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| Frequently Asked Questions for Nonprofit Organizations |
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What is eBay Giving Works and how can we use it to fundraise?
eBay Giving Works is the dedicated program for charity listings on eBay. There are two main ways that your nonprofit organization can use eBay Giving Works to fundraise:
- Community Selling - Give your donors a new way to support your organization by asking them to sell on eBay through the eBay Giving Works program. When you certify your organization with MissionFish for the eBay Giving Works program, eBay sellers can donate between 10 - 100% of the final sale price of anything they sell to your organization.
- Direct Selling - As a nonprofit, you can also sell items on eBay (for example, in-kind gifts you have received and cannot use, excess inventory from your corporate supporters, putting an offline auction or thrift operation online, and so forth).
The first step to get started is to certify your organization with MissionFish, the dedicated solution provider for eBay Giving Works.
Who is MissionFish and what kind of relationship do they have with eBay?
eBay selected MissionFish, a licensed nonprofit service of the Points of Light Foundation, to serve as the dedicated solution provider for eBay Giving Works. MissionFish's valuable service and support includes: powering the nonprofit directory for eBay Giving Works; verifying that nonprofits are eligible for this program; collecting and disbursing sellers' donations; providing sellers with tax receipts; and tracking donations online.
What are the benefits of the eBay Giving Works program? And if we are a nonprofit already fundraising by selling on eBay, why should we participate?
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eBay enables sellers to list items with eBay Giving Works and support a nonprofit with their sale. Once your organization is certified to be included in the nonprofit directory, sellers can select you to benefit from their listings. Additionally, MissionFish will maintain a nonprofit homepage for you on their site which aggregates all the listings benefiting your organization at any given time. This program gives you the opportunity to raise additional funds and increase awareness of your organization and its mission.
eBay Giving Works listings stand out with a distinctive ribbon icon  in search results and in the listing title bar. In additional, eBay Giving Works listings include donation information in the item description, which instills buyer confidence and trust. Plus, charity listings receive additional visibility through specialized search functionality reserved exclusively for eBay Giving Works listings. This means that eBay Giving Works listings on average tend to sell more often with more bids and at higher final prices.
Many individuals and businesses like to donate in-kind gifts. eBay Giving Works enables you to reach millions of potential buyers for these items. So the next time someone offers you an in-kind donation that you can't use, don't turn it down - sell it on eBay and use the proceeds to support your cause! You might also consider putting your next offline auction online to yield better results at lower costs and avoid volunteer burn-out.
As an added benefit, with the eBay Giving Works Fee Credit Policy, eBay will credit your Insertion and Final Value Fees back to you, equal to the percentage you have selected to go to your organization.
Note: Because charitable fundraising is a highly regulated area subject to numerous state and federal laws, eBay has partnered with MissionFish to make charitable listing easy and has created very specific guidelines for allowing charitable solicitations on eBay. If you choose not to participate in the eBay Giving Works program but would like to mention in your listing that all or part of the final sale price will benefit a nonprofit organization, you must obtain advanced written consent for the solicitation from that organization and include a scanned version of this written consent in your listing. (Please be aware that this also applies to nonprofits selling on their own behalf.) Learn more about the charity listing policy. |
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How do we list eBay Giving Works items?
In the Pictures & Details section of the Sell Your Item form on eBay, you will be asked whether you would like to donate a percentage of your listing's final sale price to a nonprofit. Click the "Add" link to expand the module. Select your organization from the nonprofit directory and designate 100% as the donation percentage. Then complete the Sell Your Item form and submit your listing.
Note: If you have not registered with MissionFish, you will be prompted to create a MissionFish account and consent to the terms in the MissionFish User Agreement. In order to avoid the $5 minimum donation required for Community Selling and bypass donation processing, you will need to enter your eBay user ID into your nonprofit account on MissionFish. You will only have to complete this registration process once.
Do eBay Giving Works listings appear with all other eBay listings?
Yes, eBay Giving Works listings appear with all other listings on eBay. Additionally, eBay Giving Works listings appear within the eBay Giving Works search engine and on the selected nonprofit beneficiary's "home page" on MissionFish, ultimately giving sellers three listing venues for the price of one.
Are there fees to list an eBay Giving Works item?
All items on eBay are subject to the same standard selling fees.
There are no additional fees for sellers to list eBay Giving Works items. When MissionFish collects and disburses donations from Community Selling, there is a small amount deducted to cover processing costs. This deduction is based on a sliding scale and decreases as the donation increases. For more information, please see MissionFish's deduction table.
Note: If you have not registered with MissionFish, you will be prompted to create a MissionFish account and consent to the terms in the MissionFish User Agreement. In order to avoid the $5 minimum donation required for Community Selling and bypass donation processing, you will need to enter your eBay user ID into your nonprofit account on MissionFish. You will only have to complete this registration process once.
Example
Seller C decides to list a big screen TV starting at $200 and donate 60% of the final sale price to support Nonprofit B. The TV sells for $1,000.
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| Seller's share: |
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| Nonprofit's share: |
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| Payment from the buyer: |
$1,000.00 |
| Donation amount: |
($600.00) |
| eBay.com fees: |
($34.16) |
Net proceeds for the seller:
Plus a tax receipt: |
$363.84
$600.00 |
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| Gross donation amount: |
$600.00 |
| MissionFish deduction: |
($72.50) |
| Net proceeds received by the nonprofit: |
$527.50 |
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Note: When a nonprofit is selling an item on its own behalf ("Direct Selling"), it collects funds directly from the buyer. MissionFish does not process the donation, and there are subsequently no deductions.
What is the eBay Giving Works Fee Credit Policy?
When you create an eBay Giving Works listing, and that item sells, eBay will credit the Insertion and Final Value Fees back to you, equal to the percentage of the final sale price that you had elected to donate. Please Note: the fee credit will not be immediately reflected in your invoice. You will receive a credit to your account approximately six to eight weeks after the listing ends. Optional feature fees are not included in the eBay Giving Works Fee Credit Policy. For more information, please visit the eBay Giving Works Fee Credit Policy.
How do we certify our organization with MissionFish and how long will it take?
To be included in the nonprofit directory, you must certify your organization with MissionFish, the dedicated solution provider for eBay Giving Works. You will need to provide a working email address, an electronic copy of your logo (jpg or gif format, 50kb maximum), a mission statement of 512 characters maximum (about 40 words), your 501(c)(3) letter or other proof of tax-deductibility, and a voided bank check (used to establish electronic funds transfer of donations from Community Selling). MissionFish will send you a confirmation email once they have completed the certification process. This may take up to one business day and includes verification that your organization is in good standing with the IRS and meets our community standards by not promoting violence, hate, or illegal activities.
What types of nonprofits join eBay Giving Works and what guidelines must they follow to be eligible for this program?
All nonprofit organizations that can provide proof of tax-deductibility and are in good standing with the IRS are welcome to participate; however, groups involved in the promotion of terrorism, hate, racial intolerance, or illegal activities will be disallowed.
What is the revenue potential for a nonprofit organization?
eBay Giving Works offers you a new source of ongoing incremental and unrestricted capital, around which you can build annual programs and campaigns. The fundraising potential for a specific organization is largely determined by a combination of strategic planning, execution, and promotion. As of June 30, 2006, more than $81 million has been raised for nonprofits through items sold on eBay worldwide.
Who is responsible for sending tax receipts?
For Community Selling, MissionFish will provide tax receipts to each seller for the donations resulting from the sale of eBay Giving Works items.
For Direct Selling, you will be responsible for sending tax receipts as appropriate.
Is there a way to track the amount of money that we raise?
Nonprofits and sellers will each get a password-protected Web-based account provided by MissionFish. This account will offer reports on all the user's eBay Giving Works fundraising activities, including funds raised from both Community Selling and Direct Selling.
If we do not want to benefit from the sale of a specific item, how can we request that the listing be canceled?
When an eBay Giving Works item is listed to benefit your organization, MissionFish will notify you according to your account preferences. If you decide that you would not like to benefit from the sale of an item on eBay, you may request that item be cancelled through your MissionFish account. The item will be canceled within 24 hours, and the seller will receive an email notification from eBay as well as a credit for his selling fees.
How can we request placement on the eBay Giving Works page?
Promotional exposure on the eBay Giving Works page is a valuable yet limited resource. To learn more about requesting placement, visit the Promote Your Listings
page.
What if our organization does not have a credit card to submit?
If your organization does not have a credit card to submit, you can request a debit card from the bank that manages your account. Debit cards can be used in lieu of credit cards to establish identity and collect eBay listing fees. Alternatively, you can use ID Verify, an alternate program to having a credit card on your eBay account.
Can we have a link from our Web site to our eBay Giving Works listings?
Absolutely. For a selection of buttons and banners to use, please visit the eBay Giving Works Logo Request Form.
Are there any particular rules or regulations that govern online fundraising?
Charitable fundraising is a highly regulated area subject to numerous state and federal laws. We recommend that you consult with your legal advisor regarding your activities.
Is eBay Giving Works offered internationally?
eBay Giving Works is only offered in the US currently; however, we are exploring other countries for future expansion.
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