaller groups such as SpeakOut
Limited and Grace Family Church through to the larger organisations such
as the Heart Foundation and Oxfam. If you would like to speak to a referee
from one of these groups, please let us know.
9. How do I sign up for online donations?
For step-by-step instructions on how to register your community group for
online donations, see our help sheet Signing up for online donations.
10. How can I promote this new online facility?
Your success in collecting donations is dependent on how well you tell people
about it. Placing a 'message' on the bottom of all emails, letterhead and
including articles in your newsletters and direct mail campaigns are all
important ways of getting your message across.
For more tips see our help sheet Promoting your online donations.
9. How do I sign up for online donations?
For step-by-step instructions on how to register your community group for
online donations, see our help sheet Signing up for online donations.
10. How can I promote this new online facility?
Your success in collecting donations is dependent on how well you tell people
about it. Placing a 'message' on the bottom of all emails, letterhead and
including articles in your newsletters and direct mail campaigns are all
important ways of getting your message across.
For more tips see our help sheet Promoting your online donations.
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