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How does sponsoring a hiker work?
To donate to one of the HikeFor causes, step one is to set up an account, which is
quick and easy, then go to the hiker page and make a small per-mile
pledge to the hiker's trek. How far they get on their hike determines your
total donation, which you will submit directly to the target cause(s) once the
hiker finishes their hike.
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What percentage of donations does HikeFor keep?
0% - HikeFor doesn't keep any of your donation.
Donations are made directly to the target non-profits by each
sponsor - HikeFor doesn't manage any funds. Even if HikeFor eventually
becomes a registered non-profit and does collect donations on behalf
of the target charities, the goal will be to cover HikeFor's costs
with corporate sponsorship and still forward 100% of donations
directly to the hikers' charities - but for the time being HikeFor
isn't involved with the funds in any way other than reminding sponsors
to make their payments.
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Is HikeFor a registered charity?
No. I wanted to have HikeFor registered as a 501(C)3 simply so that the
donation process could be simplified and HikeFor could accurately report
funds raised by each hiker for each cause; but as it turns out, acquiring
non-profit status when all you do is raise funds for other non-profits isn't
that simple. Because HikeFor is not a registered non-profit, HikeFor doesn't
handle any money between sponsors and causes - all donations are made directly
to the target non-profits.
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Will my donation be tax deductible?
Probably, but that depends on which cause your hiker is hiking for and whether they
issue tax receipts, which country you live in, etc. If that's a critical detail for you,
you will need to confirm it with the cause in question before you pledge.
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Will you add the cause I want to hike for?
Absolutely!, as long as it's a legitimate non-profit. Use the contact form to let me know
about the cause and I'll add it to the list of options as quickly as possible.
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Who, what, where is HikeFor?
HikeFor is currently ultimately just a website! There's no team or organization
behind, just me!
My name is Paul "Potential 178" Mitchell; I built HikeFor in 2010 with the idea that
if a bunch of hikers dedicated their hikes collectively to a single worthwhile
cause, it could raise funds for something good, give the hikers some added sense of community
and some encouragement to finish their hikes. I launched the site a few weeks before
hitting the PCT myself so there wasn't a lot of time to get the word out. I've upgraded
the site in 2013 to allow hikers to pick whatever cause they want, and even to split
a percentage of funds raised off to a second cause.
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Need some help with registering as a 501(c)3?
Yes, please!
So far I have put in about 450 hours of programming & design time and
have covered the minimal costs of domains & hosting myself, but it would
be fantastic to get HikeFor registered as a 501(c)3 non-profit,
and that's not a task I have the experience or funds to manage independently.
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Have a question?
Use the contact form to
get in touch.
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