StayClassy.org is a Not-Just-For-Profit (NJFP) organization. This means that our company measures itself by other factors outside of profiting, like helping people and the environment through our business operations (or the funds generated by our business operations). The good news is, StayClassy does both. We not only donate a portion of our own proceeds to our favorite non-profits, but we also require that every single transaction on the website includes a donation to charity.

The goal of StayClassy.org is to allow anyone, anywhere, the ability to host charity events through our website (and to have fun while doing it).  We make it our mission every day to help charities fundraise more, faster, by connecting them with members who want to host events on their behalf.  This connection allows charities to raise more awareness and money by branching outside of their immediate networks.

In addition to all of this goodness, the founders of StayClassy.org went a step further and established a 501(c)3 non profit organization two years ago called the The Stay Classy Foundation. The goal of the non profit organization is execute meaningful social projects in the San Diego community. The Foundation is the one who manages all of the Stay Classy Campaigns, including the Campaign for Abandoned Youth with San Diego Youth Services.  100% of the donations to our Foundation go towards executing the campaigns.  The staff from StayClassy.org does not receive any salary (not even one penny) from the Foundation.  To learn more about the Foundation,  click here.

A portion of every purchase on Stay Classy benefits one of the 1.5 million charities featured on our website.  When we say every purchase, we really mean it - from t-shirts to tickets, we won't post anything on the website that doesn't donate at least $1 per order to charity.  

Here's how it works...
The donation portion of your order is processed by JustGive.org and then donated to the charity beneficiary.  Since JustGiving.org is a 501(c)3 organization itself, your contribution is 100% tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.  StayClassy.org never physically handles any of the donations that go through the website.  All donations are processed and handled by JustGive.org.



The non-donation portion of the order is processed by Stay Classy.org, and does not go to charity.  Only the portion that is donated to charity (via JustGive.org) is tax deductible.  In fact, many people incorrectly claim these types of expenses on their tax report at the end of the year.  We're helping you stay on the right side of the law :)

On your credit card statement you will be billed separately by both JustGive.org (for your donation portion) and StayClassy.org (for the rest). It all happens instantaneously, but that's the beautiful part :)

Here's an example...
Say you purchase a $20 event ticket to a local event and the full $20 ticket is donation to charity.  At check-out you will notice a small transaction fee, added to the $20, so your full order will be something like $21.  You will be billed $20 by JustGive.org, and $1 by StayClassy.org. Your $20 donation is tax deductible, and the $1 is not.

Yes. For donations through the website, StayClassy.org (and JustGive.org) charge between 5% and 10% per transaction (total).  For ticket purchases through the website, StayClassy.org charges up to a 7.5% fee per order.  These fees are used to pay banks, credit card companies and our administrative costs. We invest a lot of time and effort into Stay Classy and this fee helps keep us around!

We encourage you to make your charitable donations in a way that makes you feel most comfortable as the donor.  However, here's three reasons why we think StayClassy.org is the best place to do your charitable giving:

1)  Contributing directly through a non-profit's website does not mean that you avoid paying processing fees. Even nonprofits themselves incur credit card or check processing fees when accepting your gift. It's actually advantageous for charities to receive donations through StayClassy.org,  because they can chose to pass along these processing fees to you, the donor (meaning the charity does not have to incur any extra fees).

2) No other website in the world specializes in charity events.  StayClassy.org is a tool for people (and charities) to plan and host fundraising events  We track the portion of your ticket that is going to charity and store this information in your user profile.  This makes it really easy at tax season! The more events you go to, the more good you do (and the more you get to write off).  Making a straight donation through another site isn't nearly as fun as this!

3) Online giving is one of the most efficient and cost-effective ways for nonprofits to receive contributions. Direct mailing and telemarketing efforts can leave the charity with only 25% of the donation.  On StayClassy.org, charities always receive ATLEAST 90% of the donation.

The IRS doesn't require receipts for cash donations under $250, but you should keep donation information on file. Cash contributions of $250 and over require an acknowledgment that must be sent to the IRS with your tax returns. The email receipt you will receive from StayClassy.org meets all the IRS requirements as a record of donation.

Donations are processed on the 10th of each month by JustGive.org.  For example, a donation made in January is processed and mailed by February 10th. If you are a non-profit working with us, and have not received a check by the end of the following month, please contact us.

Yes. All donations to nonprofit organizations with 501(c)(3) tax status made through Stay Classy.org are 100% tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law. We send you receipts for every donation made through our website, and conveniently store all of this info in your "giving report" in your user profile.  You do not need an additional receipt from the nonprofit that ultimately receives your donation.

This is one of the coolest perks of becoming a Stay Classy member.  Every single donation you make through our website is tracked and stored in your user profile "Giving Report".  The idea here is to make it as simple as possible for you to get your full tax benefits at the end of the year for making charitable donations.  The beauty of Stay Classy is that we track all the small stuff just as well as the large donations.  Could be as small as a dollar donation from a t-shirt purchase or a few dollars from an event ticket... either way,  it all really starts to add up!  Accountants all over the world will soon be asking for your Stay Classy Giving Report, like they do your Turbo Tax file :)

GuideStar provides StayClassy.org's comprehensive database of over 1,500,000 public charities, making it easy for individuals to find detailed information about charities that match their interests. GuideStar is an initiative of Philanthropic Research, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1994. GuideStar's mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and philanthropic practices through information.

Checks are sent via first class mail to the address listed on GuideStar. If you have not received the check by the end of the following month, please contact us to initiate a check reissue request. Reissued checks are sent quarterly to the address listed on GuideStar. If your address is out of date, please read JustGive.org's handy article  "How do you update your listing in Guidestar or the Guide?" to learn how to update your address with Guidestar. There is no service fee for the reissuance of stale checks, but if a check is not stale, JustGive.org deducts $10 from the donations to stop payment on the original check.

When the charities receive their checks from JustGive.org, it will include the donation details. Depending on the donor's preference, the charity will receive the donor name, email address, and/or mailing address, unless the donor chooses to remain anonymous. In these cases, StayClassy and JustGive will never give the charity, or anyone else, the donors personal information.