Charity gift card
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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.
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]