Auto process credit for charity

[Frets Nirvana]

I am trying to work with a charity that has agreed to setup an account with Linden labs, so that we can conduct benefits for them.  It is a legal Veterans Support Organization.  We would be conducting an on-going effort for them just like Relay for Life does in Second Life.  However, the management of the account and transfer of monies poses a problem.  Is there a way that selling Lindens and processing the credit can be automated for a charity?  Maybe on a monthly basis?  Of course it would also be great if fees for transfer of selling and transferring monies would be deleted.  It is a legal organization approved byt the IRS.  I have tried for six months to find someone at Linden that can help with this but so far I have not gotten a response. 

 

 

I did see an option to put in another commens so I will do it by edting.  First of all thanks for the response.

1.  Yes I have talked to RFL and know how they do it.

2.  I have been involved wiht Wounded Warriors for over four years, with the support of others and have sent over $40,000 to them.  I am going to be switching my allegiance because they are not being helpful with this problem.  Those previous monies have had to transfer through my personal account and every dime has gone to WWP.  However, this has got to change and I also need an organization that is supportive like RFL is.  I think I have found it and look forward to keep helping our Vets who give us so much.  However, the question of auto management of funds still stands.

I am now going to open up this thread again, thanks to Linden labs. I have successfully started a new relationship with another Veteran's Support Organization. They have established an account with Linden Labs and all donations go their account. So far we accumulated over 250,000 linden for them this year. But now I have discovered silly problem for this charity. They just tried to transfer that money out by going through the usual process. Which of course LL makes money off of. But their sell limit with a basic account does not allow them to sell and transfer the Lindens into regular $$. Come on now, it is a charity doing good work for our vets. How, without purchasing a premium account or doing other silly things can this limit be raised? Thanks everyone…I get no response from LLO at this time. Frets Nitvana

[Lindal Kidd]

You could contact the organizers of Relay for Life and see how they do it.

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Relay_For_Life_of_Second_Life#Relay_For_Life_of_Second_Life_2014

My own suggestion would be for the charity to set up one SL account.  Then everyone who collects for the charity can simply pay that account their collected $L.  At the conclusion of the drive, the charity can perform one exchange of $L for $USD and do a single Process Credit transaction to their PayPal account.

[KarenMichelle Lane]

Frets,

Good for you.  Below is a reply I posted a year or so back and it still applies. You would use the charity you plan to collect funds for [L$ converted to USDs and then paid out through a PayPal account.] This is oriented to the Wounded Warriors Project but your charity will require the same processing. Remember, to use the name & art & logos of the Charity you are collecting funds for you have to register with that charity.

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The Wounded Warriors Project is a worthy one indeed.

Step One: Contact The Wounded Warriors Project  http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/  first! Call them at their local office but better yet email them at their Fund Raiser link page http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/contact-us/fundraiser-email.aspx and include a synopsis of your ideas and how you plan to execute them via the Second Life Community and your presence here in it. You will need their support and acknowledgement to continue. This is required in order to use their name, brand and any and all logos. You should also register with TWW Project as a Fund Raiser and get a copy of all their regulations and reporting requirements.

Step Two: You need to become an authorized fundraiser with means to prove your legitimacy to those you would collect Lindens from for conversion to dollars and donation to TWW Project. You also need to become/create a registered 501.c(3) Charitable Organization in order to do this legally.

http://www.irs.gov/charities/charitable/

Step Three: Don't be afraid of the IRS, this is easy to do and will keep you out of trouble income wise. Setting up a charity checking account is easy and you'll need this not only for you to keep the collected monies separate but also for the Bank account information for the Registered SecondLife Avatar Account authorized to accept payments/donations on behalf of the charity. [Your Legal Name of course will be on the bank account] - Be prepared to offer this tax status information on request or better yet, make it publicly available as a part of the process where you provide the Kiosks for businesses and associations to collect donations at on your charity's behalf.

Step Four: Once the bank account is open, you need to get a PayPal account open and connected to the Bank account with the highest level of authentication and using an accepted bank backed business debit card or credit card. Yes you will be spending some of your own money to set this all up and you will need to buy some Lindens to start the clock on the ability to cash out Lindens to the PayPal account.

Step Five: Once you have the endorsement and tax status, you need to find a legitimate scripter/builder to assist you with your collection Kiosks builds and TWW Project logo branded goodies to either sell or give away at donation time.  Look for the creator of the ACS - Relay for Life Kiosks as a reputable source of certified objects for the purposes of fund raising in SecondLife. The registration system these use allows us to make donations with 100% confidence that this is a qualified Donation Kiosk and charity.

Step Six: Get a proper parcel set up focusing on the charity with the approval and blessing of TWW Project board of Directors. Then go door to door / club to club with your goals in mind and start making a difference. [Note: Yes, a % of the donations received can go towards the upkeep of the Charity's in-world presence, but if I were you, I'd make my personal donation equal to or more than the cost of the tiers to maintain the parcel for the charity.]

 

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OK now for your other questions:

1) Linden Research will not eliminate the currency processing fees when exchanging Lindens for USDs.

2) If you play on leasing a whole private region to support this charity, you may qualify for a discount but only if purchased from Linden Research directly. These costs my be prohibitive.

3) Any monies you expend to maintain a region can be a part of the operational costs for the Charity. Do good bookkeeping.

4) You will have become/create a registered 501.c(3) Charitable Organization in order to do this legally.

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Good Luck! 

 {Note: I do accounting and office support support for several Charitable Organizations in RL}

P.S. If you are thinking along the lines of hosting a single event, converting the lindens collected and then donating the proceeds to TWW Project, I still recommend all the above steps. Why? If you are going to go through this effort to do it right, why not do it continuously afterwards. IM me when you are all set up. I'll donate.

P.S.S. You can always collect Lindens for the charity personally but you can't reference the Charity by name in that case. This becomes a matter of trust among your peers.

[Rolig Loon]

Hmm... This note disappeared mysteriously after I posted it a couple of hours ago, so I'll try again.....

As far as I know, automatic processing of L$ sales and credit transfer is not an option. Neither is a waiver of transaction fees on the LindeX, although you can certainly ask the LL Billing Office. The group I have worked with in SL for over 7 years funds its enterprise in SL entirely by donations.  We maintain an account for the sole purpose of receiving and managing donations of L$, converting them to USD periodically as needed.  It's almost no work for the group's treasurer to log in and make those transactions.  We also maintain a PayPal account to receive donations made in USD, and have a link and a widget on the group's web site to make it easy.  The group has had IRS classification a a 501©3 charitable organization for many years.