Tagging for fundraising/charity

[#1]

Any suggestions for TAGS or SEO Keyword/Terms I should be using to promote the listings I'm using to raise money for charity? I thought this would be an obvious topic (apologies if it's already posted somewhere), but when I search the words "Charity" or "Fundraising" nothing relevant comes up. Currently I am tagging the actual charity, as well as the term "shop for a cause." If anyone has any other ideas or suggestions I'd appreciate it!

[BootifulLabels]

You can do that, simply by making a monthly donation to your chosen charity based on what you sold in that month.  There is no need to raise the issue with your buyers, they don't need (and most don't want) to know what you are donating.  Of course if your reason for wanting to do so is a desire to be seen to donate, then that suggests your motives are no longer purely altruistic.  That doesn't go down well with customers.  

Every time I order a pizza online, my local pizza place auto fills charity donations on the payment screen.  I am sure their intention is to draw more donations to the cause of these charities, and for some it may work, if the buyer isn't paying close attention (as you do when you are hungry and ordering pizza).  Many however, including me, look for those charity add-ons and deliberately remove the ticks.  I have my own charitable donations program, I don't need the Pizza guy or the Etsy gal slipping donations into my purchases.

If you want to donate to a cause, just do it.  If you feel you need buyers to know about it because you think it may help sales to donate, then I suggest you closely reconsider your motives.

[FnJHobbies · Accepted solution]

I found this article that may help you target the customers you are aiming for.

https://ahrefs.com/blog/seo-for-nonprofits/

Additionally, the charity itself may have a marketing strategy and keywords they want used, so I would contact them directly to see if they have preferences or suggestions.

I'm guessing you are already taking advantage of all the social media channels with relevant #insertyourcharity tags and links back to your Etsy store?

You may want to sign up for Etsy's Share&Save program to get the discount off your fees for sales from your social media push (if you haven't already).

[KATERCREATER]

Oh awesome article! TYSM!

[KATERCREATER]

Okay I've now updated my listings to say, "20% of the proceeds from the sale of this item will be donated to [CHARITY NAME REDACTED BY ETSY POLICY], who’s goal is..." lol. And I've also changed the tag with the charity's name to "charity donation" instead. Thanks all!

[CraftyCornishMaids]

@KATERCREATER 

So when I buy from you, what reference number do you give me, so I can claim back on my taxes

.... you need to turn off UK sales

...and probably EU too.

[FnJHobbies]

@CraftyCornishMaids I'm confused why you think you are donating to anything if you PURCHASE one of her items. You bought an item, she ships it to you. End of story.

If she chooses to donate HER PROCEEDS from HER SALES to a charity, then it has nothing to do with you. She isn't charging you additional fees to donate. You don't get to claim anything because you purchased an item from her.

This article may help:

https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/who-gets-tax-benefit-those-checkout-donations-0#:~:text=In%20...

"To start, keep in mind that there are two ways charities can benefit from point-of-sale donations. The first is where the store donates a share of its sales. That type of donation is deductible by the business but not by its customers. The second way is where customers add something to their bill at the register with the extra amount going to charity. Customers can claim those amounts donated as deductions on their individual income tax return, though almost nobody ever does."

[CraftyCornishMaids]

They say

I've now updated my listings to say, "20% of the proceeds from the sale of this item will be donated to

They say they are donating part of the proceeds from the sale of the item to me, so that means I can  claim it from my taxes, I need the official charity receipt so I can claim it from my personal taxes,

They have to give me the official document

if they are just donating out of their profits, then that is down to them, and should not be mentioned anywhere,
but proceeds of the sale of the item to me, is different

If they don't want to do this, then they should not sell to the UK/EU

USA to USA might be different, but they also have to comply with the laws in the countries they sell to.

[GieseDeseiGns]

I thought if you received something in return for your donation you can't claim it as a donation on taxes, as its not a pure donation.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

We can,

in the "charitable giving" section

it's number 5

I get the paperwork when it sells, for the amount it sold for.

[SamazamaGB]

@cornishcraftymaids

Sorry, you are still incorrect. You cannot claim gift aid on money given to a charity to purchase an item or a service. It has to be a donation. And as has been explained before, you as a buyer would not be making that donation, but the seller would be.  If the seller was in the UK, then she would be making the donation, out of her profit, ie her income, and IF she was earning enough to pay income tax on it, she could then claim the tax she paid back under gift aid.   You as a buyer are paying no income tax on the transaction.   

But the OP has made it quite clear she isn't interested in tax matters, she is simply wanting to raise some money for a cause close to her heart and selling things on here is a way to do that. I can empathise with that and wish her all the best. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

they say they are donating part of MY money to charity

If they want to donate part of their profits, that's different

They may not be interested in tax, I am

[KATERCREATER]

LOL Thank you! I was not expecting this concept to be so utterly novel here at all

[CraftyCornishMaids]

It's not novel, it just has to be done correctly

[SamazamaGB]

Sorry, I don't see how you can say it is your money, when you have used it to buy something! If you go into a bricks and mortar shop and buy an item, the money you hand over ceases to be yours at the time of transaction.

Even if you go into a shop like, say, a National Trust shop, where it is clearly stated that the shop supports the charity, and buy an item, they cannot claim gift aid on what you paid, because your money was used to purchase a item or service, it was not a donation. And if gift aid is not applied, then you cannot declare it as such. 

[AnniebelloPaper]

@CraftyCornishMaids don't know how it works in the UK, but in Australia you cannot claim a tax deduction for a donation if you received something in return for that 'donation'. A raffle ticket, a purchase of an item... if you got something, it's not allowed. Even if the shop says they will donate 20% of the item price, that's their money they are donating. Unless they have actually added 20% to the price (and they can provide a receipt as such). I've been asked to donate to causes when purchasing in a shop, that is above and beyond the cost of my items. I get a receipt with that amount noted and I can claim those because I gave my money and didn't receive anything in return. If @KATERCREATER does that, it would be a different story and they would have to provide a tax receipt for their buyers to claim. The only way that would work on Etsy would be like a 'tip jar' which are not allowed.

[CraftyCornishMaids]

I get an official receipt from charity shops, for my taxes, which tell me what they made from my items when they were sold.

raffles are different legislation.

[Duckwells]

When you advertise on behalf of a charity in the much of the US, the portion of the sales price that is earmarked for the charity is tax deductible by the buyer.  Individual states govern non profits so laws vary.  Here’s good info on California law.

 https://perlmanandperlman.com/california-enacts-new-law-to-regulate-charitable-fundraising-platforms...

[SamazamaGB]

@CraftyCornishMaids

YEs, you get a receipt when you DONATE ITEMS to be sold, that you have signed up for gift aid for.  But when someone BUYS the item, the buyer cannot claim any tax back.

That is an entirely different situation. 

[CraftyCornishMaids]

it's not when you donate, it's when it's sold,

and the buyer can claim back the difference if they are a higher rate tax payer

in my tax form, it is under charitable giving, section 5

for non uk charities, you have to also specify that in box 12

[SamazamaGB]

Yes, it is when the item is sold. But it is not the Buyer who gets the notification, it is you as the donor!

I am not going to keep on trying to explain. It is just taking over a thread that was on a completely different topic (SEO) and is not good manners to the OP. 

I suggest you read up on gift aid on the Gov. UK website or consult a tax specialist. 

[nineteen27]

@CraftyCornishMaids 

is it the way she is writing it that is the problem.

meaning:

10% of my profits will be donated to blahblah charity.

vs.

10% of the sale of this item will be donated to blahblah charity.

{ as a personal side note... i never purchase from shops who say they donate money to charity}

[LeLightFantastique]

@nineteen27 by saying '?% of the sale of this item will be donated to blahblah charity', implies that in effect the buyer is actually donating to a charity and @CraftyCornishMaids is completely correct in saying that amount can be offset when declared on UK tax assessments, and will need an official receipt.  I remember when I was still in the UK over 15 years ago, buying things where a % was donated to charity, and there being a box to tick when a receipt for tax purposes was required by the buyer.

[nineteen27]

@LeLightFantastique 

i never argue with crafty about UK laws.

or about anything really... lol

i used to but i learned my lesson.

she knows way more than i do.

[bradgoodell]

Interesting conversation.  Once again, we are reminded that US law might be very different from laws in other countries.  And if we ship to those countries, we need to abide by their laws.

[bradgoodell]

@nineteen27 Yes, Crafty knows UK laws.  She does her research.