FAQ's
Frequently Asked Questions
How does Wishes work?
For Fundraisers (Wishers or Donors): For those that are looking to raise money for a cause, charity, individual or life event, you can use Wishes to fundraise. Register, Add your Story with photos and a video, and then select what categories you need funding in. Once your story is created, you’ll be able to activate your fundraising page and start promoting it online and through the Wishes app. Signing up is easy and every donation is yours to keep, whether you reach your goal or not. Wishes will send you a Wishkit with best practices for making your story stand out.
For Donors: You can find and fund any Wisher or Nonprofit. Register, find a story to fund and then click on the donate button. You can fund from any credit card or if you’ve signed up to be a Wishes Ambassador, you can fund stories from your wallet. If you want to know which of your credit cards will give you the most rewards we’ll tell you while you are donating.
What can I raise money for?
Wishers can use the Wishes app to raise money for themselves, friends, family, charities, verified causes or even complete strangers in random acts of kindness. Since Wishes creates true transparency on every donation, Donors can feel safe their donations are going to make an impact to the Wishers they help, and Wishers are able to spend their donations anywhere in the world MasterCardⓇ is accepted. Wishers can raise donations through 4 major categories on Wishes, which include Services, Life Essentials, Health and Emergency. The 4 categories are then divided into subcategories which include insurance, health, memorial, hotel, airfare, general merchandise, animals/vets, restaurant, gasoline, home improvement, kids toys, education, internet, shipping, rideshare, business, advertising, and charity. Wishes is always looking to add top categories to help provide Wishers with the resources and support they need so if you feel there are more subcategories we need to add, please send us an email and let us know at: connect@wishes.inc
How does Wishes keep fundraisers safe?
The Wishes platform validates every Wisher and Donor that comes on the platform. Once donations are validated Donor funds are placed into an FDIC insured account and moved to the designated Wishers account after a 24-hold period, per the Wishes guarantee.
Funds are then moved on to Virtual credit cards with each card specific to the categories requested by the Wisher. For instance, if a Wisher requested funds for rideshare, gasoline and groceries, the Wisher would receive 3 virtual cards in their account with each card designated to be used only for the resources and support requested by the Wisher on the Wishers story, which in this case would be rideshare, gasoline and groceries. The Wishers total spend volume and available funds for those resources and services can be seen and validated by the Donor that supported the Wisher, but only for the categories the Donor helped support.
The Wishers available funds can be spent at any of the over 4,000 retailers and apps connected to Wishes across the US. If services/resources are not offered or supported by connected Wishes partners, Wishers will have the ability to move the Wishes Virtual card to the Wishers Apple or Google wallet to spend donated funds at local retailers that offer products or services that fit the categories selected wherever the Wishers are located. Transactions that fall outside of the scope of the categories supported will be declined.
How do I Fundraise with Wishes?
Download the app, register, login, select Create a wish + on the upper right hand corner. Standard text message and data rates, fees, and charges may apply
- Upload a Photo or Video (or both)
- Add Tags
- Add a Story Name
- Add a Description, what are you fundraising for / why
- Select Category Funding
- Select Apply
- Add Amount of Target goal
- Select another Category (if needed)
- Select Apply
- Add Amount of Target goal
- Select the button share my location so local donors can find you
- Click Create a Story
Make sure to share your story with friends and family on social media using the Share your story button.
How do I add a photo to my fundraising page?
Go to add photo option, either select a photo from your library or file or take a photo. Make sure your photo visually tells the story of what you are fundraising for. Make sure it's not blurry so that your donors can connect with you and your cause.
How do I add a video to my fundraising page?
When you are ready to add a video to your fundraising page. Record your video. Go to YouTube.com, sign in, Create a Channel, select Upload Video in the upper right corner. Select file and then okay. Once completed, copy that link and paste it into your Wishes fundraising page.
How do I claim my funds with Wishes?
- On your story click on the Claim collected funds button.
- Select the Category you fundraised for that you want to spend.
- Select Shop now.
- See options for spending in the Wishes Shopping portal.
- Shop for what you need and we’ll do the rest for you.
How does Wishes validate the Wisher?
When the Wisher is ready to spend their funds, Wishes will ask the Wisher for the following details in order to verify you:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Phone Number
How do I use funds raised?
Once you have shared your Wishes Story and your story gets funded, you will get alerted from Wishes that funds are available and ready for you to use. Wishers can start spending funds. Simply click ‘Go to Wishes Shopping Portal” while logged into your account and all the available retailers that fit your categories selected on your story will appear along with apps that you can connect for services and support. Then all you need to do is start shopping for what you need and check out is as easy as 1,2,3.
Can a friend use the money I raise for them?
Yes. Wishes allows a friend or family member to securely raise donations for the Wisher in need, however all participants should be added to the account so Wishers will be able to use donated funds once they become available. Only one Wisher will be allowed to use the virtual credit cards funded, unless the Wisher designates others to be able to use funds, which requires additional validation by the Wishes team.
Are there any deadlines or time limits?
Once donations are sent by Donors there is a 24-48 hour period before the funds become available to the Wishers. Wishers should start using funds within 30 days from acceptance. To avoid donations being refunded to Donors, your Wisher story will remain live until you choose to turn off donations or remove the fundraising page altogether. Most Wishers leave their fundraising page active indefinitely to see all the messages from donors.
What is the Wishes Mastercard?
The Wishes Prepaid Mastercard card is issued by Pathward®, N.A., Member FDIC, pursuant to a license by Mastercard International Incorporated. Mastercard cards are accepted at over 29.4 million locations worldwide. No cash access. Valid only in the U.S.
How do I get access to my Wishes Mastercard?
Open the Wishes app
Go to your Profile
If this is your first time Claiming collected funds, you will need to click the Person verification button before proceeding.
Select one of your Stories
Click Claim collected funds
Please note: Only stories with over $100 in collected funds can be claimed
How does the Wishes Mastercard work?
Open the Wishes app
Go to your Profile
If this is your first time Claiming collected funds, you will need to click the Person verification button before
What if I don’t reach my goal?
No problem. Reaching your goal is not required with Wishes. With Wishes you keep each donation you receive, and you will be able to accept donations even after your goal is reached. Once your wishes have been granted, you can continue to accept donations until you close your fundraising page and let everyone know that your wishes have been granted, which will then close out your funding campaign.
How do I get donations?
Wishes provides WishKits for every Wisher on the platform which helps every Wisher raise money from friends, family, social media and the wishes community. The Wishes platform makes it simple to share your fundraiser through social or friend groups, can help you get noticed to bring in donations, track your progress, and post updates to engage your community. Download our WishKit and get started today.
What stores can I shop at in the shopping portal?
We are updating stores constantly. The best way to see the updated list is to go into the app and search within the category you fundraised for.
What if I don’t see the store I want in the shopping portal?
Email marketplace@wishes.shopping to tell us what store you are looking for.
Is my country supported?
Wishes is currently available in the United States and has plans to expand internationally.
Questions about donations
Are my donations tax deductible?
Yes. The Wishes platform is owned and operated by Founder Sass Society, a California 501c(3) nonprofit foundation. All donations flow through the nonprofit and are then allocated to Wishers stories, causes or charities that have been chosen by the Donor making the donation. Any and all donations receive a charitable donation acknowledgement along with a spend validation report, which is generated through the Founder Sass Society Foundation. For more information on what is deductible and how that works for your personal situation, please refer to our Donor terms which can be located at www.wishes.inc/Donorterms or talk to your certified tax professional.
How is my donation protected?
Donations of any amount are covered for one full year after you donate. Your donation is protected, wherever you donate from and before funds can be used by any Wisher we place a 24 hour hold on funds to ensure all Donors feel good about their donation and use of funds.
Transparency creates Trust and on Wishes we are the only giving platform that allows Donors to understand what happens to every dollar they donate, where it goes and how it is spent. Donate with peace of mind. Only on Wishes.
How can I max out my credit card incentives on donations?
Wishes will show Donors which categories on their own credit card they can maximize rewards and incentives with every dollar donated. Most credit cards have bonus categories that allow the card holder to earn higher rewards when they spend in certain categories like airfare, groceries and gasoline. Since you are able to help Wishers with the resources and support they need directly which include some of these bonus categories.
How do I earn an additional 1%?
To earn an 1% on any donation regardless of your credit card rewards and incentives, sign up to become a Wishes Ambassador for only $1.97 per year. Fees get donated to Wisher stories. All Ambassadors receive 1% cashback on every donation (1 month after donations are processed). To find out more about how to become a member see the full benefits here: https://www.wishes.inc/
What do I get by becoming a Wishes Ambassador?
For less than a meal at your local fast-food restaurant you can help support many great causes, earn VIP status with an additional 1% cashback on every donation through the Wishes platform, unlimited messaging capabilities so you can message all Wishers, fund multiple categories on a Wisher’s story, instantly fund and manage future and recurring donations using a Wishes wallet. To find out more about how to become a member see the full benefits here: https://www.wishes.inc/ambassador/
Can I make recurring donations?
Yes, Wishes Ambassadors can set up recurring donations from their wallets.
How do I get the charitable tax donation acknowledgement?
Your donation acknowledgement can be downloaded from your Donor dashboard at any time in the app.
How do I donate with Wishes?
- Log into the app
- Search for a story to fund
- Click on the donate now button
- Select how you want to fund the story (credit card or your wallet)
- Select the category or categories you want to fund: memorial, groceries, rideshare, hotel, etc.
- Write a note/message
- Select your credit card
- Select donate from ***your credit card
- On the story add it as a favorite so you can come back to it often
How do I know which of the categories offers rewards?
- All categories in the Wishes app with an * are connected to your rewards categories on your credit card
How do I learn which of my credit cards offers the best rewards for my donation?
- While donating, you’ll be able to search which of your credit cards offers the most rewards
Where can I find Wishes on social?
I work for a company that offers corporate donations. Can we donate through Wishes?
Yes, since we are all about helping individuals and organizations that need the most support, we want to make it easy for you to do that. Email us at connect@wishes.inc to learn more.
We want to be an affiliate partner in your Wishes Shopping portal. How do we sign up to do that?
Yes, fill out this form and we’ll reach out to you with the next steps: Wishes Affiliate Partnerships Sign-up
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