The person who opens a campaign for you is known as the Fundraiser. Since the money raised will go to you, you are known as the Beneficiary. When the fundraiser sets up the campaign, he/she identifies the person who will receive the money raised (namely, you). You will receive an invitation via email at the email address provided by the fundraiser inviting you to accept the proceeds of the fundraising campaign. To accept the invitation and become the beneficiary, the following personal information will be electronically collected from you: name, address, date of birth, social security number, bank account number (for direct deposit), and your cell phone number (to receive verification codes via text). If you have lost or have not received such an invitation, please contact your fundraiser.
Yes. The fundraiser has ultimate control over the campaign he or she created. Let’s say, for an example, that the fundraiser started a campaign raising money to pay medical bills for a critically ill friend and that friend was assigned as the beneficiary. If the friend were to pass away prior to the end of the campaign, it would be necessary to change the beneficiary to whoever will be taking care of the friend’s final expenses and debts.
Funds raised by EZsamaritan are direct deposited by our merchant account partner, Stripe, into your U.S. bank account. You will need a free Stripe merchant account and active U.S. phone that can accept SMS text messaging tp receive funds. In order for banking institutions to accept direct deposits, you will be asked to provide the social security number for the person named on the deposit account, the name of the banking institution, the bank routing number, and the checking or savings account number. With the first withdrawal request, you will also be asked for your date of birth and address. All of these identification requirements are to meet the strict banking security guidelines as well as protecting you as our customer.
Donations are received by credit card and it typically takes the credit card companies three to five days to post payment requests. EZsamaritan has no control over the credit card process, but we find the average processing time to be about three to five days. For long-term campaigns, a recurring withdrawal request can be scheduled with EZsamaritan on the campaign settings to transfer funds on either a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
Providing information such as date of birth, social security number, etc., with the first withdrawal of campaign funds is for your protection. EZsamaritan has a zero-tolerance policy for fraud and we want to make sure that your money is protected. Treatment of your personal information is governed by legal requirements that we abide by. Account security and personal information protection is a critical commitment to EZsamaritan and it receives our highest attention.
In addition to receiving cash donations for your campaign, EZsamaritan provides contributors the unique option of donating tangible goods to be auctioned to the highest bidder. Donors can elect to donate the entire auction value of their contribution to the campaign –OR—the donor can reserve a portion of the auction value and donate the balance to the campaign. See Auction Bidder’s FAQs for more details or click here to see the video.
A participant who is placing a bid on an auction item is entering into a legal obligation to complete the transaction if he or she wins the auction. Otherwise, it would be a great disservice to all other bidders if the highest bidder is not seriously committed or not liable for their bid. In order to facilitate communication between the fundraiser and the bidder, both must have accounts with EZsamaritan in order to bid just like all other online auction sites.