Everything you need before you start.

Three:

• Community Support Fund (CSF) — ongoing, multi-donor fundraising for any charitable cause that isn’t a scholarship. Sponsored by Rekonect.
• Social Impact Campaign (SIC) — time-bound, multi-donor fundraising with a goal, a deadline, and donation matching. Also sponsored by Rekonect.
• Education Opportunity Fund (EOF) — single-donor donor-advised scholarship fund. You fund it; you recommend students; Yeshiva Giving Fund awards. Sponsored by Yeshiva Giving Fund.

Three quick questions get you there:

1. Is your cause about scholarships for individual students? If yes, you want an EOF. EOFs are the only program designed for scholarship awards, and they run on a notably lighter fee structure than CSFs/SICs.
2. If not — do you have a specific deadline? If yes (a building campaign, an emergency response, a matching-gift moment), a SIC’s countdown and goal mechanics will work harder for you than an ongoing CSF.
3. If not — you want a CSF. CSFs are the right choice for any ongoing charitable purpose without a natural endpoint.

One more sorting factor: how many donors do you expect? An EOF is a single-donor vehicle (you fund it; you recommend). A CSF or SIC is multi-donor by design. If you want family members or community members to each contribute their own tax-deductible gift and receive their own receipt, you want CSF or SIC.

Yes. Plenty of fund managers run a CSF for their ongoing program work and a separate SIC for time-bound pushes (like an end-of-year campaign or a capital drive). And the same dashboard can hold multiple programs of any type.

Each program has its own donation page, its own donor list, its own fund balance, its own fee tier. Each is a separate fiscal-sponsorship relationship under its respective sponsor.

You can’t convert an existing program into a different type — fiscal sponsorships, payment configurations, and IRS treatment all differ between them. But you can close one program and open another, or run them in parallel.

If you’re not sure which type to start with, message us before applying. Picking right the first time is much less work than starting over.

Most charitable causes fit one of the three. If yours doesn’t seem to, the underlying question is usually about structure rather than purpose:

• If you want to form your own 501(c)(3), BrightLeaf doesn’t offer formation services, but our comparison of the two paths can help you decide.
• If your cause is political (campaign contributions, candidate advocacy), BrightLeaf isn’t the right platform — political work isn’t charitable under IRS rules.
• If your cause is for-profit (a business, an investment fund, a private benefit arrangement), BrightLeaf also isn’t the right platform.

For anything else, message us. We’d rather hear the specifics than guess.

BrightLeaf Giving is the platform; the fiscal sponsors are the 501(c)(3) public charities that actually hold the donations and issue the tax receipts:

• Rekonect sponsors CSFs and SICs. It’s a 501(c)(3) registered in New Jersey, specializing in fiscal sponsorship for community causes.
• Yeshiva Giving Fund (YGF) sponsors EOFs. It’s a separate 501(c)(3) that specializes in administering donor-advised scholarship funds.

This matters because the sponsor is the legal entity receiving the donation. Donors get their receipt from Rekonect or YGF (not from BrightLeaf), and the sponsor is what makes the donation tax-deductible in the first place. Each sponsor has its own scope and compliance obligations, which is why programs can’t be moved between them.

Yes. Donors get a tax-deductible receipt from the relevant 501(c)(3) — Rekonect for CSFs/SICs, Yeshiva Giving Fund for EOFs — for the full amount they paid. Receipts are issued immediately and emailed to the donor.

It depends on the program:

• CSFs and SICs accept credit/debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, ACH, DAFPay, and Zelle through the donation page. Wire donors should use ACH instead; mailed checks and eCheck aren’t accepted.
• EOFs accept ACH (free) and DAFPay (3%). Cards, wallets, Zelle, PayPal, and wires aren’t offered because EOFs are single-donor vehicles optimized for endowment-style giving.

All three programs add an 8% surcharge to donations that arrive completely outside the platform (for example, a Zelle or bank transfer sent to the wrong account). Always share your donation page link first.

Most applications are reviewed within one business day. Every new program — CSF, SIC, or EOF — goes through a brief review by the relevant fiscal sponsor before donations are activated. The onboarding call is a short Google Meet where we walk through your application together, answer any questions, and confirm setup.

Programs charge per-donation rather than as subscriptions. There’s no setup fee, no monthly fee, no minimum balance.

Headline rates:

• CSFs and SICs — 6.5% platform fee on gifts under $1,000, stepping down to 3.5% on gifts of $25,000 or more, plus Rekonect’s 2% sponsor fee on each donation, plus payment processing (1% ACH / 3% DAFPay / 3.5% card, wallet, and PayPal; Zelle through your donation page is free). Crowded charges a separate 2% fee when you pay out. Donors can choose to cover fees at checkout.
• EOFs — 4.5% platform fee on gifts under $100,000, stepping down to 2.75% on gifts of $500,000 or more, plus YGF’s 1% sponsor fee on each donation, plus payment processing (free ACH / 3% DAFPay). Crowded charges a separate 1% fee when you pay out. Each approved EOF you refer takes another 0.5% off your platform fee, for up to 7 referrals; your platform fee never goes below 1%.

Full breakdown, with worked examples: our fees page.

Pick the program that fits your cause and apply from that program’s service page:

• Apply for a Community Support Fund
• Apply for a Social Impact Campaign
• Apply for an Education Opportunity Fund

The application form is similar across programs — about 10–15 minutes to complete — and includes a short onboarding call so we can walk through approval together.

Message us through the contact form and describe your cause in a sentence or two. We’ll respond with a quick recommendation and any clarifying questions. Most “which program?” decisions are resolved in a single back-and-forth.

You can also book a no-commitment exploratory call if you’d rather talk it through. We’d rather have an extra 15-minute conversation upfront than have you start with the wrong program type.

BrightLeaf doesn’t offer nonprofit formation. Most organizers keep running as a fund for as long as it fits, because the sponsor handles receipts, compliance, and filings. If you’re weighing your own 501(c)(3), our comparison of the two paths and the free readiness check can help.

If you’re already running a program, the Message Us button in your dashboard is the fastest path — it includes your context automatically so we can answer without back-and-forth.

If you’re not logged in or you’re a prospective fund manager, the contact form is the right place. We answer 9–5 US Eastern on business days and reply within one business day. No upcharge for support, no ticketing system, no tier-1/tier-2/escalate routine — you’ll hear back from someone on our team who knows the platform.