Donor FAQs

I can’t find my cause on your website. How do I add it?

Nonprofits (501c3s) can register here. Organizations which are not 501c3s should contact us. Otherwise, you can suggest it to suggest@helpattack.com.

How do I make a donation?

Donations can be made using a credit card. We may also support PayPal or other payment methods for certain causes. You can give anytime: when your pledge starts, halfway through, or when your pledge is complete.

As a donor, you should see a donation link on each pledge on your dashboard, and we will email you when your pledge is processed with a donation link.

You can – and should! – check the box to add your payment method to your HelpAttack! account. It’s more convenient for you, and better for the causes you support. We won’t ever exceed the limit you set on your pledge, and you can cancel your pledge or payment method anytime.

Help! There’s a problem with my donation!

Contact support@helpattack.com if you were unable to donate, or donations@firstgiving.com if you made a donation you did not intend, or need something else regarding your transaction.

When does my credit card get charged?

Your credit card will only be charged automatically if, when making a donation, you specify you would like to keep the “card on file” and allow us to process future donations with it. Otherwise, we email you a payment link when your pledge is processed, usually 30 days after it starts.

How are donations processed?

Donations are processed by one of our partners. For each cause, we help choose the best, most effective, and lowest overhead option.

First Giving: ”Our online fundraising solutions allow nonprofits to do what they do best – providing mission-based services and research to deserving recipients – without worrying about technical development, server maintenance, credit card processing, or any of the other headaches we handle on their behalf.”
Network for Good, a Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance accredited industry leader in processing online donations. Network for Good, in technical terms, is a “donor-advised fund,” a 501(c)(3) organization that collects contributions from donors and distributes such contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations in good standing with the IRS recommended by you, the donor. You can read more about Network For Good here.

What about recurring pledges and donations?

If you store your credit card on file with our transaction gateway, and your pledges are recurring, then we will attempt to use your card on file when they are processed. You can stop this from happening anytime by cancelling your recurring pledges.

How much of my money is going to the nonprofit?

At least 91.75% of your money goes directly to the nonprofit. We wish it could be 100%, but there are costs associated with each transaction.

Credit card fees are usually between 2 and 4%.
We also work with nonprofit specific transaction gateways (such as First Giving) which use a small percentage to support their operations as well. So, the total between credit card fees and transaction gatways is currently 4.25%.
HelpAttack! uses an additional 4% to support operations, for a total of 8.25%

Using a percentage, rather than a monthly fee, means we are only successful if our causes are successful. We will always strive to keep this the total percentage as low as possible so the causes and nonprofits you support can make the most of your generosity.

What about international donors?

International donors are welcome to make donations through this site. However, you may need to have a US-based credit card to support some causes. We are working with our transaction gateway to allow some international transactions.

Is the cause notified of who made the donation?

You bet! But, if you don’t want the cause to have your information, you can change your privacy settings on the Settings page.

How do I know you’re not going to keep all my money for yourselves?

We partner with nonprofit specific transaction gateways (like First Giving and Network for Good), and they issue you a receipt explaining how the funds reach the nonprofit.

Why (and when!) would HelpAttack! send messages for me?

At most five times per pledge, and only if you tell us to, we help you tell people what you are up to. These updates may count towards your pledge, but you still won’t be asked to donate more than your limit.

Specifically, we may send one update when you start a new pledge, one update when you are halfway done, one update when you are almost done, one when you are done, and one update when you have completed your payment.

Also each HelpAttack!-generated post will include a link, sharing your cause with others. When your friends and followers click this link to make a pledge, you’ll get credit (we call this ‘Network Effect’).

If you want to change this decision at any time, simply log in and check or uncheck the “spread the word” box on your pledge. You can control the default for this box on your Settings screen.