Nonprofit FAQ

Q. What is Give Big Pittsburgh?

Give Big Pittsburgh is an online giving day hosted by the Pittsburgh Magazine created to support the nonprofits doing great work in our community. Leveraging the national awareness of #GivingTuesday, hundreds of nonprofits throughout Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas will work together to raise awareness, collect donations, and build a stronger sense of philanthropy throughout their local communities. 

Q. What is #GivingTuesday?

#GivingTuesday is a national day of giving that occurs on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday each year.

Give Big Pittsburgh builds on the focus of #GivingTuesday by engaging many of the major nonprofit networks and leaders in Pittsburgh to encourage more nonprofits and donors to participate. Experience with such days of giving shows that when participation increases, donors have more choices and overall giving to nonprofits increases.

Q. Why should my organization participate?

Give Big Pittsburgh is a great way to boost your organization's fundraising efforts, gain exposure and improve capacity around online giving and campaigns. As Pittsburgh's only day of giving, Give Big Pittsburgh provides eligible nonprofits with an opportunity to reach potential new donors through a region-wide event and integrated marketing campaign.

Q. Which organizations can participate?

Organizations that are verified charitable nonprofits that are headquartered or provide services in Western Pennsylvania are eligible to participate in Give Big Pittsburgh. Additionally, organizations must be registered as charitable organizations with the Pennsylvania Department of State. To learn more about your registration status with the Pennsylvania Department of State, please visit Pennsylvania Department of State website.

Q. What systems are you putting in place to make sure that smaller nonprofits with less robust fundraising infrastructures have equitable opportunity?

We are defining a prize structure that will reward nonprofits at a variety of budget levels for creativity, engagement and other criteria beyond dollars raised.

Q. When can my organization start receiving donations for Give Big Pittsburgh?

Donations will open on Tuesday, 12:00AM on November 28 and remain open through December 31, 2023 for year end giving.

Q. Who is GiveGab?

GiveGab is the company that powers the online giving platform behind Give Big Pittsburgh! Aside from this event, GiveGab helps nonprofits raise money, engage donors, and manage volunteers quickly and efficiently. GiveGab offers a full portfolio of simple and easy-to-use products that allow organizations to function in a more streamlined manner.

Q. How will the change ensure that Give Big Pittsburgh doesn't crash?

The Pittsburgh Magazine went to great lengths this year to fully review, vet, and question major giving day providers. At the end of the day, while nothing can ever be 100 percent guaranteed, we are confident in GiveGab's technology, preparedness and customer service. Their dedication and passion for nonprofits also shines in their work. Since 2017, we've raised $15,251,085 for hundreds of nonprofits and had a record breaking year in 2021, raising over $3 million, all without any downtime.

In addition to being the only platform on the market with 100 percent uptime, GiveGab offers multiple layers of fail-safes, backup servers, and spillovers should anything happen. For more information on the GiveGab technology, click here.

Q. How will donations be distributed?

Each donation made to a participating nonprofit will be disbursed directly from GiveGab via direct deposit within 5-7 business days.

Q. How much of a donation goes to the nonprofit?

GiveGab retains a 3% campaign management fee from all donations on the giving day. Credit Card processing fees are an additional 2.5% + $0.30 for all major credit cards.

ACH/bank payment methods are available to donors who wish to give $100 or more per nonprofit. For ACH transactions, in addition to the 3% platform fee, there is a $3.00 per nonprofit fee which replaces the credit card fee of 2.5% + .30.

100% of all donations are tax-deductible for the donor. This year we have the added ability to allow donors to cover the fees before finalizing their transaction. Data shows that a majority of donors (90% during #GiveBigPittsburgh 2019) elect to do this, but this is ultimately up to the donor. All online donations will be officially receipted for tax purposes automatically through GiveGab under the name of the nonprofit receiving the funds. Any donations processed outside of the Giving Day Period, through GiveGab.com, or subsequent recurring donations are also subject to the transaction fees outlined above.

Q. Why do you require date of birth and the last four digits of the nonprofit administrator's Social Security number for a nonprofit's donation payouts?

As an online platform that collects, processes and distributes money in the form of donations from supporters to organizations, GiveGab must abide by the rules, regulations and compliance laws of the United States. In particular, they are required to verify that the individual registering an organization to collect donations is authorized to do so and is who they say they are.
Financial services entities such as Stripe are obligated, under provisions in the Patriot Act, to verify the identity of those who conduct transactions on behalf of the "legal entity customers" they serve. Nonprofit organizations are not excluded from the definition of "legal entity customer." Every nonprofit organization has at least one individual who has provided his/her Social Security number to a bank and/or other financial partners in order to transact business. Note that this data is available only to Stripe, not the GiveBigPittsburgh or GiveGab. (Read more about Stripe's security and privacy policy. Stripe's request of a driver's license or other government issues ID is a reflection of the same customer identification requirements.)
More importantly, GiveGab and Pittsburgh Magazine have a duty to our users. When donors choose to support a cause with a monetary gift, it is essential that they trust their donation will support what they intended it to support. You can read a full explanation including how this information is stored in the following GiveGab support article: Why do you require personal information to enable donations?

Q. Can my organization host a special event?

Yes! We encourage you to plan an event, partner with other participating nonprofits, or connect with a local business to raise awareness about Give Big Pittsburgh!

Q. Can more than one person claim administrative access on our organization’s page?

Yes, pending approval from existing administrators. All administrators will need to create profiles on GiveGab. Every person who has administrative access will receive emails about updates to their page.

Q. Can donations be made via a mobile device?

Yes! Simply visit givebigpittsburgh.com on your mobile device.