If you are planning to create a Zoom Event, you can use Zoom Events as a fundraiser. In this way, attendees of your Meeting or Zoom Webinar event will be able to donate directly on the platform, during the event, to verified nonprofit organizations. It will also be possible to view a live feed of donors.

In this article, we will cover the following topics:

• General questions
  • What is Pledge?
  • What is the Pledgeling Foundation?
  • Where can I add or see charitable fundraisers on Zoom Events?
• Zoom Events charitable fundraisers: Host questions
  • How do I add a fundraiser to my Zoom Events event?
  • Can I raise funds for anyone or am I limited to nonprofits?
  • When will my attendees be able to donate to nonprofits?
  • How do I display live donations during my Zoom Events event?
  • Can I display live donations if I’m hosting a Zoom Events event on my iPad or mobile device?
  • Can my Zoom Events fundraiser contribute to more than one nonprofit?
  • Will the nonprofit be notified that donations came from my Zoom Events charitable fundraiser?
  • How do I remove charitable donations from my Zoom Events?
  • Can I set custom donation amounts on the Zoom Events donation form?
  • How will I know when someone donates to my Zoom Events?
  • How do I track the donations raised for my fundraisers?
• Zoom Events charitable fundraisers: donor questions & donations to charitable organizations
  • What fees are taken out of my donation?
  • How do I know my donation was received by the nonprofit?
  • Where is my tax receipt?
  • What nonprofit organizations can Pledge send donations to?
  • Are my donations tax-deductible?
  • I want to donate to a nonprofit, but it’s not listed. Now what?
  • US nonprofit organizations
  • Non-US charitable organizations
  • What data is shared with nonprofits?
  • How do I review, change, or delete my personal information?
  • Can I donate from outside of the US?
• Credit card charges
  • How do I cancel my recurring (monthly) donation?
  • Can my charitable donation be refunded?
  • I don’t recognize this charge on my credit or debit card!
  • How do I change the credit card on my recurring (monthly) donation?
  • How secure are my identity and card information?
  • Why did I get a refund from Pledge?

General questions

What is Pledge?

In order to enable charitable donations through Zoom Events, Pledgeling Technologies has partnered with Zoom Events as its technology company partner. The platform provides nonprofits, mission-driven brands and individuals with the ability to give to charitable causes and raise funds through crowdfunding. The Pledge app is powered by the Zoom App Marketplace and won the top 5 award in the 2020 Whale Watch Zoom App Marketplace Competition. It is currently available in the Zoom App Marketplace as the Donations by Pledge app. Whenever you have questions, please feel free to contact us at zoomdonations@pledgeling.com.

What is the Pledgeling Foundation?

We at Pledgeling Foundation are a nonprofit organization registered as 501(c)(3) that simplifies charitable giving through a donor- advised fund. In addition to processing contributions from more than 90 countries across the globe, the organization grants them to hundreds of thousands of internationally vetted and verified charities operating in more than 100 countries around the world, including nonprofit organizations registered with the IRS as 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations as well as thousands of other charities operating in more than 100 countries around the globe. This organization is nonpartisan and has its headquarters in Los Angeles, California (Federal Tax ID: 46-2440594).

Where can I add or see fundraisers on Zoom Events?

Currently, you are able to create, modify, or access charitable fundraisers through the Zoom Events platform through the Zoom Events platform.

Zoom Events charitable fundraisers: Host questions

How do I add a fundraiser to my Zoom Events event?

When you create a Zoom Events event, you will be able to include a fundraiser. If you add a fundraiser to your event, you will be able to raise money for a nonprofit 501(c)(3).

Can I raise funds for anyone or am I limited to nonprofits?

There are currently approximately two million charitable and nonprofit organizations that are eligible to receive donations, including all US 501(c)(3) ‘public charities’ registered with the IRS as well as other qualified charitable organizations in 90 countries worldwide. As part of its plan to release crowdfunding capabilities in the coming months, Pledge expects to be able to enable donations from individuals. I look forward to hearing from you!

When will my attendees be able to donate to nonprofits?

It will be possible for attendees to contribute to a fundraiser before, during, or after the event in the following ways:

• In the beginning: The event page can be accessed from the ticket dashboard or from the event page for attendees to donate
• During: If a host chooses to display live donations with the Pledge virtual donation overlay, attendees can donate through the event page or via the dedicated website URL indicated on the host’s screen if a host chooses to display live donations via the dedicated website URL
• After: From the event page or from the ticket dashboard, attendees can donate to the event by clicking the donate button

How do I display live donations during my Zoom Events event?

The link to instructions for setting up the Pledge virtual donation overlay on Zoom Events will be sent to you as soon as a fundraiser is created on your Zoom Events event.

Can I display live donations if I’m hosting a Zoom Events event on my iPad or mobile device?

In order to activate the Pledge virtual donation overlay, you must be using a desktop computer at the moment.

Can my Zoom Events fundraiser contribute to more than one nonprofit?

In addition, event hosts can choose up to 10 non-profit or charitable organizations at a time that will receive donations from their event as a result of their event. The host has the option to change the beneficiary organization as many times as he or she likes, however this cannot be guaranteed. For example, if you have already raised $250 for your favorite charity through a Zoom Events birthday party, you will be able to change the beneficiary organization after you’ve raised $250, in which case all future donations will go to that specific charity.

Will the nonprofit be notified that donations came from my Zoom Events charitable fundraiser?

The name of the host or the event, and other details about the Zoom Events event, are not shared with nonprofit donation recipients at this time, as we are not sharing details about your Zoom Events event with them. There are only a few details that Pledge shares with nonprofits about donors (if they choose not to remain anonymous), the date the donation was made, and the amount of the donation. This information about the donors can be accessed by authorized representatives from the nonprofit organizations by logging into their organization’s account.

How do I remove charitable donations from my Zoom Events event?

If you want to remove the fundraiser from your event page in Zoom Events, you will need to go to the Event Options section of the event creation or edit page, then uncheck the Fundraising option.

In the event that people want to make donations, they will no longer be able to do so, however, any funds that have already been processed will be transferred to the organization that you choose.

In case you decide to change your mind or wish to donate to a different organization, you can edit your event by clicking on the Manage tab, and then edit your previously created event.

Can I set custom donation amounts on the Zoom Events donation form?

Donation buttons are pre-set with specific dollar amounts on them ($25, $50, $100, and $250), which cannot be changed. The donor can type in any amount, regardless of the amount in the custom $ USD box, if they wish to donate outside of those amounts that are listed above. It is necessary to donate at least $5 in order to qualify for the program.

How will I know when someone donates to my Zoom Events event?

In the Zoom Events host dashboard, Zoom Events hosts will be able to see a list of donations made to a fundraiser they have created.

As long as at least one donation has been made since setting a fundraising goal, the amount of donations that have been raised to date will appear on the donation form visible to everyone, if a fundraising goal has been set. It will appear if there has been at least a donation of $25 to date if there hasn’t been a fundraising goal set, but if no fundraising goal has been set, it will show the total amount raised so far.

Note: Whenever 80% of a host’s fundraising goal has been reached, they will receive an email notifying them that their event has met its fundraising goal.

How do I track the donations raised for my fundraisers?

To get a general overview of how much you have raised as a result of your fundraising events, please follow the steps below:

1. Join Zoom Events by signing in with your Zoom account.
2. To manage your account, click the Manage button in the top-right corner of your screen.
3. Click on “Event Summary” in the menu on the left side of the screen.
   On the page of your fundraiser event, you will see a general overview of how much money you have raised.

For more information about a specific event’s donation details, please click on the following link:

1. Join Zoom Events by signing in with your Zoom account.
2. Click the Manage button in the top-right corner of the screen.
3. Click on the Events menu item in the navigation bar at the top of the screen.
4. Find the event that you are interested in viewing the details of by clicking the Past Events tab and clicking on it.
5. Click on the ellipsis to open the menu.
6. Choose View Event Summary from the drop-down menu.
7. Please click on the View Details button if you would like to see who donated to your fundraiser and the amount that they contributed.

Zoom Events Charitable Fundraisers: Donor Questions & Donations to Charitable Organizations

What fees are taken out of my donation?

None. In order to ensure that the full amount of donations made through Zoom Events is distributed to non-profit organizations that are verified, Zoom Events will cover the credit-card processing fees.

Note: As part of the donation process, you will find a place where you can provide an optional tip that will go towards covering the costs Pledgeling Technologies incurs in providing this free service to Zoom Events Hosts and participants. There is an optional tip that can be provided by all donors, and it can be adjusted, up to and including zero dollars. No funds are received by Pledgeling Technologies if participants do not provide a tip to the company. As soon as the donation is approved, the tip is displayed to the donor before the payment is made. There is no effect on the amount that reaches the charitable organization since the tips are in addition to the donation amount. Due to the fact that tips are paid immediately to a for-profit service provider, they are not tax deductible by the donors under IRS rules.

How do I know my donation was received by the nonprofit?

• Donations to US organizations: If you would like to confirm whether Pledgeling Foundation has received payment from the charitable organization, you can contact the organization directly. The nonprofit will receive multiple payments if you host events in more than one calendar month that generate donations in a number of different transactions over a period of time.
• Pledge supports the Zoom Events event ID, so if you need further confirmation, you can contact Pledge support with the Zoom Events event ID and one of the Pledge support agents will be able to assist you. In terms of confirming that the payment has been made to the recipient organization, Pledge can find out when the payment was made and whether the payment has been cashed. In the event you need check images, Pledge is more than happy to provide them for you.
  In the first fifteen days following the end of each calendar month, Pledgeling Foundation will regrant all donations received during that calendar month that have been batched together.
• For donations outside the US: Due to the minimum fees imposed by international disbursement partners, Pledge is unable to regrant donations until there are a minimum amount of $500 in donations to a specific charitable organization. Pledge makes use of international disbursement partners for disbursement of donations. Consequently, the funds may not be delivered in a timely manner.

Where is my tax receipt?

The email should have been sent to you. As a result, when a donation is successfully processed by Pledge, a tax receipt is automatically sent to you within minutes. If you have not received it, search your email for the word “Pledge” and make sure you check your junk or spam folder as well.

There is a possibility that your email address was entered incorrectly on the donation form if it is not there. In order to receive a response from our support staff, please submit a support ticket at help.pledgeling.org with the name that you gave as your donation name, your email address that you used on the donation form, the organization that received your donation, and an approximate estimate of the amount you donated. In order to assist you in this matter, it would be really helpful if you could provide the exact amount and date, as well as the last four digits of your credit card number. There is no need for all this information in order for Pledge to find your record right away, but it might be a good idea if Pledge is unable to locate your record right away.

What nonprofit organizations can Pledge send donations to?

Donations can be made to the following organizations through the pledge:

• Nonprofits in good standing with the IRS that are classified as 501(c)(3) ‘public charities’ in the United States. In Pledge’s database, there is a record of almost all active US nonprofits (with the exception of new organizations that have just been approved by the IRS and may not yet be listed in Pledge’s database).
• It is estimated that there are hundreds of thousands of charitable organizations operating in at least 100 countries, including all of the charitable organizations that are operating in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand.

Have you thought of an organization that you would like to support, but are not sure if they are eligible? In order to search directly on the IRS website or guidestar.org for US nonprofits, visit guidestar.org.

Please see this page for more information if you would like to request that Pledge adds your organization to their list.

Are my donations tax-deductible?

As far as allowed by law and your personal tax situation, donations to the Pledgeling Foundation may be deducted from your taxable income to the extent that they are tax-deductible. As a 501(c)(3) NGO approved by the IRS, the pledgeling foundation is treated as any other nonprofit organization, and donations to it are tax-deductible.

When a donation is made, Pledge emails a receipt to the address you provided immediately after the donation was made. In this email, you’ll find all the information you need to prove your deduction. If “Pledge” does not appear in your inbox, then check your junk mail or spam folders.

I want to donate to a nonprofit, but it’s not listed. Now what?

US nonprofit organizations

The Pledge system includes nearly all 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations in the United States. There are several reasons why a website cannot be found in search results, but the most common ones are:

• The IRS has not updated its database that Pledge monitors because it’s a brand new system that is brand new.
• As a matter of fact, it is officially called something different from what is commonly known as it. Suppose, for example, that a church may be operating a daycare center, which may have its own EIN.
• In fact, a different organization actually receives the donations as well as processes them and is its fiscal sponsor.
• There was an abbreviation, hyphenation, or other punctuation in the name Pledge has stored that caused it to not show up in the search results (or it did not show up at all). Sadly, you will have to use a less specific search term or try different variations of the search term.
• For instance, if a 501(c)(3) organization does not file tax returns despite IRS warnings, its 501(c)(3) status has expired.
• The organization is not a 501(c)(3), but is instead something less common like a political organization, which is not a 501(c)(3). There is only one type of 501(c)(3) charity that can receive a donation under a 501(c)(3) law; which is a 501(c)(3) charity that operates as a public charity.

A search engine is available on the IRS website where you can find nonprofits registered in the US, both 501(c)(3)s and other types.

You can suggest a 501(c)(3) US nonprofit organization if you would like us to include one in the list. To do so, please complete a form. If you need to find the name of an organization or the EIN number of the organization you are looking for (if known, the address, the website), please include as much information about the organization as possible.

Non-US charitable organizations

Pledge’s partners provide the listings of non-US organizations, and they are not in direct control of the listings, which are provided by their partners. In order to complete a registration, pledge can ask our partners to add the organization to their listings, but they must incur research, vetting, and processing costs, and Pledge will be charged for them. Pledge has been able to provide this service through their partners. Therefore, when Pledge is able to add a non-US charitable organization to their platform, the minimum charge is $500, with the amount depending on the country being much higher.

What data is shared with nonprofits?

Default benefits are provided to the recipient organization by Pledgeling Foundation. These benefits include:

• The name of the donor (you can remove it at your discretion)
• You can remove the email address of the donor at any time if you wish.
• Amount of the donation
• The date on which the donation was made
• The name of the partner (Zoom) is as follows:

This is the same information that would be sent to them if you were to make a donation directly to their online donation page.

Donors have the option to hide their names and email addresses as part of their donation process. When you donate, there is a checkbox that allows you to make an anonymous donation if you do not want your name and email to be passed along to Pledge. The date and amount are the only information Pledge passes along to the other party in this case.

The organization to which you donate to has the option to share your contact information with Zoom Events if you have made a donation through Zoom Events. In the Thank You screen that appears after you have submitted your donation, you will find this option. A charitable organization can adjust the following settings in order to see what it is supposed to see:

• Anonymous Donation: No name or e-mail address is seen by the nonprofit organization.
• If you would like to make a non-anonymous donation, but you would not like to share your contact information: Names are seen by the NPO, but emails are not seen by them
• The NPO sees your name and email address as a result of making a non-anonymous donation

You can find more information about Pledge’s privacy policy on the company’s website. You should refer to the privacy policy of the particular partner with whom your donation is initiated, such as Zoom Events, if it is initiated through one of your accounts with them.

How do I review, change, or delete my personal information?

If you are interested in knowing what information Pledge collects, when it collects it, and how it uses that information, please review Pledge’s current privacy policy.

There is a lot of information in that policy that is summarized here but it is not meant to replace it. Should there be any differences between the information below and Pledge’s privacy policy, then Pledge’s privacy policy shall be the document to be consulted:

• Personal Information: In addition to identifying or contacting you, this information may also include any other non-public information relating to you that is associated with or linked to any of the aforementioned information that may be different from any of the information previously provided.
• Your account, if you have one, allows you to review and/or change certain Personal Information about you by logging into your account. The Personal Information that you enter into your account can also be reviewed, updated, corrected, or deleted by detailing your request by filling in the New Support Ticket form on the support site (but if all or some of your Personal Information is deleted, then your account may become deactivated). Please follow the same procedure if you wish to close your account using this same procedure.
• The deletion of all personal information is not possible for us. The information you provide to us is mandatory for the provision of our services, the integrity of our records, and the proper management of our business. We are unable to erase all of the information you provide to us if you request that we delete your Personal Information. The retention of some Personal Information may be necessary for a variety of reasons, including but not limited to complying with laws, preventing fraud, resolving disputes, troubleshooting problems, helping with any investigation, enforcing our Terms of Use, and taking other actions otherwise permitted by law or for our legitimate business needs. When we are unable to remove all Personal Information from your account for these reasons or for any other reason, we will convert this to Anonymous Information to the extent possible. Information that does not relate to or are not associated with your personal information is referred to as “Anonymous Information”. There is no possibility of identifying the individual or contacting them based on anonymous information.
• Information shared with third parties: Our ability to access your Personal Information is limited to the extent that it has already been disclosed to third parties, and we are not in a position to force the deletion or modification of any Personal Information that has already been disclosed by those parties for any reason, including charitable organizations, to whom we have already disclosed any such Personal Information.
• Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union on the protection of personal data: According to the General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2016/679) (GDPR ), if you are from the European Economic Area, then you have the right to request from us access to your personal data, the right to request rectification of your personal data, the right to request data portability, the right to request a restriction of the processing of your personal data, and the right to object to such processing. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. There may be similar rights under the laws of your local jurisdiction, if you reside outside of the European Economic Area. In order to request a copy of your personal data, to request correction, to request portability, or to request erasure, or to request that your account be removed from our system, please complete the “New Support Ticket” form at help.pledgeling.com or help.pledgeling.org (Pledgeling Foundation), or write us at: Pledge, Attn: Data Controller, 1638 Abbot Kinney Blvd., Venice, CA 90291.
• Object to the processing of your personal data and the right to get a restriction on it: Please let me know whether you are a citizen of the European Union and whether you want to exercise your rights. If you do not live in the European Union, you have the right to restrict the processing of your data or to object to the processing of your data. The Pledgeling Technologies and Pledgeling Foundation are responsible for processing these pledges in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Terms of Service, however, if you believe that you have a right to restrict processing or an objection right under your local laws, please submit a request in the “New Support Ticket” form at help.pledgeling.com (Pledgeling Technologies) or help.pledgeling.org (Pledgeling Foundation), or write to us at: Pledge, Attn: Data Controller,

Can I donate from outside of the US?

Regardless of where you are from, you can donate to our cause at any time. However, please keep in mind that all donations, unless otherwise noted, are processed in US dollars (that means that if you live in Australia or Canada, the $ sign means “US dollars”).

If you are a US taxpayer, you are able to deduct your donation to Pledgeling Foundation from your tax return. You may benefit from other tax benefits or deductions as well if you are living outside the US. Consult your local tax authorities for more information.

There is currently a limitation on the tax receipts that Pledge can provide for donors who are in the US. The receipt you receive from Pledge may not be sufficient to substantiate your donation if you are in Australia and donating to an Australian charity.

Credit Card Charges

How do I cancel my recurring (monthly) donation?

Find your receipt: In the paragraph that begins with “This is a monthly donation,” you will find a link that allows you to manage your subscription. Click the link and you will be directed to a page that allows you to manage your subscriptions. The Cancel recurring donation button can be found on the Subscription page. You will be able to cancel your recurring donation by clicking on the Cancel button.

We recommend that you check your spam folder or junk mail folder first if you are not receiving an email receipt for your recurring donations – you will find anything that includes the word “Pledge”.

The next step would be to open a support ticket if you still can’t locate the receipts by clicking on the New Support Ticket button. Due to the fact that you don’t appear to be receiving receipts, it is probably because Pledge doesn’t have the correct email address on file for you. It is important that you verify that the address you entered for us is correct, as well as providing the date, amount, and last four digits of the card being charged so that Pledge can identify your recurring gift easily.

Can my charitable donation be refunded?

Sadly, as a result of the various laws governing charitable contributions, as well as Pledge not being able to recover funds which have already been sent to the nonprofit recipients, a large portion of donations are irrevocable and non-refundable.

Email Pledge if you have:

• The wrong nonprofit was directed to receive a donation
• There was a double payment for a donation
• Done the wrong amount (for example, 10 times what you intended to donate, or 100 times what you actually donated)

When this occurs, Pledge may be able to help if the funds have not been regranted to the recipient nonprofit yet – essentially, if it is still the same calendar month as the erroneous donation – and the funds have not been regranted yet.

You will need to get in touch directly with your designated charitable organization if Pledge has already forwarded the funds to them. If there has been no verification from Pledge, you will need to get in touch with them directly.

I don’t recognize this charge on my credit or debit card!

We recommend that, if you do not recognize a charge on your bank account or debit or credit card statement that you check your email, including your spam or junk folder, for the word “Pledge” on or after the date of the charge. Contact Pledge before disputing the charge with your bank or credit card company.

In the form of a nonprofit donor-advised fund, Pledgeling Foundation re-grants funds to nonprofit organizations designated by donors based on donations they receive from a variety of sources.

Pledge sends out tax receipts almost instantly after receiving a donation and processing it. As long as you did not make a typo in your email address, then you should be able to prove that you are the owner. See if the “Pledge” email appears in your email inbox, if that email is not already in your spam folder or junk folder.

If you were invited to any Zoom Events events around the time of the charge, you should search for those. You may see your donations listed on the Activity tab of the web page of the event if you click the linked event page.

The best way to find out if your spouse, partner, or members of your family made the charge is to ask them if they made it. In that case, they might have given Pledge their email address, so they should look for an email from Pledge around the time of the charge.

Please submit a “New Support Ticket” here if you still do not recognize the charge for your donation. We will be able to assist you with finding out more information about the donation. The following information should be included:

• As it appears on your credit card statement, the date of the charge is the date of the charge
• Please provide the exact amount that has been charged
• In the final four digits of the card number where the charge appears, you will find the last four digits of the card number
• Name and surname of the person you are contacting
• If you wish to make a donation online, you may use any email address you wish to use

There is a problem with contacting your credit company. If you do so, that creates a dispute for which Pledge’s card processor charges Pledge $15. The next time Pledge donates to the charitable organization associated with your donation, Pledge is going to deduct $15 from that donation, and that money will come out of the donations of others to that organization. It is important that you contact Pledge before disputing a credit card or bank charge through these channels.

How do I change the credit card on my recurring (monthly) donation?

A “manage your subscription” link will appear in the paragraph that begins “This is a monthly donation …” on your latest email receipt. Click on the link, and you’ll be taken to a page that tells you where to find your subscription. See the screenshot below to see the page. You have to go to that page and click on the button “Cancel recurring donation” which is a large red button – click on it and you’re done.

We recommend that you check your spam folder or junk mail folder first if you are not receiving an email receipt for your recurring donations – you will find anything that includes the word “Pledge”.

Please use the New Support Ticket button on this page to open a support ticket if you still are unable to locate your receipts. Please double check the email address Pledge has on file for you to make sure it’s correct, and include the date and amount of the charge, along with the last four digits of the card being charged, so that Pledge will be able to find your recurring donation more easily. If you’re not getting receipts, it may be because the email address Pledge has on file for you is incorrect. Please double check the email address, and make sure that you entered it correctly.

How secure are my identity and card information?

You don’t have to worry about your credit card information being captured, transmitted, or stored by Pledge. Firstly, the transaction is encrypted on your device and then it is sent directly to Stripe, Pledge’s payment processor, without ever having to pass through Pledge’s systems in order to complete the payment. Pledge does not collect, store, or handle any credit card information, regardless of whether it is encrypted or not, on its systems or networks at any time.

Stripe is one of the few PCI Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) Level 1 compliant providers out there, which means it is used by a lot of companies, including Lyft, Shopify, Foursquare, Kickstarter, Pinterest, Slack and many others. In order to learn more about Stripe’s security, please visit their website.

Pledge is committed to encrypting, storing, or transmitting data securely and adhering to strict security standards and protocols. A world-class hosting service that has been SOC-1 / SOC2 / SOC3 certified is used by Pledge’s infrastructure. Security updates are regularly installed by Pledge, and their systems are actively monitored to detect unauthorized activity.

Why did I get a refund from Pledge?

There are a number of reasons why charitable donations can be refunded, including:

• There was a suspicion that the contribution had been flagged as suspicious by Pledge’s payments processor. Pledge acts cautiously and refunds the amount up front in order to avoid potential chargebacks at a later time, after the money has already been delivered to the nonprofit or event organizer, or their designated beneficiary, in order to avoid possible chargebacks.
• Your payment card company was notified that you had disputed a charge.