Access your Verified 501(c)(3) badge

WHAT'S IN THIS GUIDE:

• Benefits of a verified non-profit badge
• What does having a verified non-profit badge mean?
• How to get verified
• Display your non-profit badge
• Make items tax deductible

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Benefits of a verified non-profit badge

Cheddar Up’s verified 501(c)(3) feature can give your community peace of mind while also making their lives easier. The feature set is made up of three main components, which include the ability to:

1. Display a 501(c)(3) badge on your page footers 
2. Display a 501(c)(3) badge in the right column of your collection pages
3. Send automatic tax-deductible receipts to payers for items that you specify

What does having a verified non-profit badge mean?

When “organization-type” group organizers add their EIN to the Cheddar Up platform during their account setup process, Cheddar Up validates that information with IRS data to determine whether the organization is a registered 501(c)(3) (a tax-exempt organization).

While it’s ultimately the donor’s responsibility to confirm and determine what specifically is and isn’t tax deductible (ideally with the help of a tax professional), displaying a verified 501(c)(3) badge on your pages can be helpful and indicates to your community that:

1. Your organization holds a tax-exempt status with the IRS. 
2. Contributions made to your organization may be may be tax deductible (which may incentivize them to give more).
3. Your organization is who it says it is.

How to get verified 

It’s only possible to achieve a verified 501(c)(3) status on Cheddar Up if you have an “organization” account type, which is a selection you make when signing up for Cheddar Up. If you erroneously selected an “individual” account type, you can change to an "organization" either within My Account > Profile > Account Details, or by contacting Cheddar Up Support.

If you have an organization account, you’ll be prompted to provide your organization’s EIN when completing your account details. Upon entering your EIN, Cheddar Up will automatically attempt to determine whether your organization is a verified 501(c)(3) by cross-referencing IRS information and will display the results within approximately 5-10 minutes (often less) of entering your EIN.

If your organization is verified, you’ll have the option to begin displaying your Verified 501(c)(3) badge and marking items as tax-deductible. 

Display your non-profit badge

Let your community know that you are a verified nonprofit! There are two ways to display your Verified 501(c)(3) badges on Cheddar Up, which are detailed below: 

• Add a badge to your page footers by taking the following steps: 

  1. Go to My Account > Brand Kit > Page Footer.
  2. Toggle on “Replace the Cheddar Up Footer”.
  3. Toggle on “Show Verified Non-Profit Badge” (and consider making other footer customizations as you see fit).
  4. When previewing your collection pages or Group page, you should now see a custom footer that includes your new “Verified 501(c)(3)” badge.

• Add a badge to the side bar of any collection by taking the following steps: 

  1. When building or editing a collection, go to Build > Details.
  2. Click the teal “Add Information Blocks”  button.
  3. Within the “Additional Information” modal, toggle on “Show Non-Profit status” and click “Continue” and then click “Save” on the Details step. 
  4. When previewing your collection page, you should now see a “Verified 501(c)(3) Organization” badge in the right column.

See examples of the Verified badges below:

Make items tax deductible

Once your organization is verified, if you are on the Team plan, you will also have the option to mark an item as tax deductible. This is helpful because it lets your community know when making a donation that the item is tax deductible (which may prompt them to be more generous). It also lets the payer know that they will receive a tax-deductible receipt after making their donation. 

To mark an item as tax deductible, take the following steps: 

1. When creating or editing a Donation type item, go to the Settings step within the item modal. 
2. Toggle on “Show item as tax deductible" and click “Continue” to save this change.  
3. When previewing your collection page, you should now see a “Tax Deductible” notation on your donation item. When you (or a payer) click “Add to Cart” on that item, you will see an additional notation that says “You will receive a tax-deductible receipt for this payment.”

See an example of a tax-deductible item below: