1. Introduction
Welcome to EverGive. These Terms and Conditions (“T&Cs”) set out how donations made through EverGive are handled. Please read carefully before making a donation.
When you donate through EverGive, your donation is legally made to The Forever Trust (TFT), a UK-registered donor-advised fund (“DAF”). EverGive itself does not receive, hold, or invest donations.
Donors are invited to make recommendations as to which charities should benefit. While TFT’s trustees retain final legal responsibility, they aim to honour donor wishes wherever possible, subject to their duties under charity law.
2. Donations
- All donations made through EverGive are final and non-refundable once processed.
- Donations are pooled by TFT and may be designated internally to reflect donor recommendations. These designations are not binding but are used by TFT to help guide grant-making.
- When you donate, you may recommend that your contribution support a specific charity or cause. TFT’s trustees are required by law to retain ultimate discretion, but they will in practice generally follow your recommendation.
- Recommendations may only not be followed in limited circumstances - for example if a charity:
- does not meet TFT’s due diligence requirements,
- is no longer operating or eligible to receive funds, or
- becomes subject to regulatory or legal restrictions.
In such cases, TFT’s trustees will use their discretion to redirect your donation to a similar eligible charity or cause, in order to respect your original intent as closely as possible.
3. Payment Processing
- Donations are processed securely through third-party payment providers (e.g. Stripe).
- By making a donation, you also agree to the applicable terms of service of the payment provider.
- EverGive does not access or store your full payment details; these are handled directly by the payment provider in accordance with its security standards.
4. Beneficiary Charities and Eligibility
- To be eligible to receive grants from TFT, charities must:
- pass TFT’s due diligence checks,
- remain in good standing with regulators, and
- provide basic reporting or impact information when requested.
- TFT’s trustees may pause or withhold grants if a charity fails to provide required reporting or otherwise does not meet TFT’s ongoing eligibility requirements.
- If a charity becomes ineligible (for example, it fails due diligence, ceases operation, or is subject to regulatory restrictions), TFT’s trustees may redirect grants to a similar eligible charity or cause, consistent with the donor’s original recommendation where possible.
- Charities may be recommended by donors to receive grants, but they do not have a legal right to them. All grants are made at the discretion of TFT’s trustees, in line with charity law and the fund’s charitable purposes.
5. Use of Donations & Grants
- TFT may invest donations (currently in Bitcoin) with the aim of growing a reserve that can support future charitable grants. Investments are managed cautiously and reviewed regularly by trustees to help protect and grow charitable funds.
- TFT may make discretionary grants from pooled funds, informed by donor preferences and recommendations from EverGive, but always subject to trustee approval.
- Charities have no right to receive or control donations; they may only receive grants awarded at TFT trustees’ discretion.
- TFT and EverGive are not responsible for how recipient charities ultimately use discretionary grants, provided such use is within their charitable purposes.
6. Cash Reserve
- A small portion of donations (currently 3%) may be held in cash rather than invested, in order to help buffer against market volatility and enable TFT to continue making discretionary grants during downturns.
- The exact percentage may be reviewed and adjusted by TFT’s trustees from time to time, but all donations remain subject to trustee discretion and are applied only towards TFT’s charitable purposes.
7. Donating Through a Charity’s Website
In some cases, donations may be made via a partner charity’s website using the EverGive plug-in:
- Donations may be received first by the charity before being transferred to TFT.
- Where donations are first received by a partner charity, they act in accordance with an agreement to transfer such donations to TFT.
- Once received by TFT, donations are treated in the same way as if made directly: pooled, designated internally, and granted at trustee discretion.
- Donors will be clearly informed in this process that their contribution will be transferred to TFT to be invested and used for charitable grants.
- Gift Aid treatment may differ depending on whether TFT or the charity is the first recipient (see Section 8).
8. Gift Aid
- Gift Aid allows UK taxpayers to increase the value of their donation at no extra cost. Whether TFT or a partner charity claims Gift Aid depends on who first received the donation.
- Direct donations to TFT (EverGive website): TFT will claim Gift Aid on eligible donations where the donor has opted in.
- Donations via charity plug-in: The receiving charity may claim Gift Aid if it is the first legal recipient. Once transferred to TFT, Gift Aid cannot also be claimed by TFT.
- Where Gift Aid is claimed by TFT, it will be added to the pooled fund and managed in the same way as your original donation, subject to trustee discretion.
- Where Gift Aid is claimed by a partner charity (e.g. in the referral / plug-in model), the charity is responsible for administering it in line with HMRC requirements.
- TFT may deduct a small administration fee (currently 3%) on any Gift Aid it processes to cover the costs of claiming and managing these funds.
9. Capital Growth
- Investments made by TFT (currently in Bitcoin) may increase or decrease in value over time.
- Any capital gains realised on these investments will be managed at the discretion of TFT’s trustees.
- Trustees may choose to:
- Reinvest gains to strengthen the long-term reserve;
- Use gains to fund additional discretionary grants to eligible charities;
- Apply a portion of gains towards reasonable operational costs of TFT or its fundraising partners; and/or
- Retain a portion of gains as a volatility buffer to help stabilise grant-making during periods of market downturn.
- Donors and charities have no entitlement to investment returns or capital gains.
10. Transparency and Reporting
- EverGive will provide donors with periodic updates on the overall impact of donations received through the platform.
- These updates may include: the total funds raised, pooled investment growth (in general terms), and discretionary grants made to charities or causes.
- These updates are for informational purposes only and do not create any entitlement to grants or returns.
- Detailed records are maintained by TFT in line with charity law and regulatory requirements.
- Donor reports will be provided in aggregate or anonymised form; donors do not receive individualised investment performance reports.
11. Recurring Donations and Errors
- Donors who set up a recurring donation may cancel future donations at any time by contacting EverGive at contact@evergive.com at least two business days before the next scheduled payment. If the request to cancel is made within two business days of the next scheduled payment, we cannot guarantee that the upcoming payment will be stopped, but your cancellation will take effect before the following scheduled payment.
- If you believe a transaction was made in error, please contact EverGive within 14 days. While donations are generally irrevocable, we will review and, where appropriate, work with TFT to address mistaken transactions.
12. Fees
- EverGive does not deduct fees from your individual donation. The full value of your donation is received by The Forever Trust (TFT).
- EverGive may be paid fees by TFT from its own unrestricted resources, or by partner charities under separate agreements. These may include:
- A fundraising fee to support the operation of the EverGive platform.
- A performance-related fee linked to growth achieved on investments managed by TFT.
- Service or promotional fees agreed directly with partner charities.
- These fees support EverGive’s technology, reporting, compliance, and charity support. They do not reduce the value of your donation.
13. Data Protection and Privacy
- EverGive and TFT will process your personal data in accordance with the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018.
- Personal data will only be used to process donations, administer Gift Aid (if applicable), and communicate with you where you have consented.
- Please see our Privacy Policy for further details.
14. Marketing Communications
- When making a donation, you may opt in to receive updates and communications from EverGive about your donation’s impact and related activities.
- You may opt out of these communications at any time by clicking ‘unsubscribe’ in our emails or contacting us at contact@evergive.com.
15. Cookies
- Our website uses cookies to enhance your user experience and collect data for analytics.
- By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies as outlined in our Cookie Policy.
16. Liability
We take every care to ensure donations are handled responsibly and applied in line with donor intent wherever possible. However, because of the legal structure of donor-advised funds, there are some important limits to our liability which donors should be aware of:
- EverGive provides technology and fundraising services only; it does not receive, hold, or control donations. All donations are received and managed by The Forever Trust (TFT).
- Neither TFT nor EverGive guarantee that a grant will be made to your recommended charity, although TFT will seek to follow your recommendation wherever possible, subject to legal requirements.
- All grants are discretionary by law, and donors do not gain any ownership rights, income rights, or control over invested funds.
- Donations are subject to investment risk, including fluctuations in value. Neither TFT nor EverGive are responsible for the performance of investments, any shortfall in anticipated grants, or trustee decisions on grant-making.
- TFT and EverGive are not responsible for how recipient charities ultimately use grants, provided such use is within their charitable purposes.
- Neither TFT nor EverGive will be liable for any dissatisfaction with a charity’s activities, for any inability to follow your recommendation, or for any losses arising from market fluctuations in the value of invested funds.
- If found liable, the total liability of TFT and EverGive to you in connection with your use of EverGive will in no circumstances exceed the total donations you have made via EverGive in the preceding twelve (12) months.
- Nothing in these T&Cs excludes or limits any rights that cannot legally be excluded or limited under applicable law.
17. Termination of EverGive Services
- If EverGive ceases operations, TFT will continue to manage all donations already received in accordance with its charitable purposes and trustee discretion.
- If TFT were to cease operations, its remaining assets, including donations received through EverGive, would be transferred to another registered charity with similar purposes, in line with charity law and regulatory requirements. The successor charity would assume responsibility for managing those assets and would, wherever possible, continue to administer grants in a manner consistent with donor intent and EverGive’s mission of providing long-term support to charities.
18. Changes to These Terms
EverGive may update these T&Cs from time to time. Significant changes will be highlighted on our website.
19. Governing Law
These T&Cs are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts.
