General FAQs
Can we update information provided during Onboarding at a later date?
Yes—everything you provide now can be updated later via your Administrator Dashboard.
Can we save our progress as we go?
Yes—if you scroll to the bottom of the page, you can click ‘Save’ and capture the information you’ve provided. The only information that cannot be saved are the details captured in the ‘Payment Processing’ section.
How do I invite my colleagues to contribute?
Scroll to the bottom of the page to the section called “Administrator(s) Setup," and add the email of any colleague you’d like to provide Admin access. You can select the Admin access level and then click ‘Save’.
BRANDING AND BASIC CONTENT
What is a Hex Code?
This is will be the primary color used for your buttons, links, and other highlights—it should correspond to your institutional branding. The format is a pound sign followed by a six digit code (e.g. #4543cc).
What if we don’t have a nickname for our mascot/alumni?
If your school doesn’t have a familiar nickname like Panther / Panthers, you could consider using a more generic term like “XYZ School Supporter / XYZ School Supporters”.
GENERAL GIVING
What Giving Form does this relate to?
The information provided here will help build your ‘Campaign Backup Form’ on GiveCampus. This is the form that is connected to the ‘Make a Gift’ button on your school’s landing page. We never want to turn away any donors who are looking to make a gift to your school, so this Campaign Backup Form serves as a way to make sure that you can still collect one-off gifts, even after your campaign has ended.
Please note: any gifts made through the Campaign Backup Form are considered Social Fundraising gifts, and count towards your Social Fundraising subscription.
How does recurring giving work?
For details on recurring gifts, click here.
What are designations and backend IDs?
Designations are options for how donors can designate their gift (e.g. The Annual Fund, Athletics, Scholarships). Backend IDs are your internal codes for these designations, often known as 'fund codes'. If you don't have backend IDs in your database of record, you can leave that column blank. On the public giving form, only the designations will display for your donors, while the backend IDs will display in your donation report.
CAMPAIGN CREATION GUIDELINES
What section of the landing page does this relate to?
This section will inform what is displayed when you click on the ‘Create a Campaign’ button on your school’s landing page.
What does it mean to allow “Anyone to create and submit a campaign”?
This means that anyone from your community can create a draft campaign and submit it for approval. If you are interested in promoting crowdfunding (e.g. encouraging student groups to fundraise for projects that may not otherwise receive funding), you may want to enable this option. Admins will be able to review and approve or reject any draft campaign before it goes public.
If you would prefer that all campaigns on GiveCampus originate from Advancement and/or be created by a staff member, you may not want to enable this feature.
Here is an example of a school who has chosen to enable this feature.
PAYMENT PROCESSING
Why did I get redirected to Stripe's page?
Once you've submitted your payment processing materials on the GiveCampus page, you'll be directed to Stripe Connect Onboarding, a Stripe-hosted experience, which allows Stripe to maintain compliance and creates a fast and more seamless experience. Once you've submitted all of your documentation, you will be redirected back to the GiveCampus page to submit your onboarding.
Does the entire payment processing section need to be submitted at once?
Yes—due to the sensitive nature of the information provided in this section, this information is sent directly to our payment partners and is not stored by GiveCampus. Consequently, the entire ‘payment processing’ section must be filled out and submitted in one go.
Why do I need to provide my Social Security Number?
GiveCampus’s payment processors have a legal obligation to verify the identity of the recipient of all funds (e.g., your school/institution). Specifically, Stripe must comply with "Know Your Customer" (KYC) requirements, which are used to prevent financial fraud, identity theft, money laundering, and terrorist financing.
What about onboarding for PayPal and Venmo?
Setting up payment processing for PayPal and Venmo will happen after you submit your initial technical onboarding. Once you've gotten access to your fundraising dashboard, there will be an additional option within your 'School Level Settings' to submit onboarding and enable PayPal/Venmo.
TAX RECEIPTS
While tax receipts are optional, it is best practice to include them so that donors can receive tax-deductible confirmation immediately after making their gift.
If you would like to have the option of providing tax receipts within the confirmation emails that are sent to donors, check off the box to 'Include Tax Receipts.' From here, you will be able to enter the institution name you would like to be entered on the tax receipt.