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Rules and Prizes


Prize Pool Eligibility

To participate in Give OUT Day, your organization must confirm your eligibility by completing the Give OUT Day registration form. Registration for Give OUT Day 2025 closes on May 15, 2 pm ET. The following organizations are eligible:

  • An LGBTQ-primary incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit that includes the LGBTQ community in its mission, whose staff and board leadership are primarily LGBTQ, and which primarily serves LGBTQ people.
  • A fiscally sponsored organization or project (including artists or filmmakers) serving the LGBTQ community, that receives monies via an incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
  • A program exclusively serving the LGBTQ community housed within an incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit with a broader mission. (e.g., an LGBTQ student center housed in a university or an LGBTQ outreach program at a non-LGBTQ-specific community services organization)
  • A PFLAG, GSA, or GLSEN chapter.

Government agencies, private non-operating foundations, for-profit companies, and individuals are not eligible to participate in Give OUT Day.

Organizations must certify that they are registered with their state Secretary of State to conduct charitable solicitation. GiveMN, the host of Give OUT Day, will determine final approval for eligible participation.

Note: GiveMN reserves the right to change the filter categories selected by organizations that participate in Give OUT Day.

Prize and Leaderboard Guidelines 

Who Can Give

Any individual, regardless of geography, may donate.

Minimum Donation

The minimum donation on the Give OUT Day platform is $5; there is no maximum donation. Only donations of $5 or more will count toward the prizes.

Tax-deductible

All gifts are 100% tax-deductible.

Donation receipts

Donations made on giveoutday.org will automatically receive a receipt from the Mightycause Charitable Foundation, which represents the technology platform of Give OUT Day.

No Refunds

All donations are irrevocable; donations cannot be refunded.

Payment Methods

Donations can be made via credit card, debit card, PayPal, ACH, and ApplePay. E-checks are not accepted. 

Fees

To ensure we can provide organizations and donors a world-class giving platform and game-changing resources at no or low cost, we charge a processing fee of 7.8% and a $.30/transaction fee on every donation made using GiveOUTDay.org

Together with philanthropic support from our funders, these fees help provide the revenue needed to power the only national LGBTQ+ giving day and giving platform in the U.S. Fees help us maintain our fundraising platform and process credit card donations, provide no-cost fundraising resources, and award Give OUT Day prizes every year.

Fees on GiveOUTDay.org support nonprofit programming, Give OUT Day and maintenance of the year-round fundraising platform, GiveOUTDay.org. On average, 93% of donors go the extra mile to cover processing fees for their favorite causes, meaning 100% of their donations go to their chosen nonprofit. We’re grateful for this extra gesture of generosity and support for LGBTQ+-serving nonprofits. 

Learn more about the Give OUT Day fee structure here.

Raffles/Donation Incentives

Federal law prohibits charities from promising or providing goods and services (e.g., tickets to events or raffles) in exchange for a donation to a donor-advised fund such as Mightycause Charitable Foundation, Give OUT Day's platform partner. Give OUT Day participating organizations may only accept pure contributions and not part-gift and part-sale transactions.

Donation Reports

You can download donor information by navigating to your dashboard under “Reports” and selecting “Donations.” You can learn more about accessing donation reports through this Mightycause article. 

Leaderboard

One of the biggest reasons to participate in Give OUT Day is the opportunity to win prizes and appear on leaderboards, which display organizations in a particular category in descending order of number of unique donors. Prizes are awarded by the number of unique donors rather than the total dollars raised, both to give smaller organizations a fair chance and to honor the importance of all gifts to our movement, be they larger or smaller.

Only Unique Donors

A unique donor is a single individual who is making a gift (e.g., Jane Doe). Unique donors are identified by their first and last names and an email address entered at the time of the donation transaction. A person can be a unique donor to multiple organizations (meaning that if Jane Doe made a gift to Group A and a gift to Group B, she would count as a unique donor for each group). If the Give OUT Day organizers discover that an individual makes multiple gifts to the same organization using different email addresses, all but the first donation will be excluded from the total unique donor tally.a

A Key Motivator

Leaderboard prizes can serve as an important motivator for your campaign: When donors give, their impact extends beyond their individual donations to help you win thousands more in funds. This makes a fantastic point to include in your campaign messaging!

Time Window

Give OUT Day is June 5, 2025, but the campaign starts on May 22 and runs through June 30. This means you can start collecting donations on May 22, when all donations will begin counting toward the Leaderboards. Only on June 5th will the Leaderboards become visible, and you can check your standing against other nonprofits. Planning for your campaign earlier and starting fundraising on May 22 can help you maximize your success during Give OUT Day. 

Registration

Upon registration for Give OUT Day, where you provide information about your annual budget, the geographic location of your work, and the demographics of the people you serve, your organization will automatically be entered into all Leaderboards for which you are eligible. All organizations are eligible for one national Leaderboard; organizations from anywhere in the country are eligible for these Leaderboards. Your organization may also be eligible for one or more others.

Prizes

Power Hour Prizes:

We're igniting a little friendly competition for Give OUT Day through our Power Hours! The three registered LGBTQ+-serving organizations that raise the most money between 12-12:59 pm and 10-10:59 pm ET will share a $1,200 prize pool per hour ($500 for first, $400 for second, and $300 for third)!

Power Hour #1 (12 p.m. ET)
Prize: $500 for first, $400 for second, and $300 for third
Winners: 3 organizations 
Timeframe: June 5, 2025, 12–12:59 p.m. ET.
Geography: Any U.S. Location
Eligibility: Raise the most money on the platform between 12–1 p.m. ET.

Power Hour #2 (4 p.m. ET)
Prize: $500 for first, $400 for second, and $300 for third
Winners: 3 organizations 
Timeframe: June 5, 2025, 10–10:59 p.m. ET.
Geography: Any U.S. Location
Eligibility: Raise the most money on the platform between 10–10:59 p.m. ET.


Registration Prize

All organizations registered by May 15 at 2 pm ET will be entered to win a $250 prize just for signing up! This prize will be drawn on May 16. 
Prize: $250
Winners: 1 organization
Deadline: May 15, 2025, 2 pm ET
Geography: Any U.S. Location
Eligibility: The organization is registered and its Mightycause profile is fully set up by 2 pm on May 15, 2025. 


Hourly Golden Tickets on Give OUT Day

We're also giving away $200 Hourly Golden Tickets on June 5.
Prize: $200
Winners: 21 organizations
Timeline:  Throughout Give OUT Day on June 5, 2025
Geography: Any U.S. Location
Eligibility: The organization is registered for Give OUT Day 2025. 


Pride Month Golden Tickets

Even after Give OUT Day, the prizes continue through the end of the month with our Pride Month Golden Tickets. Sponsored by the founders and board members of Project 515, who helped pass marriage equality in Minnesota in 2015, we will draw one gift each day for $100 from June 5 through June 30. 

Prize: $100
Winners: 25 organizations
Timeline: June 5, 2025 to June 30, 2025
Geography: Any U.S. Location
Eligibility: Organizations are registered for Give OUT Day 2025



Regional Prizes

Western Region: Bay Area & West Region Prize, Sponsored by Horizons Foundation: Registered organizations in the Western Region (AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, NM, UT, WA, and WY) are eligible for the Bay Area & West Region Prize, a $1,000 prize grant sponsored by former Give OUT Day host, Horizons Foundation. One winner will be selected through a random drawing at midnight on June 5 from all gifts made to registered orgs in the Western region between May 22 and June 4.

Prize: $1,000
Winners: 1 organization 
Timeline:  May 22 to June 4, 2025
Geography: Any U.S. Location
Eligibility: Organizations are registered for Give OUT Day 2025 and located in AK, AZ, CA, CO, HI, ID, MT, NV, OR, NM, UT, WA, and WY. 


Midwest Region: Project 515 Equality Prize: Registered organizations in the Midwest Region (IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, and WI) are eligible for the Project 515 Equality Prize. It’s a $2,500 prize grant that will be awarded at the end of Give OUT Day through a random drawing from all gifts made to registered organizations in the Midwest region between May 22 and June 5. This award honors the founders and board members of the Minnesota-based advocacy organization Project 515, which co-founded Minnesotans United for All Families, the first campaign to ever defeat a constitutional amendment limiting the freedom to marry for same-sex couples in 2012, and helped secure marriage equality for same-sex couples in Minnesota in 2013. Those accomplishments went on to inspire other national marriage equality efforts, which ultimately led to the landmark ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges, which granted the freedom to marry for all same-sex couples in the United States in 2015.

Prize: $1,000
Winners: 1 organization 
Timeline: May 22 to June 4, 2025
Geography: Any U.S. Location
Eligibility: Organizations are registered for Give OUT Day 2025 and located in IL, IN, IA, KS, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD, and WI. 

Note: GiveMN can modify any restrictions or conditions if, in the sole judgment of the Board of Directors, such restriction or condition becomes unnecessary, incapable of fulfillment or inconsistent with the charitable needs of the community. As such, GiveMN reserves the right to deny or condition the distribution of prize grants if, in the judgment of its Board of Directors, such restriction or condition becomes necessary.

What about donations outside the Give OUT Day platform (i.e., offline donations)?

While we encourage you to fundraise in whatever way makes most sense for you, sending donors to your page on giveoutday.org, rather than elsewhere, simplifies your campaign by displaying, in a single spot, your fundraising total against your goal and in comparison to the totals raised by other organizations.

In addition, using the Give OUT Day platform ensures that every Give OUT Day donation your organization receives immediately counts toward your Give OUT Day goal. Should your organization receive donations outside the platform, you can input these donations on your dashboard, under “Reports,” “Donations,” and “Offline Donations.” GiveMN reserves the right to request documentation of these gifts.

Note: Offline donations do not count toward any prizes. Only donations received online through your Give OUT Day page will count towards prizes.


Receipt of Prize Funds (How Will I Receive My Funds?)

For fund disbursement, all organizations participating in Give OUT Day are required to set up electronic funds transfer (EFT). To set it up, navigate to the dashboard, “Settings,” and “Disbursement Settings.” If you prefer to receive disbursements via check, each check will have a $5 processing fee applied.

Disbursements of prizes will be initiated using your existing disbursement method after they have been certified by the GiveMN Board of Directors. (GiveMN is the host of Give OUT Day). 

Once you have received your disbursement, retrieve your Disbursement Report, including comprehensive information about each donation received, by visiting your organization's administrative area. Look in the Reports area for a list of your Disbursements and click the gray button within each disbursement listing to download the full report of donation details.

For more information about Give OUT Day, visit our Nonprofit FAQ and Donor FAQ pages.

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