FAQs

Give Where You Live is a 24-hour fundraising event* created to rally community support for local charitable causes.  This unique one-day fundraiser is being hosted by the Kearney Area Community Foundation (KACF) and will be held on Thursday, December 7, 2023, from midnight to midnight. 

Community members are asked to make donations and show support for the local nonprofit organizations that positively impact our lives every day.  At the conclusion of the giving day, the Kearney Area Community Foundation will verify all gifts and award nonprofits matching funds from the Challenge Match Pool. 

Give Where You Live is the first Thursday of December each year. This year the date is Thursday, December 7, 2023.*

Anyone can give!  Anyone with an internet connection and a credit card can make a donation online during the 24-hour* giving day!  

In addition, donors can also give by cash, check or other means (stock gift, gift of grain, etc.) by making their donations at the Kearney Area Community Foundation office located at 412 W. 48th Street, Suite 12, in Kearney, on December 7, from 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. 

*Early Giving will be allowed starting November 9, 2023.

At the conclusion of Give Where You Live, the Kearney Area Community Foundation will verify each nonprofit’s proportionate share of the matching funds raised.  The amount received will be based on each organization’s overall percentage of funds raised on the day of the event.  This is NOT a 1:1 match.  If an organization receives 3% of the total funds raised on December 7, they will receive 3% of the matching funds available.  Maximum donations of $20,000 per household, per nonprofit organization, will qualify for matching funds.  (If a donor gives more than one donation totaling more than $20,000 to the same nonprofit, only $20,000 will be matched.) 

No.  The Kearney Area Community Foundation receives no financial benefit from hosting this event. As a matter of fact, the Foundation has committed to offering a Challenge Match Pool and additional prizes, as well as covering the cost of the giving day website platform and promoting the event.

The Kearney Area Community Foundation brings this event to the Kearney area with several goals in mind:

• To raise awareness of the current philanthropic needs of our communities.
• To help local nonprofits identify and cultivate new funding streams.
• To inspire donors to increase financial support to their favorite local causes.

Through a community-wide PR and marketing campaign, people are encouraged to visit GiveWhereYouLive.net, on December 7*, and donate to registered local nonprofit organizations.  KACF contracts with Neon One to provide the online giving platform.

The Kearney Area Community Foundation (KACF) sponsors and oversees the Give Where You Live giving day.  Because of generous financial support from other businesses and individuals, the Kearney Area Community Foundation is able to provide this 24-hour giving day for our local communities.

Yes. Please see the example below (all numbers presented in the example are hypothetical):

Total amount donated to “ABC Charity” during Give Where You Live campaign ($5,000).

DIVIDED BY

Total amount donated to participating charities during Give Where You Live ($500,000).

MULTIPLED BY

Total amount in Challenge Match Pool ($100,000).

EQUALS

ABC Charity’s share of the Challenge Match Pool ($1,000).

Donations up to $20,000 per household received between November 9 – December 7, 2023 count towards prizes. 

Note: Nonprofits are not allowed to give to themselves. The foundation will send an email to notify the organization when winning a prize and you can see it show up on the Prize Leaderboard at https://www.givewhereyoulive.net/leaderboard_npo.

Any individual, business or organization may donate no matter where they live! Online contributions may be made via credit card, debit card or electronic check only.  Donors who do not have access to computers or would prefer to make a gift of cash, check or other means (stock gift, gift of grain, etc.) may visit the Kearney Area Community Foundation office between 8:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. on December 7, for assistance in making contributions. Please make checks payable to Kearney Area Community Foundation or KACF. 

Note: Nonprofit organizations are not allowed to donate to themselves during the campaign.

Yes, we allow Early Giving for online donations between November 9 and December 7. Your credit card will be charged and your gift will show up in the nonprofit’s gift total immediately.

*Early Giving will be allowed starting November 9, 2023.

The minimum donation is $10. There is no maximum donation limit; however, only gifts up to $20,000 per household are eligible for the Challenge Match.

The nonprofit organization will receive 97% of the donations received the day of the event (including online donations made between November 9 and December 7), plus 100% of any matching funds or prize money obtained during the event.  There will be 3% deducted from the amount donated to the nonprofit organization to cover gift processing fees. 

Note: You can cover the 3% transaction fee when you donate if you want the nonprofit(s) to receive your entire gift. Be sure to check the box indicating your choice.

The organization(s) you choose to support will receive donor names and contact information, unless you choose to make an anonymous contribution.  As host of Give Where You Live, the Kearney Area Community Foundation will receive contact information for donors who participate in Give Where You Live and do not give anonymously.  This information is used to help us verify donations, thank the donor for participating, provide the option to opt-in to receiving future notifications, and notify the donor of future activities.

If you make your gift online, your tax receipt is emailed to you immediately by the Kearney Area Community Foundation upon successful processing of your donation. To claim a donation as a deduction on your taxes, please retain your email donation receipt as an official record. If you misplace this email, you can view your giving history and receipts by logging into your Neon One account (if you set up an account), or request a duplicate copy by contacting laurel@kearneyfoundation.org. Please include your full name, date of donation, amount of donation, and name of the nonprofit organization(s) that received your gift. If you did not make your donation online, we will email you a receipt if we have your email address. If we don't have your email and your total gift is $250 or more, your receipt will be mailed to you by the Kearney Area Community Foundation. Donors can expect to receive their tax receipt by January 15, 2024.

On your credit card/bank statement, GiveWhereYouLiveKACF will be listed.

Donations to participating organizations can be made online.  On December 7*, the campaign webpage will be live.  Use the “Nonprofits” search box to look for the charity you would like to support, then click “donate” and enter the appropriate donation information.  This event runs from midnight to midnight*.  As an added convenience, donors may also make online donations between November 9 and December 7 which will count for the Give Where You Live campaign on December 7, as well as the Challenge Match Pool and other prizes.

Donations can also be made to participating organizations by bringing your gift to the Kearney Area Community Foundation’s office located at 412 W. 48th Street, Suite 12, between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. on December 7. Mailed checks must be received before December 7.

If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact the Kearney Area Community Foundation at (308) 237-3114 or laurel@kearneyfoundation.org. 

Starting November 9, Early Giving will open up and donors will be able to make an online donation for Give Where You Live. Go to the Nonprofit menu tab to search for nonprofits you want to donate to by name, category, zip code or other keywords (like Shelton or literacy).    

Donations for the Give Where You Live campaign between November 9 – December 7 will be charged immediately to your credit card.

When the donation transaction is complete, the donor will receive an email confirmation that is also their tax-deductible receipt. This is the only gift receipt you will receive for your online gift.

You can give to as many organizations on GiveWhereYouLive.net as you would like.  Please note that only the local nonprofits registered and approved may receive gifts during this event. You simply choose the organization, make a donation and the nonprofit gift goes into your cart. When you check out, the list of the nonprofits and amounts you want to donate to each will show on the screen. There is a minimum $10 gift per organization.

If donating by check on December 7, please bring one check made payable to KACF (for the total amount) with a list of participating local nonprofits and the amounts you would like to donate to each one. We will have a form to fill out at our office. 

Yes. The Give Where You Live mobile-enabled website facilitates quick, easy, and secure donations on all web-enabled mobile devices and is a great tool for donors and nonprofits during the event on December 7 for giving on the go! This option is also available for Early Giving.

If you accidentally make a gift to the wrong organization or make a duplicate gift by mistake, please contact us as soon as possible to make the adjustment. After Thursday, December 14, 5:00 pm CST, all gifts made during Give Where You Live are considered final and non-refundable (unless otherwise directed by the merchant processing company). Refunds can take 7-10 business days to process after settling.

Yes, the foundation can accept gifts of grain, Donor Advised Fund (DAF) gifts, and Individual Retirement Account (IRA) gifts.

Donors will need to coordinate with Angie Vlasin, KACF's Accounting Manager to accept these gifts.

Note: This must be done prior to December 7, 2023.

All local nonprofit organizations that serve the Kearney area can apply.  This includes causes such as animals, arts and culture, community/civic, education, environment, faith, health, human services, recreation and fitness, social advocacy, veterans and youth development. Organizations that exist primarily for political activities are excluded, as well as corporate and private foundations or places of worship (unless it is running a community benefit program).

There are no restrictions based on organization size or location; however, you must serve residents of the Kearney, Nebraska, area.  At least 90% of donations received through this campaign must stay in the Kearney area.  

The Kearney area includes, but is not limited to:

• Buffalo County
• Amherst
• Elm Creek
• Gibbon
• Kearney
• Miller
• Pleasanton
• Ravenna
• Riverdale
• Shelton.

After your organization has been approved, the Kearney Area Community Foundation will assist you in creating your online giving page. In order to determine if your organization is eligible, call the Foundation office at (308) 237-3114 or email us at laurel@kearneyfoundation.org.  

Registrations are due by October 5, 2023.

Because we are required to validate your 501(c)3 status, review supporting documents, and give our technology provider, Neon One, time to set up your donation page, the deadline for registering your nonprofit to participate in Give Where You Live 2023 is October 5, 2023.

Important Event Dates

The Kearney Area Community Foundation will send updates to the email address that you provided when you registered. You can also sign up to be part of the private GWYL Facebook group by contacting Andi at andi@kearneyfoundation.org or 308-237-3114.

No, these are not charitable gifts. 

Note: Doing so will make your nonprofit ineligible for prizes or future participation.

Nonprofit representatives can log in to the organization's account on givewhereyoulive.net and then click "My Donations" in the menu options to see their early giving donations. During Give Where You Live, the most recent 25 donations will appear on your "Performance Dashboard". You can export  to see the full list of donations at that time, or, wait until Give Where You Live has concluded and access the "My Donations" tab again.

There is no maximum amount an organization may receive; however, only gifts up to $20,000 per household will be eligible for a proportional share of the Challenge Match Pool of funds. Organizations are prohibited from donating to themselves.

Although each nonprofit will be able to see their gifts in real-time, please be aware that reconciliation must be completed before disbursements are made. Because of the number of gifts coming into the Foundation's office in a short amount of time, there may be human errors made when entering the gifts into the giving day software. We do our best to minimize these errors. Therefore, donation "reports" cannot be considered final until the nonprofit receives the final disbursement from the Kearney Area Community Foundation in January 2024.

No. The Kearney Area Community Foundation receives no financial benefit from hosting this event. As a matter of fact, the Foundation has committed to offering a Challenge Match Pool and additional prizes, as well as covering the cost for the giving day website platform and promoting the event.

Promote! Promote! Promote! After registering your organization online, please visit the Nonprofit Resources section for information on planning your organization's campaign. If you are not currently on social media, set up accounts for your organization now. Follow the Kearney Area Community Foundation on Facebook and Instagram (@KearneyGives) for timely updates and prepare to have fun on December 7!

Your creativity and energy will help make it a success.

Nonprofit Resources

Participating organizations can access their donation report by logging into your administrative account at givewhereyoulive.net > Login > Nonprofits in the top right-hand corner. Click the 'My Donations" tab and just the information displayed by showing or hiding donation information in the dropdown menu on the right of the screen.

Note: Be sure to select a date range to only get the information you want. Otherwise, you might get the previous year's information included. If you're looking for a specifying giving day year, type the year in the "Gives Day" filter. By clicking the 'Export' button on the lower right side of your screen, you'll be prompted to open this document as a downloaded file. For more help, contact Laurel at (308) 237-3114.

No. Donations made online through Neon One with a credit card will be receipted electronically with an email from the Kearney Area Community Foundation. All other Give Where You Live donations will be receipted by mail by the Kearney Area Community Foundation; however, we do encourage you to send a "thank you" note to your donors.

For your organization to participate, you must first register and be approved by the Kearney Area Community Foundation.

You may do so by clicking: Register My Nonprofit.

If you need help registering your nonprofit, please feel free to contact the Foundation at (308) 237-3114.

Note: Organizations must re-register if they participated in the past.

Yes, see the Nonprofit Resources page.

Kearney Area Community Foundation's Roles:

• Fund, create, maintain, and oversee the www.givewhereyoulive.net online platform.
• Manage and oversee all aspects of the campaign.
• Serve as a liaison between nonprofit organizations and Neon One.
• Seek sponsors for grants and prizes.
• Offer prize money to nonprofits to encourage participation.
• Create a common message and brand for the campaign.
• Provide training/information sessions to prepare nonprofits for Give Where You Live.
• Offer ongoing support to nonprofits through open office hours.
• Provide resources for nonprofits to strengthen their campaigns.
• Raise awareness in the community and generate media buzz about the event.
• Work with the local media and social media to get the word out.
• Use www.givewhereyoulive.net to spread the word about Give Where You Live.

Nonprofit Organization's Roles:

• Register for Give Where You Live 2023 by October 5, 2023.
• Attend or watch the information/training webinar before working on your Neon One page and prepare to actively participate in Give Where You Live.
• Create or update the fundraising page for your organization using the Neon One platform by November 8.
• Use the Nonprofit Resources provided by the Kearney Area Community Foundation to strengthen your campaign.
• Broadcast the campaign's message using your existing communication networks.
• Utilize the campaign's logo and message consistent with brand guidelines.
• Market this unique giving day to your existing donor list, as well as new prospects.
• Contribute to outreach events as necessary. Contribute to the campaign's success by committing staff and/or volunteer time for outreach, especially on December 7.
• Send thank you notes/emails to your Give Where You Live donors. Note: We will confirm all gifts and amounts by January 15, 2024.
• Use at least 90% of the proceeds to benefit the Kearney area.
• Raise a minimum of $200 during Give Where You Live to be eligible for participation in Give Where You Live for one year. Match and prizes are excluded from calculations to determine return eligibility.

The nonprofit organization will receive 97% of the donations received the day of the event (and online donations made between November 9 and December 7) and 100% of any matching funds or prize money obtained during the event. There will be transaction fees of 3% deducted from the amount donated to your organization to cover gift processing fees (unless the donor covers them).

Any donations made before November 9 or after December 7, WILL NOT be eligible for the Give Where You Live matching funds or other prizes.

Note: The Challenge Match awards are calculated before processing fees are deducted.

Please fill out the "Single Donation Form" for each gift, so we can make sure the donation is credited to the correct nonprofit, as well as capture information that helps with sending the donor a receipt. Cash donations can be grouped together if there is no donor information and can be marked as cash donations on one form. Make sure to plan for a volunteer or staff member to drop off all donations on December 7 at the Kearney Area Community Foundation office at 412 W 48th St. #12 from 8:00 a.m. ‐ 7:00 p.m.

Single Donation Form

Your organization will receive a check from the Kearney Area Community Foundation representing all donations received by your organization during the Give Where You Live campaign less the 3% fee, plus your share of the Challenge Match Pool as well as any prizes awarded. Disbursement checks will be sent out before January 15, 2024.

Note: Organizations with component funds at the Kearney Area Community Foundation will have their donations and prize/match money deposited directly into their corresponding fund at the Foundation.

Checks must be deposited within 90 days to be eligible to participate the following year.

Because Give Where You Live is an opportunity to . . .

• Raise funds for your organization.
• Cultivate new donors.
• Educate community members.
• Reinvigorate lapsed donors.
• Build your online fundraising skills.
• Raise awareness about your organization.
• Convert check-writing donors to online donors.
• Demonstrate a united, collaborative local nonprofit community.
• Receive matching funds and prizes during the event.
• Reach a younger and/or remote audience.

The Foundation will be marketing the program to a wide audience, utilizing advertising and media partners to promote the event; however, it is the responsibility of each participating organization to contact its existing donor base, as well as any new donors your organization wants to engage.

In partnership with Neon One, the Kearney Area Community Foundation will provide videos, events, social media logos, and advice in Nonprofit Resources to educate your organization. Nonprofits can find additional templates, guides, and articles in the Resource Center (log in to the organization's Neon One account to access).

You can begin promoting the event as soon as you wish. However, we encourage your organization to begin heavily promoting after November 9 using avenues such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, email, newsletter and direct mail campaigns. Promotional vehicles used by participating organizations will be at the organization's own expense.

KACF provides Give Where You Live graphics you may use on your social media pages in the "Spread the Word" section under Nonprofit Resources.

Each participating organization will have access to their donor list, including the contact and donation information for their specific donors, except those who wish to be anonymous. Donor information will never be sold to a third party. The Kearney Area Community Foundation reserves the right to communicate with donors for thank yous, surveys, newsletters, philanthropic education, information about future GWYL activities, and more.

The Kearney Area Community Foundation reserves the right to disqualify any community benefit organization from participating in the event and/or receiving Challenge Match dollars at any time before, during or after the event, if, in its sole discretion, it believes that there has been a breach of these rules and/or deception on the part of the organization.

The Kearney Area Community Foundation can modify any restrictions or conditions if, in the sole judgment of the Board of Directors, such restriction or condition becomes unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the community.  As such, the Kearney Area Community Foundation reserves the right to deny or condition the distribution of prizes and grants if, in the judgment of its Board of Directors, such restriction or condition becomes necessary.  

The Foundation makes no warranties or representations as to the success of Give Where You Live or of any individual participant and in no way, directly or indirectly, guarantees any results or the number of donations. For a full list of guidelines, please visit the “Terms and Conditions of Participation” located in the 

Nonprofit Resources tab.