Established in 2016, the Give Lively Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization (tax ID 81-0693451) and donor-advised fund (DAF) – an increasingly popular tool in online fundraising (link to below). As a DAF, the Give Lively Foundation collects charitable contributions and then re-grants them to other 501(c)(3) nonprofits across the United States.

The Give Lively Foundation works in tandem with Give Lively LLC, which builds and supports powerful and practical fundraising solutions that are free for nonprofits and intuitive for donors. Learn more about why we’re free for nonprofits.

In most cases, donations made through the Give Lively LLC platform are disbursed directly to the beneficiary nonprofit; Give Lively LLC serves as a donation facilitator, and does not actually hold, store or transfer any funds. However, in select circumstances, funds must first pass through the Give Lively Foundation after donations are made to a nonprofit via a Give Lively LLC digital fundraising service. For example, this occurs when contributions are completed in Charity Navigator’s Giving Basket, powered by Give Lively (see more below).

Advantages of the Give Lively Foundation‍

As a DAF, the Give Lively Foundation makes it possible for donors to contribute to nearly any 501(c)(3) nonprofit in the United States, even if that nonprofit has no established relationship with Give Lively LLC (such as membership) or the Give Lively Foundation.

This is a win for donors, nonprofits and organizations whose fundraising engine is powered by the Give Lively LLC digital fundraising service. All parties benefit from the flexibility of donors being able to support any worthy cause.

Additionally, the Give Lively Foundation plays an integral role in the Give Lively LLC fundraising platform. The Give Lively Foundation therefore shares the Give Lively LLC belief that nonprofits, no matter their size, should not sacrifice their means to satisfy their missions. Neither Give Lively LLC nor the Give Lively Foundation charges nonprofits for use of our fundraising platform – no setup fees, no platform fees, no membership or subscription fees, no annual or monthly fees, no hidden Give Lively fees. (Note: Give Lively does rely on third parties to power payment processing, check printing and disbursement. These market-leading service providers attach their small fees to every transaction, just as they do with all of their clients.)

Give Lively Foundation in action

‍There are are two steps to completing a donation when the Give Lively Foundation is involved:

• First, a donor makes a charitable contribution to a nonprofit, but it is collected by the Give Lively Foundation. As described above, the funds must first pass through the Give Lively Foundation in order to take advantage of the flexibility offered by a DAF.

• Second, once the funds have been received by the Give Lively Foundation and been approved for redistribution, the Give Lively Foundation re-grants the funds to the beneficiary nonprofit. The Give Lively Foundation takes seriously its commitment to re-granting the funds it receives to the nonprofit(s) identified by a donor. In limited cases where this proves to be impossible (for example, due to the beneficiary nonprofit’s legal status), the Give Lively Foundation uses its discretion to pass the donated funds on to other causes.

• Importantly, because of the Give Lively Foundation’s pivotal purpose as a DAF, donors will see any contribution that passed through the Give Lively Foundation listed on their receipt and in the Give Lively Donor Portal as a "Contribution to <Nonprofit Name>, Directed through the Give Lively Foundation” with the EIN of the Give Lively Foundation. A donor's credit card or bank statement may also list "Give Lively" or “Giving Basket Donation” as the descriptor on your bank statement, not the nonprofit designated to receive the donation.

For more details about the relationship between Give Lively LLC and the Give Lively Foundation, please see "Donations and Payment Processing > Through the Give Lively Foundation to a Nonprofit" in our Terms of Use.

Special note for Giving Basket nonprofits‍

If you are receiving donations through Charity Navigator’s Giving Basket but (a) you are not a Give Lively member nonprofit, (b) you are a Give Lively member without a Stripe account in good standing or (c) you are receiving donations made via PayPal, then your donations are collected and re-granted by the Give Lively Foundation, disbursed to your nonprofit by check. You can track the delivery of checks and other data in the secure Reports Portal using a provided claim code. To receive Giving Basket donations (except those made via PayPal) via direct deposit instead of by check, you can apply for free Give Lively membership. 

More about donor-advised funds‍

The use of donor-advised funds is increasingly popular in online fundraising. Just as Charity Navigator’s Giving Basket relies on the Give Lively Foundation, so too does Facebook rely on Network for Good's donor-advised fund for donations to US-based charities that aren't using Facebook Payments. Similarly, PayPal has its PayPal Giving Fund. In all cases, donors can contribute to charities regardless of whether the beneficiary nonprofits have set up the required payment processing accounts. This makes it easier than ever for donors to support any of the 1.6 million 501(c)(3) organizations in the United States. 

Some other well-known donor-advised funds are Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable and Vanguard Charitable.