Corporate Engagement FAQ

A: Day-to-Day –  Anyone can use our online volunteer center for free and sign-up for the posted opportunities there daily; Activate Good will work to help answer questions regarding the opportunity when able, but may not provide additional coordination or management services. The hosting organization is responsible for all volunteer coordination for their own projects, unless otherwise stated.

Custom – Custom services are fee-based and most appropriate for groups with budgets that want an experience based on their specific needs and goals; Activate Good handles most or all of the required coordination and management on their behalf to keep their own staff free. Return to our Corporate Services page for more info.

A: While you may email corporate@activategood.org at any time to begin the conversation, we very much appreciate all official requests be placed by the requesting group or company through the appropriate Request for Proposal (RFP) form:

• Click here for all custom service projects and events (including “at will” portable projects).
• Click here for all custom service calendars/booking services

When your RFP is successfully submitted, you should receive a copy of your responses in your inbox within 30 minutes. Before you get started, it sometimes helps to add “admin@activategood.org” to your safe senders list, which may help keep your initial message out of your spam. (Please do not use that email address for inquiries, as it is solely used for form submission verification on activategood.org; questions should always be directed to info@activategood.org or corporate@activategood.org.)

Then, please watch for direct correspondence from our team. Activate Good receives a copy of your responses right in our inbox too! Once we receive that, we’ll reach out with an acknowledgment, request to schedule a call (if needed), establish a timeline for your receipt of the proposal (usually about one week, unless otherwise discussed), and get started on a proposal for your consideration.

Don’t see your copy in your inbox? Please check your spam.

Still nothing? Try pausing any ad-blockers active (they can prevent more than ads!), and/or try a new browser.

Is something still not right? We apologize! Please email corporate@activategood.org for assistance.

A: A Custom Service Project/Event is a turn-key volunteer project or event appropriate for team-building or networking initiatives, including but not limited to conference components, employee family days, client appreciation events, and more. Activate Good acts as your commissioned event planner specifically for the service project/event and handles all necessary tasks on your behalf, including purchasing and processing of project supplies, liaise with the beneficiary, day-of project management, and more. Click here for examples of past Custom Volunteer Projects. Custom projects come with a management fee, supply budget, and any other agreed fees to cover requested services.

1. Activate Good may schedule a call to discuss your RFP or answer questions, as needed.
2. Activate Good will prepare a proposal for your consideration (an average week turnaround, unless otherwise discussed).
3. Review the proposal, and let Activate Good know of any questions or requested revisions for our consideration.
4. Like the proposal? Great! We can prepare an agreement/contract for your countersign, and provide an invoice.

A: An At Will Portable Project is still considered a Custom Volunteer Project. But because we want volunteering to be accessible, we’re introducing this option for small teams that may have smaller budgets and need a service option at their offices. Instead of providing full, turn-key management of your service day, we only charge a nominal support fee to cover pre-project support. Supply budgets still apply. What does that look like? We purchase, store, and prep all the project supplies, lock in a beneficiary, and deliver or ship the ready supplies to your team – complete with instructions and all the information you need to get the finished project to the beneficiary. The company is responsible for the cost and scheduling of shipping to the beneficiary by an agreed on date. Post-project reporting is not available. This comes with a support fee plus supply budget.

A: Custom booking is most appropriate for groups with a budget that desire a more regular volunteer initiative. Annual days or frequency can be set in advance, or ad hoc requests may be agreed to annually. Activate Good coordinates your projects for you; all you need to do is make sure your volunteers show up. Activate Good may or may not provide management assistance the day of your project, depending on your request and budget. A management fee is required when Activate Good staff is requested on-site to launch a project; a support fee is applied for booking-only contracts. A supply budget to support your host is suggested, but not required.

A: When requesting a custom project, event, or service calendar – there is always a Management Fee OR Support Fee. These fees support our team during the planning and implementation and/or support of your project, but also provides crucial funding support that enables Activate Good to continue other free, daily programs as youth and family volunteering. Custom Volunteer Projects also require a Supply Budget. Service Calendars have a suggested supply budget. In some cases with a short notice of the request, the Management Fee or Support Fee may incur an additional rush fee.

A: There are a lot of examples! The lists below are only generalized past examples, and we can brainstorm ways to customize a project to your unique needs. You can also check our testimonials page for videos and more inspiration!

On-site portable project examples perfect for a meeting room, convention center, or hotel:

• Paint a multi-canvas mural and donate it to a local cause
• Create inspiration packs for hospital patients
• Assemble and donate care kits or emergency kits for the homeless, families transitioning out of homelessness, mothers and babies in need, etc.
• Feed local youth or families with meal kits
• Make no-sew pet blankets, toys, and adoption kits for shelter pets
• Create educational activity or supply kits for local public schools and other education causes
• Assemble and donate basic furniture, like small dining sets, for those in crisis
• Prepare native plant or vegetable seed starter kits for local preserves or community gardens

Off-site impact project examples – perfect for your beneficiary’s location:

• deep cleaning, organizing, and installing new storage solutions
• assembling and staging new furniture and decor
• caring for animals and their spaces, including cleaning and adding storage solutions
• connect with youth in an educational or service learning activity, and make something beautiful
• volunteer at a community garden or farm for a new structure or other special need
• complete landscaping projects for a nonprofit facility or public school, including but not limited to mulching, trimming, planting and pruning, and more
• remove invasive plant life, support animal habitats, or complete reforestation work for a preserve
• paint a facility or school, or refurbish old furniture
• install, establish, or revive garden beds for youth hunger and education
• outfit a classroom or learning center for a fresh and engaging learning space
• multi-project day impacting more than one nonprofit and their special needs

A: Management Fees cover the staff time that is required to successfully fulfill any custom project request – including scoping needs of potential beneficiaries; coordination with the confirmed beneficiary; any required purchasing, inventory and supply prep pre-project; day-of project management of the volunteer activities; post-project follow-up, etc. Management fees may also be applied for custom service calendars/scheduling when our staff is requested on-site to launch a service activity for your team, completing some photography, sign-in and impact collection, etc.

A: A Management Fee is applied when Activate Good staff are needed to provide any level of day-of management of people at a project. A Support Fee is applied when Activate Good’s staff is not needed to provide management of people at a project; only pre-project support services are provided.

A: After submitting any request, a period of time is needed to allow opportunity to discuss your needs/vision, confirm a beneficiary’s needs/abilities, finalize paperwork – including payment prior to supply purchases – and more to prepare for an awesome service event. The rush fee helps cover additional costs incurred by Activate Good during a short-notice project to ensure a quick turnaround, including but not limited to staff overtime, hiring additional short-term help, expedited shipping of supplies, etc.

A: Supply budgets are used to purchase items supporting the volunteer activities planned for the day and any directly related costs (e.g., supply storage). The supply budget could also include special requests like group transportation options, professional photography, employee lunches, and more.

A: Activate Good always works to secure the best prices. In the event of remaining supply budget after your requested project, we will work with you to either reallocate those funds to support other internal programming as a sponsor, or issue a refund.

A: Regardless of the task, volunteering does have a cost for the hosting nonprofit / beneficiary, including but not limited to staff time. When larger groups of 25 to 30 people, or more, seek to volunteer with most causes, it can become hard for the host to engage such a large number of volunteers with only daily tasks. Providing a supply budget can support a truly unique experience for your group by: supporting the purchase of supplies or tools that the beneficiary may not already have to engage a larger number of volunteers efficiently; and possibly even achieve a task on their wishlist.

A: All custom services are very different from other ways you may support our organization (sponsorship, etc.). Because of this, there is a more formal business structure with PIA (payment in advance) guidelines and best practices. At the time you choose to move forward with any custom service proposal:

• Activate Good will provide a custom service agreement that includes payment terms.
• A counter-sign of that agreement is required, and demonstrates that you have read and acknowledge all terms.
• An invoice outlining the fees for service will also be provided with a summary of the payment terms/due date; this includes management or support fees, supply budgets, and any other related funds agreed per contract.
• PIA: Our general policy is to receive full payment of all fees for service prior to a contract’s start date, which determines the due date on the invoice and agreement.

Receipt of payment by the due date is especially important for Custom Volunteer Projects. For these contracts, we consider the contract to begin with the start of any required site visits and supply purchasing or other tasks that would incur out-of-pocket expenses for our nonprofit. We usually request payment by no less than 45 days prior to any Custom Volunteer Project. The actual due date, however, may be more or less, and is dependent on the unique scope and scale of each contract.

Please consider your own timelines for payment processing in advance; we are more than happy to discuss options and work together during the RFP process to consider special arrangements and timelines. We thank you in advance for your understanding and support as we strive to maintain responsible accounting practices and business standards!

A: Yes. A link to that online payment form, along with contact info for support, is included in each invoice provided by Activate Good.

Please note that there is a required 3% processing fee for such payments. This processing fee covers the amount charged to Activate Good per payment processed. As a trusted nonprofit partner, we thank you for your support in covering this fee, which allows us to continue offering this convenience.

A: For custom services, only supply fees paid to Activate Good are tax deductible; other fees paid to Activate Good for management or support services or processing fees are not tax deductible. If any suggested supply fees for volunteer scheduling are reimbursed to or managed by your host cause for any service event (i.e., not managed directly by Activate Good), then tax claims would be confirmed with that organization. All other funding classified as a sponsorship, contribution, or donation may be tax deductible – less any amount of the funding equal to benefits received for such funding (example: A sponsor provides a $5,000 event sponsorship, and receives 5 event tickets worth $100 each; the tax deductible amount of that sponsorship would be $4,500).

A: Activate Good works with some great third-party service providers regularly, and will always work to get you the best pricing as part of your supply budget. Our team has never encountered such an issue, and we hope our third-party connections continue an amazing track record! However, we acknowledge that things happen: If a third-party service falls through with notice, our team will do our best to find a suitable replacement in time for your event. If the third-party provider falls through the day services are scheduled (failure to show up/deliver), Activate Good will work to facilitate a refund from that provider. (For photography specifically, Activate Good always aims to capture some amount of staff photos, and will always share those with you regardless of a scheduled professional.) Beyond coordination and payment on your behalf, Activate Good is otherwise not responsible for a third-party provider’s failure to provide service.