Donor Frequently Asked Questions
1. Are donations tax deductible?
Yes. La Leche League International is a non-profit 501(c)3, charitable
organization and all contributions are tax deductible to the extent
provided by law. No goods or services are ever providd in return for
charitable contributions we receive.
2. Is my online donation secure?
Absolutely. LLLI is a proud partner of VeriSign, a provider we trust to equip us with various Internet infrastructure services for an increasingly digital world. You may notice that when you click any “Donation” link on the LLLI Web site it will take you to www.kintera.com. Do not be alarmed when you see you are no longer at www.llli.org! Kintera is our database to manage all records for our Donors, Leaders, Members, and customers.
3. How can I donate directly to a LLL Group/entity?
You can donate directly to a LLLI Group by sending your gift directly to that Group’s address. Go to www.llli.org to find Group contact information, or contact the LLLI Funding Development Department.
4. Why is there a 15% administrative fee for a pass through donation?
LLLI receives hundreds of checks each week for Member/Leader/Group Dues, Donations, Orders, etc. Because checks for various entities or Groups are most often addressed to La Leche League International, LLLI staff members must deposit the checks, process them in the Funding Department, complete the appropriate forms requesting the monies, and then process the wire transfer or mail the check to the Group or entity. The 15% fee helps cover these administrative costs.
We do apologize for this inconvenience as we realize you want your gift to go towards furthering the LLLI mission, not administrative costs. We encourage you to make your donation directly to the LLL Group/entity you wish to support. If you do not know the contact information of a particular group, contact the Development Department. This will help ensure all of the funds will remain true to your intentions.
5. How soon will I receive my tax receipt acknowledgment?
If you have an email address in our database, you will receive a tax receipt acknowledgment immediately after the donation is processed by the Development Department. For instance, if you make a donation directly from the LLLI Web site, we require that you include your email address, so you will receive this tax receipt acknowledgment more than likely within 24 hour – depending on how fast the system is working.
All estimates for our “acknowledgment turnaround” depend on the speed of postal delivery plus the time it takes the Finance Department to process your check. You will generally receive most Thank Yous within seven to ten days. It may be a few more if you do not have an email address listed in our system and we send you an acknowledgment in the mail.
We do strive to thank all of our supporters within two weeks of their gift because their gifts matter and we are so grateful.
6. Why is LLLI sending tax receipt acknowledgments electronically?
The LLLI Development Department recognizes that e-communications will never replace the personal communications that we feel are an important part of saying “Thank You” to our donors, yet having the capability to send automatically-generated email acknowledgments translates to a savings on printing, postage, and staff time.
It is a current practice of the Development Department to send electronic tax receipt acknowledgments (“Thank Yous”) to anyone who has an email address listed in the database. If you would like to receive communications (such as donation acknowledgments and newsletters) by e-mail, please share your email address with us.
We believe that you want your donations to go toward furthering the LLLI Mission, and we thank you for understanding our need to reduce fundraising costs.
7. Will I receive a paper tax receipt acknowledgment?
You will receive a paper acknowledgment for your donation if you do not have an email address listed in our database. Although the Development Department strives to lower fundraising costs, we realize that our donors have different preferences and some prefer to receive a paper acknowledgment rather than an electronic one.
We only ask that you share your personal preference with us so that in recognizing your generosity we are respecting your wishes as an important member of the La Leche League family.
8. Why is having an LLLID, or “lid,” advantageous to me as a donor?
Having an LLLID is beneficial on a number of different levels for both our supporters and for the LLLI staff. For you, our donors, you can sign in and view your transaction and donation history with LLLI since the fall of 2006, view and update your contact information, make a donation, or pay Leader Dues. If you want to check the date or amount of your last donation, you can do that with relative ease.
If you feel that your donation history is incorrect, please contact the Development Department and we can help straighten it out.
Donations are easy to make when you have an LLLID, since your contact information is automatically entered on the donation form after you sign in. When you make a donation using your LLLID, duplicate records are not created in our database that need to be merged later.
9. In viewing my donation history when signed in under my LLLID (“lid”), if I feel it is incorrect, whom do I contact?
If you feel your donation history is incorrect, please contact the following:
Development Department
957 N. Plum Grove Road
Schaumburg, IL 60173 USA
Fax: (847) 969-0460
Amy Barker, Development Associate
(847) 519-7730, ext. 240, abarker@llli.org
Pam Oselka, Major Gifts Officer
(847) 519-7730, ext. 257, poselka@llli.org
10. How can I obtain my LLLID, or "lid"?
All you need is an email address in our records to claim your LLLID. Here’s how:
1. Go to http://reg.llli.org.
2. Click the Continue button.
3. Enter the email address you have on file with LLLI and click the button.
• If you get an error screen, fill out the form and someone will contact you. This means either LLLI doesn’t have an email address on file for you or you have a different email address listed in the database.
4. You will receive an email with a link inside. Click the link, or copy and paste into your browser.
5. Set the password for your LLLID.
6. Review your confirmation page.
Congratulations, you now have your LLLID!
11. How can I make an honorary or memorial gift?
You can make a gift of any size in honor of or in memory of a person, Group, or event. You can do this online by filling out the corresponding box on the online donation form, or by sending in your donation through the mail. The Development Department has a downloadable PDF on the LLLI Web site that has a section for you to include this information.
For gifts of $50 or more, you can have this tribute – detailing your special message of congratulations, encouragement, or condolences – printed in the To Honor, To Remember section of New Beginnings. Please include any desired wording and limit tributes to 20 words. We ask that you please keep in mind that LLLI is a diverse community whose main focus is helping mothers to breastfeed. While we can expect personal beliefs reflected here because of the nature of tributes, this column is not intended for social commentaries outside the focus of LLL. Please include the city, state/province, and country for any honoree.
12. How will the person or family I want to honor/remember know that I have made a gift in their honor/memory?
For gifts of any size, the Development Department will notify the specified individual(s) – with a personalized card – that you have made a gift in their name. The amount will not be indicated. Please include the complete name and address of the person or persons to be notified.
13. Why is there a minimum donation amount for honorary or memorial donations that are printed in New Beginnings?
Unfortunately, there is a minimum donation amount of $50 per separate entry of honorary or memorial donations that are printed in New Beginnings due to space constraints.
14. How can I determine what issue of New Beginnings my donation will be published in?
At the present time, there is a varying schedule for the cutoff dates of New Beginnings honorary and memorial donations. If you have a question on which issue your gift will appear in, please contact the Development Department and they can easily tell you when it will be printed.
15. How can I donate by mail?
The LLLI Development Department recognizes the many different ways our donors like to support the LLLI Mission, and we will always have donating through the mail as an option for our donors.
You can print the PDF paperwork online from the Donor pages of www.llli.org, or you can just send in a check. If you do not include any paperwork, we ask that you please include “donation” or “gift” or some identifying description in the check memo so that we know your intention.
16. Where do I send a donation?
You can send donations to:
Funding Development Department
957 N. Plum Grove Road
Schaumburg, IL 60173
Or, simply:
Development Department
P.O. Box 4079
Schaumburg, IL 60168-4079
17. How easy is it to set up a recurring donation?
Recurring donations are incredibly simple, and this option guarantees us regular and predictable funds. You have complete control over the schedule of your regular giving: you can support LLLI monthly, quarterly, or annually from two times up to sixty separate gifts.
The easiest way to set this up is to go to the main Donate page on www.llli.org, and then go to Recurring Donations. You can tailor your gift to your personal preference and then it will be set up for the length of your pledge. Your credit card will be charged automatically, and we ask that you please be prompt about updating your information when your card expires or in the event that you should cancel your credit card.
You can also set up a recurring donation by sending it to the LLLI office, and the staff will set up your pledge for you. It is perfectly acceptable to mail in a check for each gift of your pledge. If you have any questions about this method of giving, please contact the Funding Development Department.
18. How do I donate stock to LLLI?
If you wish to donate stock, please notify the Funding Development Department by phone or email to alert them of your donation. The information needed is the following: the date you donated the stock(s), the type of stock(s), and the number of shares. The value of your donation is based on the date your broker transfers the stocks to LLLI.
If you have any questions about donating stock, please call the Development Department for assistance, (847) 519-7730, ext. 240.
19. Can I include LLLI in my will?
We can indeed accept gifts and bequests from your estate. The most common form of planned gift, a bequest, is a gift that is made through a will. Bequests may be stated as a percentage of the estate as the residual of the estate or for a specific dollar amount.
We recommend you have your attorney or estate planner call us in advance to make sure any special requests you may have as to the use of the funds can be accommodated. For more information, contact Pam Oselka, Major Gifts Officer, at (847) 519-7730, ext. 257, or by emailing poselka@llli.org. You can also visit this Web page: http://www.llli.org/donor/planned_giving.html?m=3,5.
If you have already included LLLI in your will, please let us know so that we may thank you for furthering the LLLI mission of helping mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education.
20. If I donate by credit card through the mail, how can I be assured my account number is confidential?
Donating by credit card is becoming increasingly common and all of the Departments at LLLI have taken steps to ensure the confidentiality of our supporters’ personal information. When we receive a donation, payments for dues, or merchandise orders, it is standard operating procedure that the transaction is processed immediately and all but the last four digits of the credit card number are blacked out on both sides of the paper. The paperwork is then stored in filing cabinets that are locked each night.
21. Do you participate in the Combined Federal Campaign? If so, what is your number? [This program is for United States federal employees, including those in the military. It allows these employees to donate through payroll donations.]
La Leche league International does in fact participate in the Combined Federal Campaign. Our campaign number is 10495. Employee pledge campaigns are conducted in the fall each year. Please tell your friends and family members to designate LLLI as their charity.
If you should have any questions that were not included on this list, or you have lingering questions on an issue you feel was not adequately addressed, please contact the Development Department by calling (847) 519-7730, ext. 240, or by sending an email to fdassociate@llli.org. Thank you for your inquiries and for supporting the La Leche League Mission.
Page last edited Mon Jun 16 17:23:36 UTC 2008.
