Charity gift card

Last updated

A charity gift card allows a gift giver to make a charitable donation that the gift recipient may direct to the charity of their choice. Although a charity gift card has many similarities to a store gift card, a charity gift card functions quite differently. A charity gift card is an indicator of control over a small donor advised fund. The purchaser of the charity gift card creates the donor advised fund with the charity gift card purchase money. When the charity gift card recipient “spends” the gift card, the recipient is in actuality advising the holder of the associated donor advised fund (typically the charity that issued the charity gift card) to send the money to the charity that the charity gift card recipient selects.

Contents

Types of charity gift cards

Charity gift cards are offered almost exclusively from websites. Some charity gift card issuers offer a large variety of card designs, while others offer a more limited number of proprietary designs. Some offer customization as well. Most issuers allow charity gift cards to be sent by email, printed on a printer or shipped in the mail as a plastic card. The plastic charity gift card is frequently enclosed in a greeting card or on a carrier. Some charity gift cards have an expiration date, while some never expire. Issuers charge a fee for the card itself, and for processing and activation. They also keep a portion of the donated amount, to cover administrative costs. Card fees and administrative fees vary greatly from issuer to issuer, as does the simplicity of their calculation formula. The number of charities offered to the gift card redeemer also varies, from 250 to 1.8 million.[ citation needed ]

History

The function of a charity gift card existed before the term “charity gift card” came into use. In the UK the concept of a “Charity Gift Token” which could be given to any charity was proposed by David Black in 1989. [1] The UK Charities Aid Foundation set up a “Charity Gift Voucher” service in 1992. Other later products were called “charity gift certificate,” “plastic gift card,” charity gift ecard” or “charity gift”. [2] [3] [4] In late 2007 the term “charity gift card” came into common use on the web and in news media. In 2009 the term “charity gift card” was first used in a published book, [5] and first recognized as a “gift card category". [6]

The concept of a charity gift card was patented for a number of years. In 2000 Randi Shade filed to patent “A system and method for charitable giving.” The patent covered the essential concept of a charity gift card and was issued by the USPTO on February 11, 2003. [7] The patent holder operated a website at www.charitygift.com, offering all the functionality of a charity gift card in products called “charitygift” and “gold box”. [8] In 2007 the USPTO rejected all 16 claims in the previously issued patent in a Reexamination requested by the patent holder. Charity gift cards have different names in countries other than the United States. [9] [10]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Debit card</span> Card used for financial transactions, usually without a credit line

A debit card, also known as a check card or bank card is a payment card that can be used in place of cash to make purchases. The term plastic card includes the above and as an identity document. These are similar to a credit card, but unlike a credit card, the money for the purchase must be in the cardholder's bank account at the time of a purchase and is immediately transferred directly from that account to the merchant's account to pay for the purchase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charitable trust</span> Irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes

A charitable trust is an irrevocable trust established for charitable purposes and, in some jurisdictions, a more specific term than "charitable organization". A charitable trust enjoys a varying degree of tax benefits in most countries. It also generates good will. Some important terminology in charitable trusts is the term "corpus", which refers to the assets with which the trust is funded, and the term "donor", which is the person donating assets to a charity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Patent and Trademark Office</span> Agency in the United States Department of Commerce

The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexandria, Virginia, after a 2005 move from the Crystal City area of neighboring Arlington, Virginia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scrip</span> Any substitute for legal tender or currency

A scrip is any substitute for legal tender. It is often a form of credit. Scrips have been created and used for a variety of reasons, including exploitive payment of employees under truck systems; or for use in local commerce at times when regular currency was unavailable, for example in remote coal towns, military bases, ships on long voyages, or occupied countries in wartime. Besides company scrip, other forms of scrip include land scrip, vouchers, token coins such as subway tokens, IOUs, arcade tokens and tickets, and points on some credit cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gift card</span> Prepaid-stored-value money card

A gift card also known as gift certificate in North America, or gift voucher or gift token in the UK is a prepaid stored-value money card, usually issued by a retailer or bank, to be used as an alternative to cash for purchases within a particular store or related businesses. Gift cards are also given out by employers or organizations as rewards or gifts. They may also be distributed by retailers and marketers as part of a promotion strategy, to entice the recipient to come in or return to the store, and at times such cards are called cash cards. Gift cards are generally redeemable only for purchases at the relevant retail premises and cannot be cashed out, and in some situations may be subject to an expiry date or fees. American Express, MasterCard, and Visa offer generic gift cards which need not be redeemed at particular stores, and which are widely used for cashback marketing strategies. A feature of these cards is that they are generally anonymous and are disposed of when the stored value on a card is exhausted.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fundraising</span> Process of gathering voluntary contributions of money or other resources

Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gather money for non-profit organizations, it is sometimes used to refer to the identification and solicitation of investors or other sources of capital for for-profit enterprises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greeting card</span> Piece of card with a picture and a message

A greeting card is a piece of card stock, usually with an illustration or photo, made of high quality paper featuring an expression of friendship or other sentiment. Although greeting cards are usually given on special occasions such as birthdays, Christmas or other holidays, such as Halloween, they are also sent to convey thanks or express other feelings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Financial endowment</span> Donation to a non profit enterprise for ongoing support

A financial endowment is a legal structure for managing, and in many cases indefinitely perpetuating, a pool of financial, real estate, or other investments for a specific purpose according to the will of its founders and donors. Endowments are often structured so that the inflation-adjusted principal or "corpus" value is kept intact, while a portion of the fund can be spent each year, utilizing a prudent spending policy.

Under United States law, a patent is a right granted to the inventor of a (1) process, machine, article of manufacture, or composition of matter, (2) that is new, useful, and non-obvious. A patent is the right to exclude others, for a limited time from profiting of a patented technology without the consent of the patent-holder. Specifically, it is the right to exclude others from: making, using, selling, offering for sale, importing, inducing others to infringe, applying for an FDA approval, and/or offering a product specially adapted for practice of the patent.

Coinstar, LLC is an American company operating coin-cashing machines.

In the United States, a donor-advised fund is a charitable giving vehicle administered by a public charity created to manage charitable donations on behalf of organizations, families, or individuals. To participate in a donor-advised fund, a donating individual or organization opens an account in the fund and deposits cash, securities, or other financial instruments. They surrender ownership of anything they put in the fund, but retain advisory privileges over how their account is invested, and how it distributes money to charities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Payment card</span> Card issued by a financial institution that can be used to make a payment

Payment cards are part of a payment system issued by financial institutions, such as a bank, to a customer that enables its owner to access the funds in the customer's designated bank accounts, or through a credit account and make payments by electronic transfer and access automated teller machines (ATMs). Such cards are known by a variety of names including bank cards, ATM cards, client cards, key cards or cash cards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charities Aid Foundation</span> International charitable organization

The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) is a registered UK charity that operates in the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada. It works with companies, private philanthropists, regular donors, fellow foundations, governments, charities and not-for-profit enterprises to enable them to give more. Its stated purpose is to “accelerate progress in society towards a fair and sustainable future for all.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Poker run</span> Charity competition event

A poker run is an organized event in which participants, usually using motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles, boats, snowmobiles, horses, on foot or other means of transportation, must visit five to seven checkpoints, drawing a playing card at each one. The object is to have the best poker hand at the end of the run. Having the best hand and winning is purely a matter of chance. The event has a time limit, however the individual participants are not timed.

A donor managed investment account is a charitable giving mechanism in which donors receive a full tax deduction at the time they fund the DMI account, but retain investment management rights over the account, and can request donations from the account to charities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alternative giving</span>

Alternative giving is a form of gift giving in which the giver makes a donation to a charitable organization on the gift recipient’s behalf, rather than giving them an item. The idea of giving something to one person by paying another was applied by Benjamin Franklin as a "trick ... for doing a deal of good with a little money", which came to be known as "pay it forward". This form of giving is often used as an alternative to consumerism and to mitigate the impact of gift-giving on the environment.

<i>Mishloach manot</i> Foodstuff gifts distributed on the Jewish holiday of Purim

Mishloach manot, or shalech mones, and also called a Purim basket, are gifts of food or drink that are sent to family, friends and others on Purim day. The mitzvah of giving mishloach manot derives from the Book of Esther. It is meant to ensure that everyone has enough food for the Purim feast held later in the day, and to increase love and friendship among Jews and their neighbors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Credit card</span> Card for financial transactions from a line of credit

A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt. The card issuer creates a revolving account and grants a line of credit to the cardholder, from which the cardholder can borrow money for payment to a merchant or as a cash advance. There are two credit card groups: consumer credit cards and business credit cards. Most cards are plastic, but some are metal cards, and a few gemstone-encrusted metal cards.

National Philanthropic Trust (NPT) is an American independent public charity that provides philanthropic expertise to donors, foundations and financial institutions. NPT ranks among the largest grantmaking institutions in the United States.

GlobalGiving is 501(c)(3) non-profit organization based in the United States that provides a global crowdfunding platform for grassroots charitable projects. Since 2002, more than 1.6 million donors on GlobalGiving have donated more than $750 million to support more than 33,000 projects in 175 countries.

References

  1. ↑ 'The Times' 28Nov1989 p34
  2. ↑ Archive index at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Archive index at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ Archive index at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Scroogenomics, Joel Wladfogel, Princeton University Press 2009
  6. ↑ The Five Best Gift Cards Accessed 09Dec2009
  7. ↑ "USPTO Patent 659,573". Archived from the original on 2013-04-09. Retrieved 2009-12-28.
  8. ↑ Archive index at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ In United Kingdom see charity vouchers; in Australia see karmacurrency; in Canada see canadahelps
  10. ↑ Memorial Cards
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.