Frontpage » Using OneCause

• How do I add my charitable cause or school to OneCause?
  

  To add your charitable cause or school to OneCause, go to Causes or Schools, click "Submit a Cause" or "Submit a School," then complete the information required. OneCause Customer Care will review your request and contact you once your cause or school is activated.

   

• What is Maximize Your Contributions?
  

  Located on My Home Page, Maximize Your Contributions is a personalized feature that helps you earn the most possible contributions for your cause or school.

• What is a screen name?
  

  A screen name is name you choose to represent yourself online. It will be your online identity and how other users can see you at OneCause.

   

• How do I unsubscribe from OneCause emails?
  

  You can unsubscribe to OneCause email newsletters and special promotions by logging into My Home, clicking "Email Preferences" and unchecking the emails you no longer wish to receive. Please note: The system will not immediately register. You may still receive emails within fourteen days of unsubscribing.

   

• Why am I receiving an error message when I try to import the CSV file I exported from my address book?
  

  The CSV file must follow the following format:

  {name1},{email address1}

  {name2},{email address2}

  You can export CSV files from most contact management programs and from Excel by selecting Save As (or Export in some programs) and specifying '.csv' as the file's format.

• What will OneCause do with the email addresses I use to invite my friends and family through the Invite Friends feature?
  We use your friends' email addresses only to send this one-time email inviting them to visit our site. We do not share their email address with third parties.
• How do I invite my friends to support my cause or school if my email provider is not listed as an option in your Invite Friends feature?
  

  If your email provider does not appear in our Invite Friends feature, you may still invite friends and family to support your cause or school by manually entering their email addresses.

  You may also use our CSV tool, which allows you to import a comma separated file of email addresses for the friends and family you would like to invite. Many applications let you save lists in CSV format. You will then be able to select the ones to invite.

• How do I invite my friends or relatives to support my cause or school using my web mail address book?
  

  You may now invite your friends or relatives to support your cause using the address book stored on your Gmail, AOL Mail, or Yahoo! Mail address books.

  To automatically load the email addresses and select friends to invite, follow these simple steps:

  1.Login to your OneCause account.

  2.Click “Invite Friends” under Ways to Contribute.

  3.Select your email provider.

  4.Enter your email login information and click “Import.”

  5.Select your contacts to invite.

  6.Click “Send Invitation.”

• What is the new Invite Friends feature?
  The new Invite Friends feature allows you to send an invite to contacts in your GMAIL, AOL Mail, or Yahoo Mail address book.
• How do I import contacts from Microsoft Outlook?
  

  To import contacts from Microsoft Outlook follow the steps below:

  1. Select "File Import and Export..."

  2. Select "Export a file" and click "Next."

  3. Select "Comma Separated Values (Windows)" and click "Next."

  4. Select "Contacts" and click "Next."

  5. Click the "Browse..." button and select your Desktop, then click "OK" and "Next."

  6. Click "Map Custom Fields..."

  7. Click the "Clear Map" button, then drag the "Name" field from the left window to the right window.

  8. Scroll down and expand E-mail, and drag "E-mail Address" from the left window to the right window.

  9. Click "OK," then click "Finish."

  10. The file should now be on your desktop. Go to OneCause, select "CSV import" and browse to load your file.

• Where can I find testimonials for the causes and schools that use OneCause?
  Every month, we feature new cause or school success stories in our Testimonials section and on the homepage. You will also find a featured school testimonial under the Featured Schools tab.
• What is the proper CSV import file format?
  

  The CSV file must follow the following format:

  {name1},{email address1}
  {name2},{email address2}

  You can export CSV files from most contact management programs and from Excel by selecting Save As (or Export in some programs) and specifying .csv.

  To import contacts from Microsoft Outlook:

  1. Select File > Import and Export…

  2. Select Export a file and click Next >

  3. Select Comma Separated Values (Windows) and click Next

  4. Select Contacts and click Next

  5. Click the Browse… button and select your Desktop, then click OK and Next

  6. Click Map Custom Fields…

  7. Click the Clear Map button, then drag the Name field from the left window to the right window

  8. Scroll down and expand E-mail, and drag E-mail Address from the left window to the right window

  9. Click OK, then click Finish

  The file should now be on your desktop. Go to OneCause, select CSV import and browse to load your file.

• How can I share my testimonial on the homepage?
  

  The OneCause editors refresh the homepage testimonials regularly, and we’d love to include yours! Simply email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with the following information:

  * Your full name.

  * Your cause name and location.

  * A one-line testimonial to appear on the homepage.

  * Your full success story, including contributions earned and what they helped fund, to appear in another section of OneCause.com.

  * A photo of you, your cause’s employees, volunteers or a project your contributions helped fund.

   

  We look forward to receiving your testimonial! Thank you for always making a difference through OneCause.

   

• How can I be a Most Successful Supporter?
  

  The Most Successful Supporters always remember to make their everyday purchases through OneCause. They also support their causes through all of our simple ways to contribute. Maximize your contributions through OneCause, as our Most Successful Supporters do: 

  * Always start your everyday shopping at OneCause.com to earn up to a 20% contribution on every eligible purchase at hundreds of well-known merchants.

  * Always shop with the OneCause Visa® Platinum to earn a 1% contribution on your total spending, extra contributions when shopping in stores or through the catalogs of OneCause Visa Rewards Merchants, plus a $20 one-time bonus contribution with your first purchase!

  * Remember to shop at Neighborhood Merchants with your registered debit or credit cards.

  Start becoming a Most Successful Supporter for your charitable cause today!

   

• How can I get my cause listed in Featured Causes?
  

  Featured Causes are chosen by the OneCause editors, and include charitable causes that: 

  * Recently joined OneCause;

  * Need help reaching a short-term contributions goal;

  * Have a success story to share with the OneCause community!

  We would love to feature every cause on our site, but we simply don’t have the space. We do refresh the list regularly, however, and we would be happy to receive your request to be included in Featured Causes. Simply email us a This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with your cause name and the reason why it should be featured. We will respond as quickly as possible.

  Thank you for making a difference through OneCause!

   

• What is UBIT?
  

  Tax-exempt organizations (i.e. nonprofits) must pay Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) on activities directly connected to the everyday function of the trade or business. Designed to eliminate unfair competition between exempt organizations and taxable businesses, deductions that meet Internal Revenue Code standards such as “ordinary and necessary” business expenses or depreciation, are allowed when determining UBIT.

  UBIT & Volunteer Activities

  Revenue generated from an activity where substantially all the work is performed by volunteers does not generate UBIT.

  It is clearly stated in the OneCause Terms Of Service that contributions earned by participating in the OneCause program are royalties in exchange for the use of the school’s or causes’ marks and name. In addition, each school or cause may want to consider using volunteers to promote the OneCause program. The foregoing information should not be considered tax advice. You should consult your tax advisor.

• What is the new Invite Friends feature?
  The new Invite Friends feature allows you to send an email invitation to the contacts you select from your Gmail, AOL Mail or Yahoo! Mail email address books.
• Will you sell, rent or spam my imported email addresses?
  No. OneCause prides itself on its privacy policy. Your imported email addresses will only be used to send a one-time email inviting your friends and family to visit our site. We will never spam these email addresses, we will not share the email address with third parties, and the information you import is always 100% secure with OneCause, a TRUSTe® certified site.
• Can I use my email address book to invite friends to OneCause?
  Yes, our new Invite Friends feature allows you to invite friends and family to OneCause using your Gmail, AOL Mail or Yahoo! Mail email address book. To select the people you would like to invite: 1) Login to your OneCause account. 2) Click “Invite Friends” under Ways to Contribute. 3) Select your email provider. 4) Enter your email login information and click “Import.” 5) Select the contacts you want to invite from your email address book. 6) Click “Send Invitation.”
• Why is my email provider not an option in your Invite Friends feature?
  

  If your email provider does not appear in our Invite Friends feature, you may still invite friends and family to support your cause or school by manually entering their email addresses.

  You may also use our CSV tool, which allows you to import a comma separated file of email addresses for the friends and family you would like to invite. Many applications let you save lists in CSV format. You will then be able to select the ones to invite.

  Why am I receiving an error message when I try to import the CSV file I exported from my address book?

  The CSV file must follow the following format:

  {name1},{email address1}

  {name2},{email address2}

  You can export CSV files from most contact management programs and from Excel by selecting Save

  As (or Export in some programs) and specifying '.csv' as the file's format.

• Where can I find free Web banners or blog badges?
  

  OneCause provides free Web banners and blog badges to help you spread the word about OneCause on your own websites.

  For Supporters: To add a OneCause blog badge to your website or blog, go to your cause's or school's page on OneCause, copy the code beneath "Spread the Word," then embed that code into your site.

  For Champions: To add a Web banner or link to your cause's or school's website, login into OneCause, click "My Cause" or "My School," then click "Web Banners & Links." There you will find specific instructions on how to add a Web banner. When users click that OneCause banner on your site, your cause or school will automatically be preselected to receive contributions.

   

• What does OneCause do with the email addresses I import using the Invite Friends feature?
  OneCause uses your imported email addresses only to send a one-time email inviting your friends and family to visit our site. We will not share their email address with third parties, and the information you import is always 100% secure with OneCause, a TRUSTe® certified site.
• Which image format is accepted for a profile photo?
  

  Images used for your profile photo must be in .jpg or .gif format. To upload an image to your profile now, simply login to My Home and click "Change Image."

   

• Why am I still receiving emails I unsubscribed to?
  

  You can unsubscribe by logging into My Home, clicking "Email Preferences" and unchecking the emails you no longer wish to receive. But the system will not immediately register; you may still receive emails within seven days of unsubscribing.

   

• Is there a limit to the number of Favorite Causes I can have?
  

  There is no limit. You can select as many Favorite Causes as you would like.

   

• What if I accidentally supported the wrong charitable cause or school?
  

  If you accidentally supported the wrong charitable cause or school, only your contributions in the current quarter can be moved to another cause or school. All contributions in previous quarters have already been paid out and cannot be retrieved.

  To make sure all your purchases support your chosen cause or school:

  • Login to OneCause and go to "Causes" or "Schools."
    
  • Check to see that you've selected the right cause or school under "My Favorite Causes & Schools."
  • Shop for your everyday purchases!

  
  If you have any additional questions, or if you want to move transactions from the current quarter, please email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

   

• Is my cause or school charged for joining OneCause?
  

  There is no charge for your cause or school to join OneCause. We also provide free marketing materials and messaging tools to help you promote the program to your friends, family and entire community.

   

• Will I still earn airline miles and rewards associated with my cards?
  

  You will continue to earn airline miles, special bonuses and other rewards associated with the credit cards you have registered with OneCause.

   

• What are cookies and how do they work with OneCause.com?
  

  A cookie is a small piece of information that's sent to your Web browser – along with an HTML page – when you access a particular site. When a cookie arrives, your browser saves this information to your hard drive; when you return to that site, some of the stored information will be sent back to the Web server, along with your new request allowing the site to be personalized to you.
  
  OneCause uses cookies to keep track of how many Supporters are visiting the site, to identify your selected cause and to verify that only you are allowed to view your reports. To ensure that your purchase contributions go to your cause, and to view many of each sites’ pages, your computer must accept cookies. You can rest assured though that we are not using cookies to send information about you to other websites. The cookies placed on your computer will only be read by OneCause.

   

• How do I use the Share the page feature on my cause or school's page?
  

  The “Share this page” feature allows you to bookmark or promote your cause or school’s page on your favorite social networking sites, including Delicious, Digg, Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. When another user sees the shared page on your social networking profile, they will be able to click to OneCause.com and immediately begin supporting your cause or school. To bookmark or share your cause or school’s page on a social networking site, follow these simple steps:
  
  1. Go to www.onecause.com.
  2. Login with your email address and password.
  3. Click on your cause or school’s name.
  4. Click “Share this page” beneath your cause or school’s logo.
  5. Select a social networking service to share your page!

   

• How can I promote my cause or school on my social networking profile?
  

   

  To promote your cause or school on your favorite social networking sites, including Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and many more, follow these simple steps:

  1. Go to www.onecause.com.
  2. Login with your email address and password.
  3. Click on your cause or school’s name.
  4. Click “Share this page” beneath your cause or school’s logo.
  5. Select a social networking service to share your page!

   

• How do I change my email address, password or mailing address?
  

  To make any profile updates -- including email address changes, password changes or mailing address changes -- login to My Home and click "Account Info" under "Profile Settings." You will need to enter your email address and password to login.

   

• Can I merge multiple OneCause accounts?
  

  Yes. To merge multiple OneCause accounts, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at (888) 200-2088. Include all the email addresses you might have used to sign up and tell us which one you'd like to use for your primary account.

   

• How can I participate in OneCause?
  

  You simply join and start your everyday online shopping through OneCause, or use your registered credit or debit cards to shop in stores. OneCause features hundreds of well-known merchants. Every purchase you make at any of these merchants earns a contribution for your chosen cause or school.

  To get started, you must first join OneCause by going to OneCause and clicking “Join,” or calling (888) 200-2088 to speak directly with a customer care representative.
  
  When you join, simply choose the cause or school you would like to support, then begin shopping to earn contributions!

   

• Is my nonprofit organization eligible to participate in OneCause?
  

  OneCause is designed to work with nonprofit organizations and/or 501(c) (3) pre-K-12 schools. In order to enroll your cause or school in OneCause, we require documentation that shows it is a 501(c) (3), or other nonprofit organization.

   

• How do I use the Spread the Word badge?
  

  The "Spread the Word" blog badge enables you to promote your chosen cause or school on your own blog or website. Simply go to your cause or school's page on OneCause.com, then copy the code beneath "Spread the Word." Embed that code into the code for your blog or website, and a OneCause banner will appear. When people click it, your cause or school will already be chosen to receive contributions -- so spread the word today!

   

• Why can't I login to OneCause?
  

  If you are certain that you have an account with OneCause, please go to "Login" and click "Forgot password?" Then enter your registered email address to receive an email that will help you reset your password.