The giving account includes user Funds and Rewards. The giving account is a payment method, and users can choose whether to use their Funds or Rewards when donating to eligible nonprofits. If enabled, it appears on the right-hand side of the dashboard.
There are two types of amounts users may see in their giving account:
- Funds: Added by the employee or the company, funds are held with the local foundation partner and must be donated to a nonprofit in the same country. Where applicable, official tax documentation is issued when funds are added.
- Rewards: Issued by the company for things like volunteering or recognition. Rewards are more flexible—they can include expiry dates and are not limited by geographic location.
Permissions
Access to the giving account depends on your program setup.
- Funds are available only in select local experiences.
- Rewards are enabled based on your company’s program configuration.
If a user has access to either, the available amounts appear in their giving account on the dashboard.
Adding funds to your giving account
Funds added to the giving account are held with the user’s local foundation partner and must be donated to a nonprofit located in the same country as the foundation. This ensures compliance with local donation rules and tax regulations.
There are three main ways to add Funds to the giving account:
- Employees can add personal funds to their giving account. Where applicable, tax documentation is issued immediately.
- If a donation cannot be delivered to a nonprofit, the amount may become available as funds in the employee’s giving account to redirect to another nonprofit.
Earning rewards for your giving account
Employees can receive rewards in their giving account for a variety of reasons, depending on how your company structures its employee engagement program. Rewards are flexible, easy to manage, and are not tied to geographic restrictions like funds in the funds giving account.
Here are a few common ways employees can earn rewards:
- Seeding: Companies can recognize employees by seeding rewards directly into their giving accounts, often in bulk. This is useful for campaign participation, spot recognition, or team events.
- Volunteering: Many companies reward employees for volunteering their time. Once volunteer hours are tracked and approved—either automatically or through manual review—rewards are added to the user’s giving account.
Unlike funds in the giving account, rewards can include expiry dates and are not restricted by the country of the nonprofit, making them ideal for time-sensitive or global initiatives. Expired or unused rewards are not included in your Donation Report and do not result in a financial charge. In contrast, funds are paid for when they are added to a user’s account, regardless of whether they are used.
Donating using funds or rewards
Once employees have funds or rewards available in their giving account, they can use the giving account payment method for donations..
To use funds or rewards:
- Find a cause or giving opportunity you’d like to support.
- Select Donate Now.
- Enter the amount you want to give and complete the donation form.
- Select One-off when prompted to Choose a donation frequency.
- Select a payment method:
- To use funds: choose Giving Account Balance > Funds.
- To use rewards: choose Giving Account Balance > Rewards.
- To use funds: choose Giving Account Balance > Funds.
- Review and submit your donation.
If a payment method is not available, the nonprofit may not be eligible based on your company’s program.
Understanding restrictions on fund use
There are a few rules to keep in mind when using funds:
- Funds must go to a nonprofit in the same country as the foundation partner. For example, if a Canadian employee adds CAD to their account, those funds must be donated to a Canadian nonprofit.
- Where applicable, tax documentation is issued right away when funds are added. If a company adds funds to an employee’s account, the tax documentation is addressed to the employee.