Causes Help Center

    Information for nonprofits

  • How can my nonprofit accept donations through Causes?

    In order to accept donations through Causes, a nonprofit must be a 501(c)3 that is also registered with GuideStar (http://www.guidestar.org), which is the database from where we pull our beneficiary information. Online donations must also be enabled in your profile with GuideStar; to review or update your settings you can login on their site here: http://www2.guidestar.org/RequestForP.... Once a donation is made on Causes and processed by Network for Good, payment for donations made to your nonprofit are sent on the 15th of each month to the address listed in GuideStar and will include all donations made on Causes during the previous month. For more details, please visit http://www.networkforgoodcheck.org/.

    However, even if your organization does not meet these requirements, you can still support it through Causes; simply include a link to its website in the description or media board of your cause so that people can donate directly.

  • I represent a nonprofit from outside of the US and Canada, how do I become a beneficiary?

    Currently, Causes can only support donations to US and Canadian charitable organizations. We are looking to expand to other countries in the future and will make an announcement on Causes when that happens. In the meantime, you can start an “awareness” cause for your organization, which has all of the features of a regular cause except that the donation functionality is disabled. You can still recruit members, post media, interact with your supporters and email all members. To start an awareness cause, first get the Causes application via the link below then click on the “Start a Cause” button. When you are prompted to choose a nonprofit beneficiary, choose “Skip this Step.”

    Alternatively, some nonprofit organizations based outside of the US and Canada have fiscal sponsors or partner organizations in the US or Canada that can arrange a legal transfer of funds for donations in your organization’s name. Causes does not set up or regulate such relationships, but you are welcome to work with your US or Canadian partner organization to develop a fundraising solution.

  • How are donation processed?

    Donations to US nonprofits are processed by our nonprofit partner Network for Good (http://www.networkforgood.org/about); an industry leader in processing online donations with a charitable giving system that is approved by the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance (BBB). Payment for donations made to your nonprofit are sent on the 15th of each month and will include all donations made in the previous month. For example, donations processed in February will be paid on March 15th. Checks will be sent to your nonprofit's address as listed in GuideStar and you will also see how much money each cause raised for your nonprofit.

    • To change the address listed for your nonprofit profile in GuideStar click here: https://commerce.guidestar.org/GuideS.... Updates to that form will be shared with Network for Good for future payments.

    • To access donor information, you can login to Network for Good’s donation tracking report at https://www.networkforgood.org/npo/re.... You will need to establish a login using your charity's nine-digit EIN number. Once you are registered, you will have access to a real-time online report detailing information about your donors who have chosen to share their contact information. Network for Good encourages you to reach out to them directly and provide information about how their donation is being used to support your mission.

    • To get your donations more quickly (and to save paper!), have them sent to you electronically via electronic funds transfer, also called EFT. You can sign up here: https://www.networkforgood.org/npo/fu....

  • Is Causes free? What is the transaction fee for the donations?

    Using Causes is completely free for nonprofits. This includes starting a cause and becoming an official nonprofit partner.

  • How can I track donations and get in touch with people who donate?

    By becoming an official Nonprofit Partner, you gain access to donor information from all of your causes. As a partner, you will be able to access your own personal dashboard, where you can view all past donations and export the list to a CSV file. Not all donors choose to share their information with the nonprofit, so some donors may be listed as anonymous. You can thank and acknowledge donors through Facebook messages and on the cause page itself. To become an official Nonprofit Partner, apply here: http://www.causes.com/partners/new.

  • How do I access a list of my past donations?

    Any donation your organization receives is listed on the nonprofit dashboard that is accessible to all nonprofit partners. You can download a CSV file with your donation history by clicking “Donations” from the dashboard. To become an official Nonprofit Partner: http://www.causes.com/partners/new. If you have any issues regarding donations or would like to inquire about past checks, please email donation@networkforgood.org.

  • When will my organization receive donations?

    Network for Good processes donations around the 15th of each month. You should receive a check shortly after that date. The check is always mailed to the address on file with Guidestar, so make sure you update your GuideStar account with any address changes.

  • How do I update my organization's listing on GuideStar?

    Go to http://www.guidestar.org/npo/index.jsp and log in as your organization's GuideStar contact. You will find instructions for updating your listing. If you are not sure what your organization’s log in information is, contact GuideStar at customerservice@guidestar.org.

  • What do I do if someone has created a cause for my nonprofit but I don't know that person?

    This is the point of causes - to empower individuals to create causes around issues they care about and choose a nonprofit to benefit from their cause. You can get in touch with the cause creator, connect them to any resources they might find useful, update them on campaigns and news, and send them media items. You can work with them to increase donations from their cause to your nonprofit by bringing them into the fold of your organization and updating them on offline campaigns.

  • What about other Facebook features? Can I have a Page, a Group, and a Cause?

    Yes, you can have all three. Causes is a third-party application that provides activists and nonprofits with organizing tools to make a difference in the world. In general, a cause differs from a Group or Page in that it tends to be a dynamic, campaign-like vehicle for accomplishing a specific goal, whether it’s raising funds or just awareness. Conversely, Groups and Pages are simply collections of users who support an organization. Since our application is specifically geared towards the nonprofit world, we recommend encouraging members of your Group and/or Page to join your cause.

  • What is “claiming” a profile?

    Claiming a profile simply means becoming a Nonprofit Partner and having access to your nonprofit profile. By default, this profile is auto-filled with the basic information provided by GuideStar. Becoming a Nonprofit Partner allows you to edit and expand on this information. As a Nonprofit Partner, you also have access to the nonprofit dashboard where you can manage the causes that benefit you and track donations. To become a Nonprofit Partner click here: http://www.causes.com/partners/new.

  • How does becoming a partner benefit me and my nonprofit?

    Becoming a partner lets you edit your official nonprofit profile that displays official information about your nonprofit. This is different from your cause; your cause is the vehicle through which you can recruit supporters and raise money. In addition to letting you modify your nonprofit profile, becoming a partner gives you access to your nonprofit dashboard. From your dashboard you can track causes that are created to benefit your nonprofit, view past donations, create petitions, and download donor contact information. To become a partner, please fill out the application here: http://www.causes.com/partners/new

  • What should I do if I am my organization’s contact and I plan to retire or change jobs?

    To change the contact on your nonprofit partner account, send an email to partner@causes.com with the new contact’s information. The new contact must have an organizational email address or be otherwise verified as an authorized representative of the nonprofit. We will add them to the account and send them the username and password.

  • What can I do within the “Nonprofit Dashboard”?

    The Nonprofit Dashboard is a tool created by the Causes team specifically for nonprofits. You can edit your nonprofit profile, download a CSV file with your organization’s donation history, create petitions, and monitor the causes that benefit you. The Nonprofit Dashboard is also where organizations can create and disseminate petitions.

  • What is the difference between a nonprofit profile and a cause?

    You can think of the nonprofit profile as a static resource page that contains basic information about your nonprofit and a general description of what your organization does. This profile offers users official information about your organization and can only be managed by a representative of the organization. The nonprofit profile is linked to every cause that benefits your organization. A cause is an interactive page that can be created by any Facebook user in order to recruit people, fundraise, send messages, start discussions, post media and create a community based around support for your nonprofit.

  • How do I create a petition?

    To create a petition you must be a nonprofit partner. To become a partner, go to http://www.causes.com/partners/new. Once you are approved, you can access the nonprofit dashboard at http://www.causes.com/partners. On the top toolbar is a tab for Petitions. Clicking on this tab will take you through all of the steps to create and disseminate a petition to your supporters on Causes.

  • How do I create a charity gift for my nonprofit?

    We launched Charity Gifts with some of our early partners in order to test initial interest from our users. We are not currently adding new charity gifts. However, if in the future we decide to expand the program, we will let our users know.

  • What do I do if I create a cause and I notice a duplicate was created?

    If you create duplicate causes, we recommend deleting one. To delete a cause, just scroll down to the very bottom of the screen and click “Delete Cause.”

  • How do I merge two causes?

    There is no way to merge two causes. This policy stems from our desire to respect users' decision to join one cause over another and merging them would violate that choice. You are welcome to ask everyone in one cause to join another, but we cannot forcibly merge two causes.

  • Our organization is listed on GuideStar, but when someone tries to make a donation they see an error. How can I enable donations?

    The most common reason for this error is that a nonprofit has blocked donations through GuideStar. You must have donations enabled through GuideStar to receive donations on Causes. To allow donations through GuideStar, go to http://www.guidestar.org/npo/index.jsp and log in as your organization's GuideStar contact. You will find instructions for updating your listing. If you are not sure what your organization’s log in information is, contact GuideStar at customerservice@guidestar.org.

  • Why do I have to provide an organizational email when submitting a nonprofit partner application?

    Nonprofit profiles must be managed by the nonprofit they represent. Therefore, we require that the individual submitting the nonprofit partner application provide an organizational email in order to ensure that he or she is employed by the nonprofit. If you have any questions about this requirement, please email partner@causes.com.

  • I am a 501c(4) or 501c(6), listed on Guidestar and as a beneficiary, but am unable to receive donations. Is there a way to enable donations to our organization?

    Currently, Causes can only accept donations to 501c(3) organizations.

  • Can a donor donate anonymously?

    Right now, if a donor leaves the box below unchecked that says “Share with nonprofit”, they would like to remain anonymous other than the amount they have donated to your organization. When you access donor details through our partner Network for Good or through the partner dashboard, your report will note “Anonymous” in the Name column. We strongly recommend that you honor this setting for Causes donors as you would for any other anonymous donation, despite the fact that individuals’ names may be visible on Cause pages that benefit your organization.

  • Our organization has a fan page and a cause. How do we add our cause to our page?

    To add your cause to your fan page, follow the instructions below.

    1. Go to your page and click on "Edit Page".

    2. Scroll down to the Causes application box and click on the "Edit" link.

    3. Search for your cause and then add it to your page.

    Your cause will appear in the Boxes tab on your page. You can then move it to the wall tab by clicking on the blue pencil in the top right of the box and then on "Move to wall tab".