Creating an Online Giving fundraising page

• What type of event can I participate in to raise money?

  It’s up to you whether you want to raise money for an organised event (such as a marathon or official bike ride) or create one of your own (such as your birthday or in memory of a loved one).  
  
  When a fundraising page is created an email is immediately sent to your nominated charity so that they are aware of all fundraising pages raising money on their behalf.  If you are unsure as to whether your charity would approve of your event, please contact them prior to beginning your fundraising campaign.  Please note that Online Giving and your chosen charity reserves the right to cancel or suspend, at their discretion, any page or content that may conflict with their values or principles or that may be considered offensive.

• Can I raise money for any individual or organisation?

  No.  In order to protect the integrity of the charity partners we represent, we have strict guidelines for setting up beneficiaries of the fundraising efforts through Online Giving.  Online Giving will only partner with registered Australian charities and not-for-profit organisations.  This includes many community, sporting, religious and social groups within Australia. 

• I want to raise money as part of a team or through my company. Can I create a page for this?

  Absolutely!  You will need to enter an individual's name to register for a free Online Giving account, and then you can personalise your Online Giving fundraising page with your team's or company’s name. 

• My charity is not listed. What should I do?

  We're working as hard as we can to spread the word about Online Giving, but it may take a little time.  If your cause is not registered as a charity partner with us yet, you can either choose another charity from the categories listed so you can begin fundraising immediately.  Alternatively, you can email us at busdev@onlinegiving.com.au your nominated charity’s details and we will contact them to register with us.  Please note that this process can take some time as we verify the organisation's details before we will sign them up with us.  We will send you an email to let you know when they are registered on our site, so you can then return to start fundraising.
   
  If you belong to a charity or not-for-profit organisation and would like to become a charity partner with us, simply click on the "Charity Registration" tab at the top of this page to register online.  This is a quick, free and once-off process.

• I'm having trouble logging in. What should I do?

  Your username is the email address on file with us.  If you have changed your email address since registering with us, simply log in with the email address you registered with and update your details with your new email address.  Your updated email address will then automatically become your new username. 
  
  If you have forgotten your password, go to the home page and click on “Forgot your password” in the top right corner and follow the prompts.  We will then email you your password.
  
  If you still cannot log in, you may have entered your email address incorrectly when you registered with us.  If you think this may have occurred, please email custservice@onlinegiving.com.au with your name and address you registered with.

• How do I edit my Online Giving page?

  To edit your page simply:
  - Log in to your account using your email address and password on file
  - Click “edit” next to the relevant fundraising page
  
  From here, you can:
  - Edit the title of your Online Giving page or change any text on your page
  - Upload a photo.  To do this, ensure your photo is saved in .jpg, .jpeg, .bmp or .gif format in an easy to find location on your computer.  It can be in portrait or landscape format but must be less than 500KB in size.  Then click “browse” to find the location of the photo you wish to upload from your computer and click “save”.  Please allow a few minutes for larger photos to upload. It will then appear on your page.
  - Change your fundraising goal or expiry date of your web page
  - Send an email to more people to ask them to donate 
  - Add a blog entry which visitors to your site will see
  - See everyone who has sponsored you to date.

• How do I let people know about my Online Giving page?

  Most people find the easiest way to do this is to use our email template, which is found by logging in to your account, clicking "edit page" and then "continue".  From here, you can tailor the email as you wish and then send it to your network from our web site or email it to yourself and then send it to everyone in your contacts list in your own email program.  Alternatively, you can copy the link from the address bar on your internet browser into an email to send to your friends and family, as well as pasting it onto your Facebook or MySpace page if you have one.
  
  

• Does it cost me anything to use Online Giving?

  No – Online Giving is free for fundraisers to use.  Online Giving deducts a small administration fee of 5% of online donations and passes on the bank's credit card processing fees, which are currently 0.9% of online donations plus 46 cents per transaction (these are subject to change as determined by the credit card companies).  By using Online Giving, you save the charity the administration tasks and costs associated with traditional fundraising, such as collecting cash and issuing receipts. This allows more money gets to where it's needed most – your end cause.

• What is the process for ensuring all funds get to my charity?

  Online Giving is committed to the timely transfer of donations, so the money can get to where it’s needed most as quickly as possible.  On a monthly basis we transfer all donations net of fees into the nominated charity’s bank account and email them a detailed report of their donation amounts for that month and current fundraising pages for their charity.  For more details on this process please click on the link  “How Online Giving works”.  
  
  In line with our commitment to professional and ethical fundraising, our processes are independently audited by Aintree Group Accountants.
  
  

• Who has access to the personal details of my donors who use Online Giving?

  At Online Giving, we are committed to protecting your privacy.  It is Online Giving’s policy not to distribute any identifying information about you to any third party without your consent, unless stated in Online Giving’s Terms of Use or required by law.  We will inform your chosen charity that they can use your contact details to let you know about future campaigns or events if you checked the box requesting us to do this.  Similarly, Online Giving will send you occasional newsletters to keep you informed of how you can help make a difference in Australia if you checked the box requesting this option. 

  
  

• I can't find my Online Giving page. What should I do?

  If you haven’t done so already, log in to Online Giving using your email address and password on file.  Once you are logged in you will see all web sites you have created, past and present.  If your page says “closed” it has expired (it is either past the date you specified when creating the page or the default of 60 days after your event).  You can click on "edit page" and extend the expiry date of your page so it is live again for others to donate.  
  
  If your page says “cancelled”, it is no longer live as it was either cancelled by you or Online Giving.  If you wish to re-activate the page, please contact custservice@onlinegiving.com.au with your page details.
  
  If you cannot see your page in your account, it’s possible that you exited the web site before your Online Giving page was created.  If this is the case, please follow the prompts under “I want raise money” and ensure you click on “Finalise my page”.  You will receive a confirmation email from us once your page is created. 

• How old do I have to be to create a fundraising page?

  Anyone less than 16 years old must complete a Parental Consent Form, which must be signed by a parent or guardian and returned to us before they can begin fundraising through Online Giving.  All fundraisers must be over 8 years of age to create their own fundraising page. 

• Can friends overseas donate to my Online Giving page?

  Yes!  Anyone around the world can donate via Online Giving, as long as they have a valid credit card.  As all donations are made in Australian dollars (AUD), it’s up to the donor to determine the amount they wish to donate in AUD.