Frequently Asked Questions.

What is a 501(c)3 organization?
For charities, this means that they can accept contributions and offer donors a tax deduction for their gifts. All of the charities presented within the Stay Classy Giving System are 501(c)3 organizations, eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. For donors like you, this means your contributions are fully tax-deductible to the full amount allowed by law.

What does the Stay Classy Foundation's  "donor-advised" designation mean?
Wikipedia explains a Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) as a charitable giving vehicle set up under the tax umbrella of a public charity, which acts as sponsor to many funds. A Donor-Advised Fund offers the opportunity to create an easy-to-establish, low cost, flexible vehicle for charitable giving as an alternative to direct giving or creating a private foundation. Donors enjoy administrative convenience, cost savings and tax advantages by conducting their grantmaking through a Donor-Advised Fund.

The Stay Classy Foundation is a 501(c)3 donor-advised organization that can legally process donations on behalf of all of the charities in our database. The Stay Classy Foundation sends each non-profit a check for the sum of their donations on a quarterly basis, (although we are currently investigating automation options). When you make a donation, be sure to save and print the confirmation screen and e-mail you receive for your tax records. You do not need, nor will receive, an additional email from the charity that ultimately receives your donation.

What are the details surrounding the partnership between the Stay Classy Foundation and StayClassy.org?
Stay Classy Foundation was established by StayClassy.org in November of 2006.  The relationship is quite simple actually, and is broken into two parts.

1) The Foundation leads a variety of social and environmental initiatives that Stay Classy members and the general public are encouraged to get involved with. Stay Classy members can learn about some of these initiatives through the StayClassy.org website, as well as directly through the Foundation's website. StayClassy.org does not receive any financial benefit for informing its members about the Foundation's initiatives.

2) The Foundation provides Stay Classy members with an online resource for donating to more than 1.5 million charities across the United States. This means that when Stay Classy members decide to donate to a charity through StayClassy.org, the Stay Classy Foundation is the organization who actually processes that financial transaction. StayClassy.org does not benefit financially in any way from this online relationship.

The only financial relationship between the two is StayClassy.org's pledge to donate 10% of its annual profits to The Stay Classy Foundation each year.

What is the Stay Classy giving system on StayClassy.org?
Stay Classy Members can search for, research, and donate to over 1.5 million charities presented on the StayClassy.org website. The backbone of the charity search engine is the Guidestar database, consisting of over 1.5 million 501(c)3 charities across the nation. StayClassy.org has uniquely presented this information in a social networking architecture to make it easy for  members to research and interact with other supporters and the actual charity themselves. StayClassy.org works with Guidestar to ensure that every charity presented on the website is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, recognized by the Internal Revenue Service.

The Stay Classy Foundation is the organization that actually processes each donation and ensures that it gets to the intended recipient. The member's  donation history is also conveniently stored in their user profile on StayClassy.org.

Is my donation to the Stay Classy Foundation, or any of the charities in the Stay Classy giving system, tax deductible?
Yes. All donations made through StayClassy.org, and hence the Stay Classy Foundation, are 100% tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Each charity presented on the StayClassy.org website is a 501(c)3 organization, meaning they are qualified to receive tax deductible donations under the Internal Revenue Service rules and regulations.  Since the donations are processed by The Stay Classy Foundation, also a 501(c)3 organization, all of your contributions remain 100% tax deductible.  Please consult a tax advisor if you are unsure of the IRS rules surrounding your particular deductions. When you make a donation, be sure to save and print the confirmation screen and e-mail you receive from The Stay Classy Foundation for your tax records.

If you decide to contribute directly to the Stay Classy Foundation to help support its community initiatives, this donation will also be 100% tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law.

How will a donation appear on my bank statement?
All donations will appear as "The Stay Classy Foundation" on your bank statement. If you are donating to one of the charities presented in the Stay Classy giving system, your donation will still appear as "The Stay Classy Foundation".  Although your donation goes directly to the charity you have chosen to contribute to, the donation is initially received and processed by The Stay Classy Foundation.  Rest assured that 100% of all donations through StayClassy.org get to their intended recipient either electronically or through a quarterly check sent to the charity.

What are the processing fees associated with making a donation through the Stay Classy giving system?
StayClassy.org does not take ANY percentage of your donation through our website. However, with any online transaction, there are associated credit card fees and processing costs. The Stay Classy Foundation, who actually processes all of the donations made through the Stay Classy giving system, uses 3.5% of your donation to cover the credit card fees and the costs associated with check distribution.

The 3.5% that the Stay Classy Foundation uses, is approximately equal to the amount that individual non-profits would pay in fees if you were to donate directly on their website.

Here's the breakout of a typical $25 donation through the site:

$0.87 to The Stay Classy Foundation for admin costs.
$24.13 directly to the charity of your choice.