Are you looking to accept donations online for your non-profit organization? Then you should join the more then 80,000 registered charities in Canada that are already listed on CanadaHelps.org.
What is CanadaHelps?
CanadaHelps.org is an e-donations portal that allows donors to make online credit card donations to registered Canadian charities. The web site provides access to e-donation technology without having to bear the full cost associated with operating a secure online donation website. This can save charities a great deal of money – money which can then be put towards serving their missions. They have created a centralized e-donation solution that uses the most advanced security features available and is capable of processing hundreds of donations per second.
How does it work?
Donors go onto the CanadaHelps website (www.canadahelps.org), select the charity or charities they wish to donate to and process the donation on their credit card. Donations made through CanadaHelps are donor-directed gifts. Donors choose which charity they want their funds to go to, and CanadaHelps disburses those funds (less the 3 or 4% transaction charge) to the charity. An official tax receipt for each donation is instantly issued to the donor. When a charity is registered with CanadaHelps, they receive these funds weekly by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) directly into their bank accounts.
What are the advantages of registering with CanadaHelps?
Signing up with CanadaHelps is easy. It only takes ten minutes, is free and bears no obligation on your charity. Once your registration is processed, you will receive a secure username and password that will allow you to access the MyCharity administration area features. Here are some of the advantages of registering:
Complete donor information
When your charity signs up with CanadaHelps, you have access to your donor information at any time; 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. By logging on to the MyCharity administration page you can collect donor mailing addresses, email addresses, names, transaction histories and more. We recognize that maintaining close ties with your donors is very important, and our complete donor records – which can be imported into virtually all spreadsheets and fundraising packages – help you to maximize your outreach efforts to your supporters. If you don’t register with us, we have no way to provide detailed donor information in a secure, automated way.
Enhanced charity profiles
When donors visit the CanadaHelps.org site and search for a charity, you want to know that they can access complete and accurate information about your organization and its work. By registering with CanadaHelps, you can add this important information about your charity to your profile page, including a link back to your own website, your mission, contact information, your logo and a description of what your organization does and why it needs the support of donors. This information helps donors to perceive your organization as well-established and accountable.
We reward charities for enhancing their profiles by listing them first in donor searches which increases their exposure to donors.
Donation notification
When you are registered with CanadaHelps, you will know the minute a donation is received for your charity. We send you an email when the donation is made which prompts you to login and access donor details so you can thank the donor immediately if you wish.
You are also advised by email when we transfer the funds into your bank account. This will help your financial people reconcile the donations made on CanadaHelps.org with the credits that occur on your bank statements. From the donation notification to the donation reports to the email letting you know that a transfer of funds has occurred, you will know where your donors’ money is every step of the way.
“Donate Now!” button
Only when you register will you have access to the “Donate Now!” button for your website. The “Donate Now!” button creates a link from your website directly to your donation page on CanadaHelps.org. This eliminates the need for donors to search for your organization when making a donation, and reduces the number of steps in the donation process. Once you register, you will be able to access the code for the “Donate Now!” button (which your webmaster can easily add to your website) in the MyCharity admin area.
Monthly Giving
Donors are able to make scheduled monthly pledges to their favourite charities through the CanadaHelps website. Donors can only schedule monthly donations with charities that are registered with CanadaHelps. Monthly donations help build ongoing relationships with your donors, secure ongoing commitments to your organization and are a predictable source of monthly income.
Receipts
CanadaHelps is a public foundation and registered charity (Charitable Business Registration No. 896568417RR0001) and issues receipts using our charitable number. Official tax receipts are issued for all donations made through CanadaHelps – so you don’t have to. Each receipt clearly indicates which charity the donor has chosen. Your donors will receive an e-receipt within minutes of their donation, which they can save and print out at any time. Donors appreciate having an immediate receipt, and charities can enjoy the reduced postage and processing costs. Please note that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has approved the use of secure PDF e-receipts for tax purposes.
Low cost = High return on investment
E-commerce, accepting online donations, receipting via secure email PDF receipts, and advanced online reporting features are costly for charities to create and maintain on their own. CanadaHelps has created the www.CanadaHelps.org website to give charities across Canada, regardless of size or operating budget, access to a low-cost online fundraising solution.
Each donation received by a charity on our site is assessed a 3% transaction fee, which goes towards credit card merchant rates, credit card transaction fees, bank account settlement costs, and disbursement charges. There are no set-up, registration or monthly fees associated with using CanadaHelps.
Charities that aren’t registered are assessed an additional 1% (for a total of 4% per transaction) due to the cost of manually processing donations and issuing cheques.
Registering is easy
Signing up with CanadaHelps is easy. It only takes ten minutes, is free and bears no obligation on your charity. To start the registration process, visit: https://www.canadahelps.org/RegisterCharity/RCRegister.aspx
If you have any further questions about CanadaHelps, or registering with us to enhance your online fundraising potential, email us any time at: info@CanadaHelps.org.
