Fundraising / Charities

Direct-Choice is an online business that offers reputable Merchants (Companies and Individuals) the opportunity to sell quality gifts and products directly to the public.

Australian owned, Direct-Choice aims to contribute to the Australian society and way of life by providing an opportunity to generate significant funds. We offer anybody who has a valid authority for fundraising (individuals, a group of people, charities, clubs, organisations, schools ....) who want to raise money for a genuine 'good cause' to participate in the marketing of the business and in return provide a significant share of the income generated for the nominated ‘good cause’.

There are no costs associated for participating in such an initiative except third party bank transaction fees that we recoup.

Fundraising legislation varies from state to state which will mean that if you are looking to fundraise on a national basis, you will need to take the time to comply with the relevant fundraising legislation in each state. Typically there is no fee involved and application forms are available on the websites of respective government departments.

Contact information of relevant State Authorities can be accessed by clicking here.

ATO endorsement of Deductible Gift Recipients (DGR)

If you want to claim tax deductibility status for donations received you will need to have your organisation endorsed as a Deductible Gift Recipient from the Australian Taxation Office. Generally, this is a major incentive for a Donor (our Merchants) to participate and nominate a % of the product value for such a cause.
Contact Information:

Australian Taxation Office
GPO Box 990
In the capital city of your state/territory
Telephone: 133677
Website: www.ato.gov.au/nonprofit/content.asp?doc=/content/34490.htm

Fundraising Opportunity

Direct-Choice has been designed to become the 21st century market place of choice. You have the opportunity to showcase your good cause in our ‘Good Cause’ domain and earn a % cut of each associated product sold. The cut may vary depending on the product and the level of Merchant participation and is typically between 5% to $35%. Products will vary regularly depending on Merchant participation (and agreed category scope) thus keeping a ‘fresh’ offering available for your supporters.

If you want to direct people directly to your Good Cause we can provide you with your own URL (http://www.direct-choice.com/goodcause/yourinitiative). You can place this hyperlink on your website or in any online correspondence (newsletter).
Alternatively we may also be able to place a ‘products page’ within your site which will attract the same benefits as described above. This way, existing users of your site do not need to go somewhere else to support your cause as they can browse, purchase and pay for their purchase in a seamless way through this method.

The rewards of the program can be significant as all participants gain.

• Our Members and your Supporters can generally purchase everyday products for the same price or cheaper as in our shopping domains;
• Your organisation receives a % cut from the purchase price as a donation from the Merchant;
• Our Merchants achieve higher sales and receive a Tax Deduction Receipt from you if you are an ATO approved Deductible Gift Recipient (DGR).

Fundraising Process

Interested parties that have appropriate authorities in place and who would like to take up participation are requested to complete the following Steps:

Step I (Good Cause Application)
Apply by email or letter (details below) providing the following information:

• Organisation Name – Please provide a copy of the certificate of registration or incorporation as a company or an incorporated association.
• ABN.
• Organisation Logo or Good Cause Branding Picture.
• Details of your current website presence if you are interested to have the product catalogue function integrated in your site.
• A request (if relevant) for a specific URL(http://www.direct-choice.com/goodcause/yourinitiative)that allows people to be directed to your good cause.
  
• Name of Good Cause.
  
• Description of the 'Good Cause', -- Who is the beneficiary of the funds?
  Please be thorough about this as it will be used as an online description for your Good Cause initiative. As a guide, the Good Cause description should be a minimum of an A4 page in length plus a number of appropriate pictures.
  When writing the description, please remember people have no interest in supporting your organisation, as such; they give to you because they believe in what you are working to achieve.
  Your task is to inject potential supporters/donors with the enthusiasm you feel – to transmit the spark that will light their fire.
  The online appeal needs to tell your story, or at least one aspect of it. A story is about a person, not numbers. It’s about attaching meaning and values to what would otherwise be just one thing after another. Show how you change lives. Show how the supporter/donor fits in to the story.
  People often make the mistake of leaving the human factor out of their request, which makes it easier for people not to give or support. People give to people. Sharing a sense of how individual people are affected creates a better environment for supporting/giving and lets potential supporters/donors feel that they will make a difference You need to humanise your organisation and your work to make it clear why support is needed, and what a supporters/donors money will help to achieve. You do this by sympathetically setting out the problem, the need that the supporter/donor can fill, and the eventual recipients. To summarize, the following elements are essential for any online appeal:
  o     A brief description of the problem, and why it matters;
  o     A brief account of what your organisation wants to do about it;
  o     An explanation of how the desired donations will make it possible;
  o     A celebration of the difference this will make to people’s lives.
  Pictures: gif, png, jpg Minimum: 100x75 pixels; Maximum size: 5MB.
• Nominate the states you would like to cover with your Good Cause Initiative. Please provide a copy of the fundraising certificate(s) for each state.
• Clarify your tax deductible gift recipient status. Please provide a copy of your endorsement as a DGR from the ATO.
  
• Sign and return the ‘Direct-Choice Good Cause Agreement'.
  The agreement includes the following key points:
  Direct-Choice is a fund-raising agent for your organisation. That means we do not take responsibility for ensuring that your organisation has completed the necessary communication with your state authority. It is your responsibility to make sure you have all the necessary government approvals.
  The ‘Direct-Choice Good Cause Agreement’ is a non-exclusive agreement between your organisation and Direct-Choice. Both parties can work with other organisations to do the same sort of fund-raising.
  When people support your Good Cause by purchasing associated products to your organisation or singing up to Direct-Choice using your promotion code, we will pass the payments on to your organization monthly directly to your nominated bank account.
  We take NO percentage of the donations collected online. You receive 100% of the funds raised, less bank fees only.
  Direct-Choice Good Cause Agreement.
  
  Submission Logistics:
  Email: goodcause@direct-choice.com
  Mailing Address: Direct-Choice Pty Ltd
  PoBox 5121
  Kenmore East 4069

Step II (Direct-Choice Member Sign Up)
Sign Up as a Member with Direct-Choice. Please enter the details of the person that is responsible for the relationship with Direct-Choice. Please note, the newly established Member Account will be converted to a Good Cause Account at the time an agreement is reached for the Good Cause initiative.

Step III (Good Cause Application Approval and Go-Live Preparation)
Subject to Direct-Choices approval of your application, you will be requested to provide further administrative details within the (converted) Member/Good Cause Account i.e details of the organisation itself and banking details.

The Good Cause initiative will be activated at the time all information is correctly updated. Activation may include all or one of the following:

• Your good cause is activated in our Good Cause Domain.
• A specific hyperlink that directs people directly to your good cause within Direct-Choice is available and active.
• Relevant Product Catalogue is available within your Website.

Step IV (Spreading the word about your good cause initiative)
Whilst you will have members and guests of Direct-Choice finding and supporting your cause as part of their browsing experience, the ultimate benefit will come from your support base making regular purchases of products or signing up new Merchants as part of their daily activities. So, don’t keep it as a secret and spread the word by:

• Mobilizing your volunteers to spread the word and take relevant actions.
• Requesting support and announcing this initiative in your next newsletter (don’t forget to mention the Promotion Code for Merchant Sign Up or your specific URL);
• Including a short information paragraph that contains your specific URL at the end of your emails;
• Ending your talks by raising the opportunity that your supporters can support you by purchasing day to day products. At all times please do not forget to tell people what their donations will do, what are you going to do with the funds raised and why it is important that they support your cause.

Step V
Direct-Choice will transfer received donations at the end of each month including a list of donors. You will be required to provide Tax Receipts if you have DGR status from the ATO. A list of appropriate information will be provided by Direct-Choice. It will also be important to say ‘Thank you’ at this point to ensure continuous support by Direct-Choice participating merchants.

For queries in regards to Good Cause Concept and Process please contact us by email: goodcause@direct-choice.com.