You need an active email address and U.S. mobile phone number.
Funds raised by EZsamaritan are directly deposited by our merchant account partner, Stripe, into your U.S. bank account. You will need a free Stripe merchant account and active U.S. phone that can accept SMS text messaging. In order for banking institutions to accept direct deposits, you will be asked to provide the social security number for the person named on the deposit account, the name of the banking institution, the bank routing number, and the checking or savings account number. With the first withdrawal request, you will also be asked for your date of birth and address for security confirmation.
Providing information such as date of birth, social security number, etc., with the first withdrawal of campaign funds is for your protection. EZsamaritan has a zero-tolerance policy for fraud and we want to make sure that your money is protected. Treatment of your personal information is governed by legal requirements that we abide by. Account security and personal information protection is a critical commitment to EZsamaritan and it receives our highest attention.
The donor absolutely does NOT have to create an account to donate and the whole donation process can be done within a couple of minutes.
Donations are received by credit card, and it typically takes the credit card companies five days to post payment requests. EZsamaritan has no control over the credit card process, but we find the average processing time to be about three to five days. For long-term campaigns, a recurring withdrawal request can be scheduled on your EZsamaritan campaign settings to transfer funds on either a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
Anyone anywhere in the world can start a fundraising campaign through EZsamaritan. However, as part of the laws that govern EZsamaritan’s operations, we can only transfer funds to U.S. residents. So a person in Europe could start a campaign, but they would have to assign a beneficiary in the U.S. to withdraw the funds. EZsamaritan's future operation outside of the United States is coming soon.
Definitely. You have the option of setting up the campaign in two ways:
1. You can create the campaign and identify the person who will be receiving the funds as the campaign “beneficiary.” EZsamaritan will guide you through the quick and simple process for assigning a beneficiary, OR
2. When you create the campaign, you can take responsibility for withdrawing the funds and forwarding them to the ultimate recipient yourself.
EZsamaritan also gives you the flexibility to add or change a beneficiary at any time during the campaign.
Yes! There are legal requirements for withdrawing funds that must be met, such as providing charitable identification and banking information. We encourage you to discuss your campaign with the church or charitable organization in advance so everyone knows what will be required when it comes time to withdraw your proceeds.
The process is the same from a donor’s point of view, but there may be a difference in whether or not the donation is tax deductible. Personal campaigns are unlikely to be tax deductible, where campaigns for organizations with a 501c3 status may be tax deductible. This is another thing to discuss with the church or organization before launching your campaign. We are not in the position or profession to give you any tax-related advice. We recommended that you check with your tax attorney or CPA.
When it comes to taxes, we highly recommend that you talk to your accountant or CPA to understand your obligations. EZsamaritan is not licensed or qualified to provide advice on tax matters. When speaking with your tax professional, be sure to let them know if your campaign is a personal campaign that may qualify as a personal gift, or if the donation is made to a registered 501c3 organization. If a tax professional tells you that the donations are deductible, the organization receiving the funds should be contacted about providing tax-deductible statements to your donors. Remember, cash donations will be administered by our merchant partner, Stripe. EZsamaritan will not be directly transferring funds from any campaigns.
The money goes directly into the merchant account that you have with Stripe.com and Stripe.com will then directly send the funds to your bank that you have provided to Stripe. As part of the campaign set-up process, the fundraiser is required to open a free account with our merchant partner, Stripe. All donations received are directed to your Stripe account.
Your security matters to us, so EZsamaritan has partnered with Stripe for both receiving donations and making payments to campaign recipients. Stripe annually undergoes an on-site assessment by a PCI-certified auditor and maintains the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry: PCI Service Provider Level 1.
Say you want to change your campaign photo, goal amount, or description. To do so, log into your account and click on your name in the top right corner to see the drop-down menu. Select "My Campaigns." From here, you will see the edit option below the picture of your campaign.
Alternatively, from the drop-down menu under your name, select "Dashboard," and on the left-hand side of the page, you will a menu bar below your campaign picture. Select "Edit Campaign." Be sure to scroll down and click on "Next" in order to save the changes.
From the drop-down menu below your name in the top right corner, select "Dashboard." On that page, look on the left side to find the menu below your campaign picture. Select "Campaign Settings." You will find the ability to turn on or off the Auction Feature and Time Donation Feature on this page. If you are turning on the Time Donation Feature for the first time, be sure to fill out the form for potential volunteers to know when you need their time and what for.
After you have logged in, click on your name in the top right corner to find the drop-down menu. Select "Dashboard." On the left-hand side under your campaign picture, you will find a menu. On that menu, select "Share Campaign." To share your campaign on social media, click on any of the social media icons (assuming you are already logged in to that social media site). You can also find your campaign's URL on this page to copy and paste wherever you like!
To share your link to your email contacts, click on your preferred email icon. Be sure your web browser allows pop-ups to perform this action. EZsamaritan will request access to your email address book and after agreeing, you will be able to select any of the contacts you would like to send your campaign link to. You can also add email addresses in manually from the "Share Campaign" page.
Go to https://dashboard.stripe.com/login and enter your username and login for your Stripe account. You are 100% in control of your money and you have a direct relationship with your payment processor Stripe.com. EZsamaritan receives NO benefits from Stripe.com whatsoever!
Once logged in, you can customize your account under "Business Settings," "Payment Settings," and "Balance Settings." You can view your donation history and manage your money on this website. If you need help with Stripe.com, visit https://support.strip.com.
In order for your campaign to receive online donations, an online payment processor provider must be used. We use Stripe.com because they are rated as one of the best when it comes to their service and security. Their fee is typical no matter where you go if you want to use credit cards as a method of donation. We, EZsamaritan.com, do not receive any benefits from Stripe.com regarding the fee you pay.
If you want to avoid Stripe.com’s 3% credit card processing fee, then you can encourage your donors to donate it OFFLINE by sending you check, money order or bank wire. Then login to your EZsamaritan account online and click on the link “Add offline donation” on the left menu under your campaign’s settings. This amount will be added to the total campaign raised.
If you want to avoid Stripe.com’s 3% credit card processing fee, then you can encourage your donors to donate it OFFLINE by sending you a check, money order or thru bank wire. Then login to your EZsamaritan account online and click on the link “Add offline donation” on the left menu under your campaign’s settings. This amount will be added to the total amount of the campaign and listed as "Offline Donation".
Because it’s your money and you should have 100% direct control of it. Therefore, you must have it in your own account. EZsamaritan.com has no part or any control of it with your online donation(s). Your campaign will not be able to accept online donation until this step is completed because we don’t want to hold your money. Once completed this setup, Stripe will directly deposit your money into your bank. Do we, EZsamaritan.com, receives any commission or referral fee from Stripe? The answer is ABSOLUTELY NO. Not a penny!
There are many reasons why we chose Stripe over the others but to sum it all up: 1. Security, 2. Flexibility, 3. Lower Fees. Do we, EZsamaritan.com, receives any commission or referral fee from Stripe? The answer is ABSOLUTELY NO. Not a penny!
CURRENT ONSITE TRAINING SEMINAR FOR FUNDRAISER
Topic: How to effectively and efficiently deliver your fundraising campaign to your potential donors
What? Hand-on training on how to achieve your fundraising goal using our online marketing tools.
When? July 17 OR July 19 from 11AM to Noon (choose one)
Where? 141 28th St. S.E. Suite 4. Grand Rapids, MI 49548 (inside Saigon Plaza)
Tools / Equipment? Bring your laptop or mobile phone to do practice but it's not required.
Refreshment will be provided.
We highly recommended that you attend this training if you really care about the success of your fundraising campaign. To sign up for the training, all you have to do is to send us an email to [email protected] and stated July 17 or July 19. We will also be sending you an invitation via Google calendar to confirm it. If the above dates don't work for your schedule, perhaps telling us what date would be best for you?
CURRENT ONLINE TRAINING SEMINAR FOR FUNDRAISER
The online training seminar will be conducted using a webinar where we will send you an online invitation link and you then connect to our online live training. Currently, we do not have any schedule but you can request one by sending us an email to [email protected]. We preferred everything to be online but if you need to call, you can do so at 616-281-1740
Absolutely! The majority of EZsamaritan campaigns fall into this category. You do not have to be a religious or nonprofit organization to use our crowdfunding platform.