Turn Generosity Into Local Change You Can Track

Yes. HelpLink is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 81-5466752), so it's an eligible grantee at any DAF sponsor — the national sponsors such as Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable and Vanguard Charitable, as well as community foundations and single-issue sponsors. Most let you recommend a grant online in a few minutes. Start your gift on HelpLink first so we can send you the remittance details and the reference code your sponsor should include; that code is what lets us match the grant to your giving preferences when the check arrives.

You set preferences: the community your gift should serve first, the kinds of needs it should cover, and an optional cap per recipient so a single gift can help more households. Because a DAF grant, QCD, or stock transfer arrives from a third party days or weeks after you set it up, we apply the funds to your preferences first, and if nothing matching is open by then, to the closest match — geographic and organizational proximity first. Needs are always fulfilled directly: HelpLink buys the item or pays the bill, and never distributes cash.

Choose "Donate Stock or Securities" when you give, then enter each ticker and the number of shares — you can list several securities in one gift. We'll email brokerage transfer instructions and a reference code for your broker. The gift is recorded once the shares are received and sold, and your acknowledgment describes the property received rather than assigning a dollar value to it, because under IRS rules determining the fair market value of a non-cash contribution is the donor's responsibility.

Yes. If you're 70½ or older, your custodian can send a qualified charitable distribution directly from your IRA to HelpLink, and a QCD can satisfy all or part of your required minimum distribution for the year. The IRS indexes the annual QCD limit for inflation, so check the current figure with your custodian or tax advisor. Note that a QCD works differently from a normal gift: it isn't treated as a tax-deductible charitable contribution — instead the amount is excluded from your taxable income — and HelpLink's acknowledgment says so explicitly.

It depends on the vehicle, and HelpLink's acknowledgment is written to match. A gift you make directly may be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law. A grant from a donor-advised fund carries no additional deduction for you, because the charitable deduction was already taken when you funded the DAF. A QCD is excluded from taxable income rather than deducted. HelpLink is a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 81-5466752, and no goods or services are provided in exchange for a contribution. HelpLink can't give tax advice — please confirm your own situation with your advisor.

An acknowledgment written for the vehicle you used, a running record of your giving in your HelpLink account, and — when the person you helped chooses to send one — a photo and a thank-you note delivered straight to your inbox once their need is met. A Statement of Giving for the year is available on demand in your account, for your own filing or your foundation's records.