NPO FAQ

What is Cincinnati Gives? What is the goal?

The Cincinnati Gives Challenge is a friendly fund-raising competition where local charities compete to raise the most money with the top teams winning cash prizes from Cincinnati Magazine. This year $35k is being given away to participating nonprofits! The Challenge runs from Monday, December 2 at 5 p.m. ET to Thursday, December 12 at 5 p.m. ET.

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How does it work?

On December 2 at 5 p.m. ET, Cincinnati Magazine will host a 10-day giving event encouraging charitable donations through our online giving platform https://www.cincinnatigives.org.

Cincinnati Magazine will provide toolkits, training sessions, outreach support, mass media and social media coverage to make it easy for all nonprofits to participate. Each participating organization will have an individualized web page to promote their cause. This web page can also be used for year-round online fundraising.

Individuals will be able to donate money to the nonprofit organizations of their choice from December 2 through December 12. All donations are tax deductible and irrevocable. (Donations will not be refunded). Donors will receive a receipt for their gift. 

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WHO IS BEHIND IT?

For over 50 years, Cincinnati Magazine has covered all the best the Queen City has to offer. As the city’s most respected and award-winning magazine, it connects with more than 170,000 readers every month. Through deeply researched and cleverly written articles, Cincinnati Magazine is the voice of authority and ultimate guide to Cincinnati.

This is the 9th year for the annual Cincinnati Gives Challenge – having raised over $2.6 Million for local nonprofits since its start in 2016.

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Who is able to participate?

All Cincinnati-area nonprofits with 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status are eligible to participate in the 2024 Cincinnati Gives Challenge.

Why should my organization participate?

  • Raise funds for your organization
  • Educate the public about your cause
  • Find and cultivate new donors through Cincinnati Magazine’s massive Gives promotional campaign
  • Activate your supporters to advocate and leverage their networks on your behalf
  • Reinvigorate lapsed donors
  • Convert check-writing donors to online donors
  • Kick off your end of year fundraising campaign early

Do I have to participate in the Guide to Giving publication in order to participate in the challenge?

Nope! The Challenge is separate and completely free to participate, however if you would like to promote your nonprofit in Cincinnati Magazine’s annual Guide to Giving and reach over 170,000 engaged, affluent readers, be sure to reserve your profile by October 3. Visit here for more info or email advertise@cincinnatimagazine.com.

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How much of the donation will go to the nonprofit?

During the Cincinnati Gives Challenge, a Mightycause platform fee of 4% plus a credit card fee of 2.9% + $.30 will be charged on each donation. For donors that give via their bank account, credit card processing fees will be replaced by a 1% transaction fee, plus a $1.50 fixed fee per transaction (total ACH processing fees will be capped at $5.00). By default, donors are opted in to cover the transaction costs for your nonprofit using the donation booster within the checkout flow when they make a donation. They can opt out of covering the fee within the checkout flow as well. When donors cover the fee the nonprofit gets 100% of the intended donation. All donations are final and cannot be refunded. All donations on https://www.cincinnatigives.org are made to the Mightycause Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that permits donors to advise a regranting of their donations to qualified charitable organizations.

Is there a minimum or maximum donation?

The minimum donation for the Cincinnati Gives Challenge is $5. There is no maximum donation limit.

When individuals donate through the Cincinnati Gives Challenge on Mightycause, who will receive their information?

The nonprofit organization receiving the donation will receive the contact information for the donor in order to conduct follow up communications. As the hosts, Cincinnati Magazine will also receive the information in order to send news and updates about Cincinnati Gives related activities. We will not share your information.

How can an organization receive donations?

If you are already listed on https://www.cincinnatigives.org you don't need to do anything except make sure your nonprofit's profile and page is updated and motivating. If your nonprofit is not listed on https://www.cincinnatigives.org when you do a search, please make sure you register for the Cincinnati Gives Challenge to be included.

How will an organization know who has donated to them?

Organizations that have registered on https://www.cincinnatigives.org can track donations in real time by logging into your account. Organizations will also receive an email notification for every donation. Nonprofits can download a detailed donation report (check out this support article for instructions) at any time through your account to thank and follow-up with individual donors and tabulate donation value and number of donors. This .csv file can be used in Excel and is widely compatible with other spreadsheet applications.

Do I need to issue a tax receipt to my donors?

No, donations made through https://www.cincinnatigives.org will automatically receive a receipt from the Mightycause Charitable Foundation. Your organization can include a custom message that will be included in the tax receipt email sent to donors. However, we do encourage designated charities to send a thank you note to their donors letting them know how awesome they are!

When will my organization receive the funds contributed?

The Mightycause Foundation will disburse monies to participating organizations via EFT by December 25th. If an organization does not sign up for EFT, checks will be disbursed around January 10, 2025. We highly suggest signing up for EFT disbursement through your organization page as there is a $5 surcharge for check disbursement.

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What does my nonprofit need to do?

  • Register for the Cincinnati Gives Challenge.
  • Whitelist email-cm@cincinnatimagazine.com, support@mightycause.com, and cincinnati_service@hourmediagroup.com for future communications.
  • Customize a landing page for your organization on Cincinnati Gives.
  • Access the nonprofit toolkit and attend training sessions for additional support. 
  • Broadcast your campaign's message using existing communication networks.
  • Secure matching grants and prizes to entice donors to your group.
  • Recruit individuals to be Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers for your organization.
  • Think outside the box, be engaged and have fun!

How can I find out more about the Cincinnati Gives Challenge?

Stay tuned to this website for more information and detail as the event draws close. You can also follow us on Twitter and "like" us on Facebook to stay updated. Cincinnati Magazine and Mightycause will be hosting training sessions for nonprofits to share tools, highlight matching grants and strategize together to make this day another one for the history books!

How can we help?