Overview
This article introduces the option for any church to enable a CarePortal Fund within the CarePortal platform. The CarePortal Fund feature enables streamlined fundraising that remains separate from the church's internal accounts, budgets, or transaction processing costs and equips Church Leaders and Response Teams to serve more families and kids through CarePortal requests.
Let's learn more about how to enable this feature and what it can do for your church!
Intended Audience
Included in This Article
- What is a CarePortal Fund & How Does it Help Churches?
- What are the Practical Benefits of Enabling a CarePortal Fund?
- CarePortal Fund FAQs
What is a CarePortal Fund?
Enabling a CarePortal Fund allows a church to invite anyone to make tax-deductible donations that Church Leaders can use to help meet CarePortal requests, without necessarily requiring the church to have or use its own budgeted resources or online giving processes. Donations can be made by congregation members, community members, local businesses, and even strangers and are available for the church to use in meeting the vetted needs of families through open CarePortal requests.
Each time a leader chooses to Fund a specific item on a CarePortal request using their church's CarePortal Fund, a fee will be charged to help cover transaction and processing costs. However, no fees are charged of donors when they make their initial gift into a CarePortal Fund.
CarePortal covers tax liabilities for donors and gifts given to each church's CarePortal Fund, including end-of-year giving letters.
Many donors already know and trust the CarePortal platform, a ministry initiative of The Global Orphan Project, which has maintained the Charity Navigator’s 4-Star rating and Guidestar’s Platinum Seal of Transparency for several consecutive years. And since any money given to a church's CarePortal Fund must be used for meeting CarePortal requests, donors can make their donation without questioning where their resources will go.
What are the Practical Benefits of Enabling a CarePortal Fund?
Enabling a CarePortal Fund allows your church to receive and steward donations through the platform—making it easier to serve families in need, empower your local community, and build long-term support for your ministry.
1. Community Giving Is Easy and Accessible
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Anyone with access to your Church or Champion Public Page can donate directly.
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The Give To Our CarePortal Fund button is visible publicly and to Church/Champion Leaders from within their dashboard.
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This opens the door for support from individuals, businesses, or others in your local community, not just your congregation.
📝 Note: Donors are currently required to create a CarePortal account (name, email, ZIP code) in order to give. This allows us to provide a secure giving experience and issue tax receipts.
2. Year-End Tax Letters Are Handled for You
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CarePortal automatically sends year-end tax receipts on your behalf.
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These receipts come from The Global Orphan Project, the nonprofit organization behind CarePortal.
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You don’t have to worry about managing donor documentation—freeing your team to focus on ministry, not paperwork.
3. Connecting Churches Can Use Their Fund Directly
If your church becomes a Connecting Church, you’ll receive access to a CarePortal Card, which allows you to:
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Claim funds from your CarePortal Fund
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Make real-time purchases for families in need
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Respond to local requests quickly and personally
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Be good stewards of donor contributions
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Build meaningful relationships through face-to-face ministry
💳 Learn how it works step-by-step: How Does a CarePortal Fund Work with a CarePortal Card?
4. Greater Visibility and Trust
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All giving and spending activities are visible through your Transactions tab in the CarePortal dashboard.
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Donors can be confident their contributions are going toward specific, tangible needs.
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This visibility creates momentum, builds trust, and encourages repeat giving.
Ready to Use Your Fund to Meet Needs?
To use your CarePortal Fund directly, your church must be an approved Connecting Church with an active CarePortal Card.
💡 Interested in becoming a Connecting Church?
Reach out to your Network Leader or Area Director to learn more and get started.
CarePortal Fund FAQs
1. What is a "Dormant" CarePortal Fund?
A dormant CarePortal Fund refers to a church or organization’s CarePortal Fund that has had no financial activity for 180 consecutive days. This means no funds have been added, transferred, or used toward a request during that time.
Once a Fund becomes dormant:
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It may be subject to review by the CarePortal Finance Team.
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Unused funds will be reallocated to ensure they are used to meet active needs in a timely manner, in alignment with the CarePortal Terms of Service.
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The church or organization will receive multiple notices before any action is taken.
2. What Happens to Money in a Dormant CarePortal Fund?
If there is no activity in a CarePortal Fund for 180 calendar days, CarePortal will automatically transfer and utilize the funds to serve the critical needs of vulnerable children and families. CarePortal also reserves the right to deactivate any dormant Fund.
You will be alerted:
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One month before the 180-day mark
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One week before the 180-day mark
💡 To keep a Fund active, even a small donation (as little as $1) or using funds toward an open request will reset the 180-day timer.
3. How Does a CarePortal Fund Work with a CarePortal Card?
A CarePortal Fund and CarePortal Card are designed to work hand-in-hand—empowering churches to not only receive donated funds but to actively steward and use them in practical, timely ways.
When someone donates into your church’s CarePortal Fund, the funds are held within the CarePortal platform until they are designated to meet a specific need. If your church is a Connecting Church, you’ll have access to a CarePortal Card, which allows you to transfer funds from your Fund onto your Card—putting resources directly in your hands to purchase items for families in need.
This process equips your church to:
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Use donated resources immediately and directly at the point of care
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Maintain visibility and accountability for how funds are used
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Avoid processing delays or the need for reimbursement
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Strengthen personal connection and ministry opportunities with local families
In short, this setup allows your church to be fully equipped to meet needs quickly and relationally, while also being a faithful steward of community-donated resources. It bridges generosity with action—and puts the Church right in the center of it.
4. How do I move money from my CarePortal Fund onto my CarePortal Card?
This process is only available to approved Connecting Churches or churches using the Church-Vetted Requests feature, and who have an active CarePortal Card.
To move money from your Fund onto your Card:
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Respond to an open request
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When submitting your response, make sure your CarePortal Fund is selected as the contribution source.
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Take the Lead on the request
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After submitting your response, you’ll have 30 minutes to Take the Lead before other Connecting Churches are notified.
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If you Take the Lead, any funds contributed to the request—whether by you or others—will be transferred directly onto your CarePortal Card.
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Once the transfer is complete:
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You’ll receive a confirmation email letting you know that money has been added to your card.
💡 Please note that:
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Fund-to-Fund transfers are not supported.
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All fund usage must be tied to a specific open request.
👉 Want to learn more? Check out these other Help Center articles!
5. How can I check how much money is in my CarePortal Fund?
It’s important to know that your CarePortal Fund balance is separate from the balance on your CarePortal Card. These are two different ledgers, and each serves a unique purpose in how your church can steward and use donated funds.
To view both balances:
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Log into your Church Leader CarePortal account.
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Navigate to Request Management in your sidebar menu.
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Click on the Transactions tab.
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At the top of the page, you’ll see two tabs:
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Fund – shows all activity in your church’s CarePortal Fund
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Card – shows transactions for your CarePortal Card
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Click the View Totals button in the top right corner to see the current balance for whichever tab you're viewing.
This view gives you a clear picture of how much is available to use in your Fund or on your Card, depending on how your church plans to respond to needs.
6. Who Can Give to a CarePortal Fund?
Anyone can give to a church’s CarePortal Fund—However they will have to have a CarePortal account for the time being in order to receive a confirmation email and an end-of-year tax receipt.
Giving through a Church’s Public Page:
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When the Fund is enabled, users can click the Give To Our CarePortal Fund button.
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If someone doesn't have an account, they’ll be prompted to:
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Enter their name, email, and ZIP code
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Create a simple user profile
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Receive a tax-deductible receipt at year-end
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This also allows them to:
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Give to other churches' CarePortal Funds
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Respond to future requests
Giving from the Church Leader Dashboard:
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Church Leaders can donate through the Fund My Organization button found under:
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The Transactions tab, or
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The Settings page of their dashboard
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7. How Does the Donation Process Work?
For signed-in users, giving is simple:
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Enter the amount you'd like to donate
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Add or select a contribution source
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Click Submit Donation
A confirmation email will be sent immediately, and an end-of-year tax-deductible receipt will be sent automatically at the proper time.
8. Can I Give by Check?
Yes! Giving by check is a great option for larger donations and avoids processing fees.
To donate by check:
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Make the check payable to CarePortal
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Designate the church exactly as it appears in CarePortal (include the Church ID from the URL if possible)
- Example: https://system.careportal.org/church/99119/dashboard
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Write in the memo line:
Donation to [Church’s Name] CarePortal Fund
Mail checks to:
CarePortal
3161 Wyandotte St
Kansas City, MO 64111
Final Thoughts
Thank you for your generosity and for being part of the CarePortal network. Whether you're giving to a specific request or into a church’s Fund, your support is helping local churches serve vulnerable children and families in meaningful, lasting ways.
If you have any questions or need help giving, we’re here for you! 📩 Email us anytime at Support@CarePortal.org
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