Chase Community Giving in a Nutshell

For Supporters

What is Chase Community Giving?

Chase Community Giving was introduced in 2009 as a new way forward for giving. It’s a program that lets fans of Chase Community Giving, and now Chase customers, vote to help determine where Chase donates millions of dollars. In total, millions of people have helped us donate over $27 million to over 500 charities in 41 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. But we’re just getting started. There’s much more to come!

How did the program work?

This year, we made some refinements to our program, so we could make sure all the charities you love were nominated before voting started. But one thing still stands—Chase Community Giving all starts with you! We asked our customers and employees to nominate their favorite charities for the program. Then, we reached out to all of the eligible nominees to see if they were interested in participating in the voting phase of the program. All of the eligible charities that accepted their nominations by August 30th shared equally in $2.5 million in grants and moved on to the voting round!

See the full list of eligible charities here.

See the full list of eligible charities here.

The voting round opened September 6 and closed at 11:59:59 PM, ET on September 19, 2012. The 196 eligible charities with the most votes shared in $5 million in grants, with awards as follows:

• Top vote getter: $250,000
• Charities 2-11: $100,000 each
• Charities 12-46: $50,000 each
• Charities 47-96: $20,000 each
• Charities 97-196 : $10,000 each

What charities were eligible?

Eligible charities must be 501(c)(3) public charities recognized in the Guidestar database as of 12/31/11 with annual operating expenses of less than $10 million that fit the other eligibility criteria. For more details on eligibility requirements, check out the Program Rules.

Can you please remind me about voting dates?

We’re happy to oblige! Voting opened on September 6, 2012 at 12:00:01 AM and closed at 11:59:59 PM on September 19, 2012.

Were only Chase customers allowed to participate in the voting round?

No, voting was open to everyone, but Chase customers had an even bigger voice in deciding what matters, because they can vote both here on Facebook and on Chase.com/ChaseGiving

How were the nominees selected?

We asked our customers and employees to nominate their favorite charities for the program from June 12-July 9. Then we reached out to all of the eligible nominees, and invited them to be part of the program. All of the eligible nominees moved on to the voting round, and charities accepting their nominations by August 30th got a special bonus—they shared equally in an additional $2.5 million in grants!

Was the $2.5 million in grants part of the $5 million in grants?

Nope, it’s on top of the $5 million! In addition to getting to move on to voting, where the top 196 charities shared an additional $5 million, all of the eligible charity nominees that accepted their nominations by August 30 shared equally in $2.5 million in grants.

How did voting work?

Charity nominees were invited to participate in the voting round. Voting opened on September 6 and closed at 11:59:59 PM, ET on September 19, 2012 both here on Chase.com/ChaseGiving and on Facebook. Chase customers were able to vote in both places, increasing their voting power.

How many votes did everyone get?

Everyone will automatically get 2 votes to use on Facebook. You can’t use them both on the same charity, but there will be thousands of charities to pick from, so you shouldn’t have a problem searching for 2 great organizations to support.

Keeping with the spirit of giving, everyone had an opportunity to earn an extra vote on Facebook by sharing a link from the Chase Community Giving app to their timeline. If a friend linked back to the Chase Community Giving app and cast a vote, an extra vote was awarded! Extra votes could be used on one of the 2 charities already voted for, or a new charity.

Chase customers will get an additional 2 votes by visiting Chase.com/ChaseGiving.

Could the votes be used on the same charity?

You couldn’t use your standard votes on the same charity, but if you earned an extra vote, you could use it on either a new charity, or one you had already voted for. But you had to use your standard votes before you cast your extra vote!

How did the extra vote work?

By sharing a link from the Chase Community Giving app to your timeline. If one of your friends linked back to the Chase Community Giving app and cast a vote of their own, you received an extra vote! Extra votes could be used on one of the 2 charities you already voted for, or a new charity.

How did Chase Customers receive their extra votes?

As a special thanks, Chase customers had 2 extra votes to use. In order to use the customer appreciation votes, Chase customers had to visit Chase.com/ChaseGiving, log in, search charities, and cast your ballots! Check out the Program Rules for details.

Have a question that we didn’t answer here?
Drop us a note and we’ll get back to you with the info you need!

For Charities

Could volunteers at an eligible charity–vote for their own charity?

Yep, they sure could!

I’m a Charity Administrator–where can I access my profile?

If you need access to your Charity Administrator profile at any time, simply go to https://www.admin.chasegiving.com

I work or volunteer at an eligible charity–will I be able to vote for my own charity?

Yep, you sure can!

Why is this program limited to only 501(c)(3) public charities? Why aren’t all nonprofits included?

Participants had thousands of charitable nonprofit organizations to choose from. Focusing the Chase Community Giving program on nonprofits with the IRS 501(c)(3) public charity designation helped ensure that your votes and our dollars went to organizations that serve the general public for charitable purposes.

How did you determine if a charity's annual operating expenses were under $10,000,000?

Chase Community Giving verified the annual operating expenses of the all eligible, participating charities to help ensure that the expense requirement was met. Charity annual expenses were provided by GuideStar, which compiles its data from Form 990 tax returns obtained from the Internal Revenue Service.

However, all charities may not have been required to file a Form 990 e.g., a charity that was a chapter of a national organization with a group exemption and was included in a group return filed by the parent entity. In such cases, or if annual operating expense data was generally not available on GuideStar as of December 31, 2011, a charity was asked to provide alternative financial documentation to confirm its eligibility to receive grants through the program. Chase reserved the right to disqualify a charity if valid financial documentation submitted through the Program was not adequate. See Program Rules for details.

Apart from getting the most votes, what else did a charity have to do to receive their grant?

Charities had to be eligible and also comply with the Program Rules[links to PR]. They also had to accept their nomination before voting closed on September 19.

Was a charity able to take itself out of the running?

While we encouraged all eligible charities to participate, charities could choose to decline their invitation to participate at any time.

Why would a charity decide not to participate in Chase Community Giving?

There are a number of reasons a charity may elect to not participate in the program. For example, a national chapter may choose to not participate in order to direct participants to the organization's local affiliates, which tend to have smaller budgets. On the other hand, local affiliates may not choose to participate to create more votes for a national chapter. Also, charities that may have recently merged or dissolved (or are in the process of doing so) or find that they don’t meet the eligibility requirements in the Program Rules may decline to participate.

How is my charity's eligibility affected by the recent IRS ruling (IR-2010-59) regarding tax-exempt status?

In order to be eligible for Chase Community Giving, charities must have valid 501(c)(3) public charity tax-exempt status throughout the duration of the program and have been listed in the GuideStar database as of December 31, 2011. On May 7, 2010, the IRS announced that a charity that has not filed its Form 990 for three consecutive years will lose its tax exempt status as of the due date of their annual filing. Charities will be asked for alternative financial documentation if the charity has not filed a Form 990. If your charity is at risk, we encourage you to take the appropriate actions to preserve your tax-exempt status. For more information on the IRS mandate, please visit the IRS website:

• News Release

Have a question that we didn’t answer here?
Drop us a note and we’ll get back to you with the info you need!