FIRST COMMUNITY FOUNDATION PARTNERSHIP OF PENNSYLVANIA


Raise the Region® Rules


Participating NPOs | Donors & Donations | Prize Incentives




Participating Non-Profit Organizations

1.  To be eligible to participate in Raise the Region® 2024, an organization must:

  • Be a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation donations to which are deductible by the donor. 
  • Have a place of business in North Central Pennsylvania and, unless exempt from registration, registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State Bureau of Corporations and Charitable Organizations.  As used in these Rules, North Central Pennsylvania includes the following counties:  Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Tioga and Union Counties.  
  • Have furnished to the Foundation a copy of its 501(c)(3) determination letter and proof of registration or exemption from registration.
  • For organizations which participated in Raise the Region® 2023, obtained at least ten unique donors during Raise the Region® 2023.
  • Not provide donors or prospective donors, their families and/or affiliates with any tangible benefits, goods or services, including, but not limited to, tickets, advertising, meals and/or special privileges.
  • Agree to abide by all Raise the Region® 2024 Rules.
  • Certify that it prepares and submits to the Internal Revenue Service a complete copy of the organization’s IRS Form 990 annually or is exempt from filing.
  • Execute an Acknowledgment confirming that it understands and agrees to all the Raise the Region® 2024 Rules.

2.  Religious organizations, except for specific, qualified projects, institutions of higher education, community foundations, private foundations, and programs with fiscal agents are not eligible to participate in Raise the Region® 2024.

3.  Participating organizations are encouraged to promote Raise the Region® 2024.  These promotions are at the participating organization’s expense.

4.  Raise the Region® will begin at 6:00 p.m. on March 13, 2024 and end at 11:59:59 p.m. on March 14, 2024.  For a donation to be counted for prize incentives, the donation must be made through www.raisetheregion.org during this thirty (30) hour period.  See Raise the Region® 2024 Rules for Prize Incentives.

5.  The Foundation is not responsible for the amount of money contributed or the number of donors contributing to a participating organization during Raise the Region® 2024.  The determination of whether to donate, to whom to donate and the amount to donate is exclusively within the control of the donor.

6.  Participating organizations may not donate from their own funds to themselves, either directly or directly, as part of Raise the Region® 2024. Gifts from FCFP donor-advised funds are permitted and must be made prior to March 13th by calling the FCFP offices at 570-321-1500.   Gifts from donor-advised funds are not permitted.  Any such gifts are ineligible for prize incentives.

7.  Donations will be paid to participating organizations net of transaction fees.  Transaction fees include banking and credit card transaction fees of 2.5% plus $.30 per transaction, a transaction fee of 2% retained by the Foundation to cover the costs of Raise the Region® 2024 and support its mission, and a 3% campaign management fee to GiveGab, the Foundation’s technology facilitator.  Donors may elect to cover some of these transaction fees.  See Raise the Region® 2024 Rules Donors and Donations.

8.  Participating organizations must use all money raised during Raise the Region® 2024, including donations and prize incentives, to benefit the communities in North Central Pennsylvania.

9.  Tax receipts are provided to donors by FCFP via GiveGab, the Foundation’s technology facilitator.  The participating organizations are not required to provide separate gift tax receipts.

10.  The deadline to complete the executed Acknowledgement Form - Memorandum of Understanding, the documentation required to determine eligibility, is March 8, 2024.  

11.  The Foundation reserves the right to determine whether an organization is eligible to participate in Raise the Region® 2024.  The Foundation’s determination is final.  In addition, the Foundation reserves the right to disqualify any organization from participation in Raise the Region® 2024 or any prize incentive or other aspect of the campaign at any time, before, during or after the event, if the Foundation determines, in its sole discretion, that there has been a breach of the Raise the Region® 2024 Rules or deception on the part of the organization or that there is any other reason disqualifying circumstance.




Donors and Donations

1.  Raise the Region® 2024 will begin at 6:00 p.m. on March 13, 2024 and end at 11:59:59 p.m. March 14, 2024.

2.  Anyone, other than a participating organization, may donate during Raise the Region® 2024.  There is a $25.00 minimum amount but no maximum amount for donations.  Donors may donate to any number of participating organizations.  Participating organizations may not, directly or indirectly, donate.

3.   Donors may not receive any tangible benefits, goods or services, including, but not limited to, tickets, advertising, meals and/or special privileges as an incentive or as a result of a contribution.

4.  Donations may only be made to eligible participating organization as determined by the Foundation.  The eligible participating non-profit organizations may be found at www.raisetheregion.org.

5.  Donations must be made electronically through www.RaisetheRegion.org and are tax deductible. FCFP Donor Advised Fund Holders may make a contribution from the DAF, by calling the FCFP offices at 570-321-1500 by March 13th.   Donations are not refundable.  Donations may only be made via credit and debit card.  Donations cannot be made in cash or by check, money order, PayPal or Foundation gift certificates.

6.  Donations are received and receipted by FCFP via GiveGab, the Foundation’s technology facilitator, and are tax-deductible.  Electronic tax receipts will be sent to the donor’s email address.  Donors are advised to retain a copy of the donation receipt for tax purposes, as only these receipts may be used for tax purposes.  

7.  The donor’s name, email address and billing address will be shared with the participating organization to which donations are made, unless a donor chooses to give anonymously.  If a donor chooses to give anonymously, the Foundation will have the donor’s information but will not share the donor’s information with the participating organization to whom the contribution is made.  To give anonymously, the donor must check the anonymous button.

8.  The Foundation does not retain credit card information.  A donor’s personal information is not shared with or sold to any outside vendors or third parties.  Donor’s personal information may be used by the Foundation to send periodic email updates about website enhancements, research reports and special giving opportunities or events.  Donors who do not want to receive email from the Foundation will be provided the opportunity to “unsubscribe”.

9.  Donors may apply for their employer’s matching gift program during Raise the Region®.  Employer gifts are used to support Friends of the Foundation Fund at the Foundation.

10.  Donations made during Raise the Region® 2024 are unrestricted gifts to the participating organization.  While a donor may express a desire that a gift be used for a specific purpose or project, it is solely the responsibility of the participating organization to follow those instructions.  The Foundation has no responsibility for the use or gifts by participating organizations.

11.  Participating organizations will receive the amount of donation, minus transaction fees.  Transaction fees include banking and credit card transaction fees of 2.5% plus a $.30 per transaction, a transaction fee of 2% retained by the Foundation to cover the costs of Raise the Region® 2024 and support its mission, and a 3% campaign management fee to GiveGab, the technology partner.  Donors may choose to cover some or all of the transaction fees for their donations.  To do so, the donor checks the cover the fees box during their gift transaction.  

12.  Donations from donors who provide false or misleading information or omit information do not qualify for incentive prizes and may be re-classified at the discretion of the Foundation.

13.  The Foundation reserves the right to determine whether a gift is acceptable as part of Raise the Region® 2024 and has the right to decline to accept any gift which it determines is not acceptable.  The Foundation’s determination is final.




Prize Incentives

1.  The Foundation awards a variety of prize incentives, including stretch funds, in connection with the Raise the Region® 2024.  The incentive prize list will be announced at a later date.

2.  Donations up to $10,000.00 per donor are eligible for stretch funds.  While donors may donate more than $10,000.00, the amount in excess of $10,000.00 is not counted toward stretch funds.  Stretch funds are paid to the participating organization based on the organization’s share of the total amount raised during Raise the Region® 2024.  For example, if a participating organization raised 10% of the overall amount raised, it would receive 10% of the stretch funds.  

3.  The amount raised for a participating organization is not a factor in determining incentive prize awards.  If the Foundation determines there is a tie for an incentive prize, the incentive prize will be divided equally by the number of organizations in the tie.  Incentive prizes based on time will be determined by 100th of a second to determine the winner.  

4.  Indirect donations from a participating organization do not qualify for prize incentives.  Indirect donations include, without limitation, donations made by or in the name of a third party with funds provided by the participating organization.

5.  Donations from donors who provide false or misleading information or omit information do not qualify for incentive prizes.

6.  Multiple donations by one donor to the same participating organization are considered one donation for purposes of some, but not all, prize incentives.

7.  The Foundation’s Raise the Region® website features a live leaderboard where donations by organizations are tracked in real time.  The leader board lists the participating organizations in order of the most gifts and most money raised.  All information and incentive prize awards are subject to verification by the Foundation after the conclusion of the campaign.

8.  The Foundation will endeavor to announce recipients of incentive prizes within three business days after the conclusion of Raise the Region® 2024.  Participating organizations will receive the total amount raised for their organization, net of any transaction fees not covered by donations.  

9.  The determination of eligibility of donations and participating organizations for incentive prizes is made by the Foundation.  Prize awards are not final until verified by the Foundation after the end of the campaign.  The Foundation’s determination is final.  



For questions or assistance (570)321-1500.