For the security of the donations, we strongly urge you not to mail in cash donations. For any cash donation you receive, please convert the cash to a cashier's check or a money order and mail it with a completed donation form. Please be sure to include the donor's personal information on the donation form so that an accurate receipt can be generated for tax purposes. Please do not deposit the cash into your own account and write a check for that amount; the IRS regards this as income and in addition, if a check is written from your account, your donor won’t receive a tax receipt. It isn't possible to have a check written from your personal account credited to another donor. However, if you have several cash donations from different donors and want to convert them to one check, you can accompany one cashier's check with multiple donation forms to indicate the amount that each donor contributed. Each donor will receive a tax receipt for the amount specified on their donation form.
Where do I mail donation checks?
The Samaritans of New York Box 1259 Madison Square Station New York, NY 10159
***Please make sure to include a note with your fundraising campaign name and contact info
To whom should I make out my check?
Please make all checks payable to: The Samaritans of New York.
What if a check is made out to me and not to Samaritans?
If a donor makes the check out to you, simply endorse the check with your signature and "Payable to The Samaritans of New York" and submit it with the donation form. Please note that the account holder on the check will receive the tax receipt from Samaritans.
How will you know that a donation is from my event?
The only way we know that a mail-in contribution was made on your behalf is if the donor has placed your name on the memo line of their check, or attached the donation form to their check. Please ask them to clearly mark on the donation form that the donations is in support of your fundraising page.
Can I be reimbursed for my fundraising expenses?
Samaritans is not able to reimburse your fundraising expenses. To keep your expenses down, consider asking local businesses to sponsor your event or provide in-kind donations.
Can I hold a raffle or an auction?
Regulations for raffles and auctions differ from state to state. Before organizing one, please check with your State Attorney General’s Office for your state’s regulations.
Do my materials need to be reviewed by you before printing?
Yes. All press releases, pitch letters, printed, or electronic advertisements must be submitted to the Samaritans staff for review and approval before they are made public. Please submit them to inquiries@samaritansnyc.org
What is a matching gift?
Matching gifts are a benefit that many companies provide, through which they match all or part of their employees' charitable donations. This means your company will make a donation to the cause as a direct result of your donation. Contact your human resources department to see if your company has a program and what it involves.
What information should I include with the matching gift form provided by my work, in order to ensure the fundraiser receives credit?
To ensure that the event organizer you are sponsoring will be credited when the gift is matched, please write his or her name and event name in the upper right hand corner of the matching gift form. If your company's matching gift form is completed online and a "notes" field is provided, please include the event organizer’s name and the name of the event.
Please attach a copy of your donation receipt (if available) to the matching gift form.
Once you have made a copy of the matching gift form to retain for your own records, you should mail the original form to:
The Samaritans of New York Box 1259 Madison Square Station New York, NY 10159