iGive 101 Shopping to Support Your Cause
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On this page:
- How do I shop to support my cause?
- Where can I shop?
- If I’m shopping at a participating retailer, what will my cause receive?
- Can I also use coupon finders, cash back apps, etc?
- How can I tell how much I raised for my cause?
- What if I forgot to start shopping at iGive? Can my previous purchases be eligible for donations?
How do I shop to support my cause?
First, you’ll need to start your shopping by visiting iGive.com or by having the browser extension installed. Otherwise, retailers won’t know that you want to support your cause with iGive.
If you start shopping directly on a retailer, and have not completed your purchase, you can always leave the retailer’s site, visit iGive.com, and click back to the retailer’s site. In most cases your cart will still have your items in it, and you’ll then be shopping to support your cause.
Where can I shop?
iGive partners with thousands of stores and we’re constantly adding new stores. See the full list of participating stores.
The best way to shop to support your cause is with the iGive browser extension, because you don’t have to keep track of which stores participate. Instead, as you are shopping normally, we’ll remind you to “activate” iGive automatically on participating sites.
If I’m shopping at a participating retailer, what will my cause receive?
Each retailer sets their own percentage of your transaction that they will set aside, on your behalf, for the cause of your choice. We list the current percentage on the store page.
The percentage is then taken from your subtotal after any discounts, and before any sales tax, shipping and handling, or other fees.
Additionally, some retailers set restrictions and exclude certain items from being eligible. For example, it’s common to see items like Gift Cards be excluded. You can find a full list of excluded items/categories when looking at participating stores.
Here is an example receipt to show how to determine what would be donated to your cause:
| Product | Qty | Price |
| Toothbrush | 1 | $2.00 |
| Toothpaste | 1 | $4.00 |
| Gift Card (excluded category) | 1 | $25.00 |
| Subtotal | $32.00 | |
| Shipping | $6.00 | |
| Sales Tax | $1.35 | |
| Total | $39.35 | |
| Donation | 5% of Eligible Subtotal | $0.35 |
In this example, $7.00 is the amount eligible and the retailer’s percentage would be applied to that to calculate your donation to the cause.
From the $39.35 total: The $3 toothbrush is already discounted to $2. $25 is removed because it’s an excluded items per the retailer’s restrictions. $6.00 is removed because shipping and other fees are excluded. $1.35 is removed because taxes are excluded.
Can I also use coupon finders, cash back apps, etc?
Generally, no. If you use another site to receive cash back, airline/hotel points, or some other form of reward for shopping at a store, you’ll have to decide whether to use that site or iGive to support your cause for a particular shopping transaction.
How can I tell how much I raised for my cause?
Once you make an eligible purchase, your pending donation will be listed in your iGive account (requires login) typically within two weeks. Some retailers make take additional time to report your purchase back to iGive.
Once the return window for your purchase has closed, typically less than 90 days after your purchase, we’ll send your donation to your cause. The exact timing of when the cause receives your donation may vary based on the cause’s preferences and our agreements with them. For example, if a cause elects to receive a check, your donation may be bundled with other iGive users into a single monthly check.
What if I forgot to start shopping at iGive? Can my previous purchases be eligible for donations?
Unfortunately, you must shop via iGive for the retailer to know that you want to donate to your cause. It’s not possible to retroactively enable iGive on past purchases.
We recommend you utilize the iGive browser extension to make it easy to shop to support your cause every time.
iGive is also not active if you complete your order over the phone or in person, even if you started shopping at iGive.com.
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Frequently Asked Questions
It’s easy! You start by shopping at iGive and a portion of your purchase is set aside and donated to your favorite cause, all at no cost to you or the cause or to you. We work with all types of causes — big or small, local or national, and regardless of whether they are a registered 501(c)3 non-profit or not.
Stores pay iGive a percentage of your purchase because they want customers like you to shop at their store.
This is different than when a cashier asks if you want to round up or add a dollar to donate when you checkout — in that case, you are paying slightly more to donate to the cause. With iGive, you pay the same amount you would if you didn’t use iGive, and your cause still receives the donation.
iGive has a wide range of participating stores, including popular online retailers across various categories such as clothing, electronics, travel, and more. A full list of participating stores is available on the iGive website here.
You can choose from causes big and small, even causes that aren’t 501(c)3s. including charities, schools, religious organizations, animal shelters, and more. You can choose to support any cause that is listed here or you can add a new cause in just a few clicks here. After you do that, be sure to tell your friends!
Causes are often added to iGive by members, so it’s important to note that a cause being listed on iGive is not an endorsement of iGive by the cause. Even so, we still direct your donation to the cause of your choice!
If you didn’t find the cause you want to support listed on iGive, you can simply add it to iGive by filling out the form here.
Make the biggest impact on your community with iGive by encouraging others to join and shop through iGive, thereby increasing the amount of donations generated for your chosen cause. Additionally, consider spreading awareness about iGive and your cause through social media and other channels. We have a suite of tools to help you tell people about iGive here.
That’s the best part of iGive — the biggest impact you can have is by doing what you already do! Whether you are buying groceries, pet food, or a birthday present for a grandkid… shop online with iGive and your cause receives a donation.
(And don’t forget to tell your friends, because when they join iGive to support a cause, it provides even more donations within your community!)
A browser extension is software that adds functionality to your web browser, like Chrome, Safari, or Edge on your computer (but not your phone!). Whenever you visit a participating store, and have the iGive Button installed, we’ll remind you to activate iGive so that your shopping benefits your selected cause. . Learn more about the iGive Button and install the browser extension by clicking here.
For phone or tablet users, iGive’s mobile app is a shortcut to our site and stores, so that every time you shop you help. Whether you’re an Android or Apple fan, it’s easy. You can install the iGive mobile app from the official iGive website here.
The iGive.com website is also fully mobile-friendly, so you can also start your shopping journey on your phone by visiting iGive.com, searching for the store where you want to shop, and then click the “Shop now” button for that store.
Our lawyers require us to say this upfront - we are not tax experts and cannot give you specific tax advice. Please contact a tax advisor to determine what applies for your particular situation.
Next, iGive has a wide variety of causes available to choose from — some of which are 501(c)3 designated nonprofits who have gone through the IRS formalities to receive the status and therefore generally permit tax-deductible donations. Others, though, are less formal (and just as important!) causes, and the IRS generally does not permit you to take a tax deduction for giving them money. If you choose a cause that isn’t 501(c)3 designated, you’re still supporting the cause with a donation, but you won’t be able to deduct it when you go to file your taxes.
If your tax advisor asks, here is how iGive functionally works -
The donation amount is a rebate on the price you paid for the purchase, by the retailer, and reduces the price, as a nontaxable event. You then direct iGive to give that rebated amount to the cause of your choosing, on your behalf. If, based on your personal tax circumstances and the cause’s appropriate status with the IRS, a cash donation to your selected cause would be deductible, then the amount you donated via iGive would generally also be deductible.
iGive is not able to provide specific tax or legal advice, and the information provided is not considered direct tax advice, because your tax situation is inherently unique.