People for Relief

Donation Policy

Effective October 6, 2026

This policy explains how People for Relief accepts donations, how we process and receipt them and how we put them to work. We want every supporter to know exactly what happens after they give.

How you can give

People for Relief accepts gifts straight from your bank account (ACH) and, where offered, by Zelle. You can give a one-time gift or a monthly gift, and you choose the amount. You can give to a specific campaign, such as relief for a particular storm, flood or fire, or to general relief support, which lets us help wherever the need is greatest.

  • Pick your amount on our site. Choose the amount, the campaign and whether the gift is one-time or monthly.
  • Add your bank account and tap Give. Enter the name on your account, your routing number and your account number. Tapping Give authorizes the gift, and we email you a copy with your gift code.
  • Your gift comes out of your account. It appears on your statement under People for Relief's name. Your gift code travels with it so we always know it's yours.
  • Get your receipt. We email a receipt when your transfer arrives.

A monthly gift comes out of your account on about the same day each month until you stop it from your account page. People for Relief debits only what you authorized and never asks for your bank login details.

People for Relief never emails bank details or asks you to send a gift to an account number. If you receive a message like that, do not send it, and tell us through the site.

What happens to your gift

People for Relief helps people through disaster and hardship and stands behind the organizations that help them, all year round, not only when a disaster hits. We do not go to disaster sites ourselves. Your gift supports approved partners already helping people, such as shelters, food pantries, cleanup and rebuild crews and community groups. Those partners provide food, water, shelter, supplies, cleanup and recovery help, depending on what the community needs.

A share of donations covers the cost of running People for Relief, including bank fees, partner review and reporting. Our annual financial information shows how donations were divided between partner support and operating costs, and it is available from state charity regulators where required.

Designated gifts

When you give to a specific campaign, we honor that choice. Your gift supports approved partners helping people through that disaster or hardship.

Sometimes a campaign receives more than its partners can use responsibly, or the need changes and a campaign closes. In those cases, remaining gifts go to general relief support, where help is needed most. We say this on every campaign page so you know before you give.

Receipts and tax deductibility

People for Relief is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. Gifts are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. No goods or services are provided in exchange for your gift unless your receipt says otherwise.

We email a receipt when each transfer arrives, including every monthly transfer. Each receipt shows the date, the amount, the campaign and our tax ID. You can also see your full gift history on your account page.

Please keep your receipts for your tax records. We cannot give tax advice, so check with a tax professional about how the rules apply to you.

Gifts we may decline

We may decline or return a gift when:

  • We have reason to believe the transfer is fraudulent or was sent from an account the sender is not authorized to use.
  • The gift comes with conditions we cannot meet, or that would conflict with our mission or our duties as a charity.
  • Accepting the gift would break the law or the rules that govern charities.

Donor recognition and anonymity

We do not publish the names of individual supporters without permission. If a campaign offers a way to be named or to give in honor or memory of someone, you choose whether your name appears. You can ask to stay anonymous at any time by writing to us through the site.

Your privacy

We do not sell, rent or trade supporter information, and we do not share our supporter list with other organizations. Our Privacy Policy explains what we collect and how we protect it.

Giving drives and matching gifts

If you want to run a giving drive for People for Relief, such as an event or a workplace drive, please write to us through the site before you begin. Businesses that want to match employee gifts, run a giving drive or sponsor a campaign can join our Partner Program. Only People for Relief can accept gifts on its behalf. Each gift should start on our site with its reference code, so it is matched and receipted correctly.

Monthly gifts

Our Recurring Gifts Policy explains how monthly gifts work and how to stop them. Every gift is final once it comes out of your account.

Questions

If you have a question about a gift, use the contact form on our site. Including your reference code and the date and amount of the transfer helps us find it quickly.