Setting up a Charity Donation Site

[nasaboy007]

Is there anything special that i need to do to set up a charity donation site?

I was thinking of starting a donation site for the new orleans people, so is there a way to donate money to, say, the red cross via paypal without going through another site?

the only way i can think of is to keep track of how much money is donated (into my paypal account) and then transfer that same amount to the red cross. what im gonna do is give services that people will pay for, but all the the profits will go to donations.

thnx and i hope this makes sense.

 

[user-7256]

...Why not donate to the Red Cross directly?

 

[stscac]

I'm actually starting a charity website, I'll be posting something about it on NP soon. If you've got programming skills (PHP, C++, Java, etc...) or just want to help out in general, just PM me.

-Steve

 

[nasaboy007]

i want to, i guess, make a fund raiser type thing. i dont have ANY money to spare, but i do have time to spare. so i have this really good idea for a "fundraiser" where all the profits of the site will be donated. thats why i dont donate directly.

unless u mean directly by just say it was all from me? but thats not morally correct...

 

[bluenoser]

Why don't people simply set up websites that either re-direct to the red cross or link to the Red Cross.

Why create a middle mane when the Red Cross can accept donations on their website directly, and just as easily as you giving the money to them?

 

[Fundraiser]

I strongly recommend that you do not create a donation web site. Charity laws are complicated and as the web is available in all states and in countries around the world, you will be subject to the legal jurisdiction of each. When you ask for money or anything of value really, you are subject to solicitation laws that can require registration at the state level, specific legal wording on the site and may require you to post a bond in many jurisdictions.

Only donations made to qualified 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organizations are deductible by law so anyone donating to you would not get that benefit.

The best thing you could do is to create a site that raises awareness of the needs and requests donations but links directly to the Red Cross or another organization that has the legal standing to accept donations.

The US federal government and many states are cracking down on Hurricane Katrina web sites set up by those who are not directly involved with qualified charities. Even if your intentions are good, you are taking a huge risk to accept any donations directly.

 

[nasaboy007]

oh wow i never knew that fundraiser. thanks for the heads up. guess my ideas been shot down. oh well, ill see what else i can do. maybe a little volunteer work wud help.

thanks a lot fundraiser, ur reply really helped.

 

[Fundraiser]

You are welcome and sorry to have derailed your plans. I did fail to mention however that I truly admire your wanting to do something to help.