7Stay in good standing · Company managementEvery deadline, kept
- Charity registrations renewedOhio, Kentucky and Indiana
- Board minutes on file
- Next deadline on the calendar
Nonprofits
Steward every gift, from donation to 990.
Take gifts online, thank every donor with a receipt in your name, keep restricted funds apart and file your 990, on one system of record. At charity rates, passed on to you.
A founder runs in with an idea: start Redbrook Food Bank, a made-up Ohio food bank. Then its first year on Cedar, as seven cards. Incorporate: its articles are filed with Ohio, the IRS issues its EIN and its 501(c)(3) application is prepared. Set up giving: suggested gifts of $25, $50 and $100, monthly giving on, Redbrook's colors, and the donation page goes live. Take gifts: Priya Shah gives $50 a month, Jordan Lee gives $50 in one tap with Cedar Go, Marcus Bell gives $120 from the spring appeal link and the Hale Family Fund gives $10,000 by bank. Thank donors: a receipt for every gift in Redbrook's name, 1,184 in all. Keep the books: each gift tagged to its fund, the card fee on a line of its own and every deposit matched. File the 990: prepared from Redbrook's books, signed by the treasurer and filed. Stay in good standing: charity registrations renewed, board minutes on file and the next deadline on the calendar.
Card fees on your gifts
Enter what you take in card gifts a year, up to $1,000,000,000.
Get up to$16,000per year more for your mission
On $2,000,000 of card gifts a year, get up to $16,000 per year more for your mission.The charity rate, passed on to you.
Card networks charge registered charities less on every gift. Most payment providers keep the difference. We pass it on to you.
- Tagged as a charity from day oneYour gifts run under the card networks' charity category, not a general one.
- The saving is yoursThe lower rate shows up in your price, not in our margin.
- Ask for your rateTell us what you raise by card, and we'll show you what your gifts would cost.
Follow one gift.
Let's follow one gift through a few of our building blocks and into Redbrook's books: $10,000 from Ellen Hale, by bank, for the food pantry.
Gifts, however donors want to give.
The Payments block takes cards and bank transfers, once or every month. A gift by bank costs 0.8%, never more than $5.
A receipt for every gift, in your name.
The Tax block sends the donor a receipt with what the IRS asks for, the moment the gift arrives.
Restricted money, in its own account.
The Banking block keeps the pantry fund apart from the general fund, so it's spent where the donor meant it.
Your books, already balanced.
The Accounting block posts every step in double entry, tags the gift to its fund, and funds in transit close at zero.
GivenPayments
- Gift by bank, Ellen Hale
- $10,000.00
- Cedar fee, by bank
- -$5.00
- Net
- $9,995.00
The gift Dr Cr Funds in transit 10,000.00 Contributions, restricted 10,000.00 The processing fee Dr Cr Processing fees 5.00 Funds in transit 5.00 ReceiptedTax
- Gift
- $10,000.00
- Goods or services received
- None
- Deductible amount
- $10,000.00
In the pantry fundBanking
- This gift, to the pantry fund
- +$9,995.00
- General fund$12,400.00Unrestricted
- Pantry fund$17,995.00Restricted, up from $8,000.00
Restricted money, kept apart from the general fund.
Settlement Dr Cr Pantry fund account 9,995.00 Funds in transit 9,995.00 In Redbrook's booksAccounting
- Gift, pantry fund
- $10,000.00
- Processing fee
- $5.00
- Settlement
- $9,995.00
- Entries balanced
- 3 of 3
Tagged to the pantry fund in QuickBooks, posted as it happened.
Trial balance Dr Cr Pantry fund account 9,995.00 Processing fees 5.00 Contributions, restricted 10,000.00 Funds in transit 0.00 Totals 10,000.00 10,000.00
One reference, cdr_test_4R8B1N, from gift to books.
How Redbrook uses every block.
All sixteen blocks, grouped the way a nonprofit works: raise gifts, thank donors, steward the money, file, and keep monthly gifts coming.
Raise gifts
On the donation page, in an appeal email and in one tap.
- PaymentsGifts by card or bank account, once or every month. Priya Shah has given $50 a month since 2022.
- Hosted checkoutThe donation page, in Redbrook's colors, where supporters give once or choose to give monthly.
- Payment linksA link in the spring appeal email, so supporters give straight from their inbox.
- Fast CheckoutSupporters who've given to any organization on Cedar give again in one tap with Cedar Go.
Thank every donor
A receipt for every gift, and a record of every donor.
Steward the money
Restricted gifts kept apart, and spent where donors meant them to go.
- BankingThe general fund and the pantry grant in separate accounts, so restricted money is never spent by mistake.
- AccountingEvery gift and grant tagged to its fund in QuickBooks, from the general fund to the building fund.
- Cards and Spend managementCards for pantry staff and volunteers, each with its own limit for groceries and fuel.
- PayoutsFarms and suppliers paid by ACH, from the account that holds the money for them.
File and stay in good standing
The 990, the charity registrations and every deadline in between.
- ComplianceThe Form 990 prepared from Redbrook's own books. The treasurer signs, and it's filed.
- Company managementCharity registrations renewed in every state Redbrook fundraises in, with every deadline on one calendar.
- Company setupFor a new nonprofit: a nonprofit corporation formed, with its 501(c)(3) application prepared.
Keep monthly gifts coming
Donors' cards kept safe, and a second chance when a gift is declined.
- Token vaultMonthly givers' cards are kept in a vault Redbrook owns, so changing processors never means asking donors again.
- Payments orchestrationA monthly gift declined on one processor is retried on another before the donor lapses.
- KYC and KYBA donor's bank account is confirmed open and in their name before their first gift by bank.
Questions from nonprofits.
Anything else? Book a call with us.
Do nonprofits pay less?
Yes. Card networks charge registered 501(c)(3)s a lower charity rate on card gifts, and most payment providers keep that difference. We pass it on to you. Book a call and we'll show you your rate.
Are receipts sent in our name?
Yes. Once we confirm your tax-exempt status with the IRS, every gift gets a receipt by email in your name, with what the IRS asks for: your name and tax ID, the amount and date, and whether the donor got anything in return.
Can supporters give every month?
Yes. Supporters give once or every month, by card or bank account, and monthly gifts renew on their own.
How do restricted gifts work?
Each gift and grant is tagged to its fund with QuickBooks classes or Xero tracking categories, so restricted money never mixes with the general fund. You can hold a restricted grant in its own bank account too.
Do you prepare our Form 990?
Yes. The 990-N is filed for you. The 990-EZ and the full 990 are prepared from your Cedar books, your officer signs, and we file.
Do we need to register to fundraise in other states?
In most states, yes. Around 40 states ask charities to register before asking their residents for donations, and most registrations renew every year. We file and renew them in each state where you fundraise.
We're just starting. Can you form our nonprofit?
Yes. We form a nonprofit corporation in any state, prepare your 501(c)(3) application and register you to fundraise, and your Cedar account is ready for donations.
Does this replace our donor database?
It covers the essentials, built from real gifts: monthly givers, donors who gave last year but not this year, major donors, and year-end statements in one click. Export them to your donor database any time.
Start building.
Book a call and we'll show you what charity rates would save on your gifts.
Prefer email? Write to hello@usecedar.co.