What is a Meal Train Donation Fund?
The most commonly asked question to us is "How can I participate if I do not live near my friend or have time to cook?" With the Meal Train Donation Fund, we make it simple to allow everyone to participate in a way that works for them.
How do I accept donations to my Meal Train Donation Fund?
There are two ways to activate the Meal Train Donation Fund. The first is to activate it during the Meal Train creation process. The second is for the organizer or recipient to click the Edit Page button at the top of the page on the Meal Train followed by the Activate Donations button. Then share your Meal Train page's unique web address (Example: mealtrain.com/mdf4h) with friends, family, co-workers, congregation members, etc.
What can I use the donations for?
The funds collected can be used for any expenses (meals, medical expenses, groceries, etc.) once they are withdrawn to your bank account. The funds must be withdrawn to a bank account and are not redeemed directly for services or gift cards on MealTrain.com.
How are my funds securely held?
Stripe.com (our third party payment processor) verifies the identity of each Donation Fund organizer in order to manage risk and to comply with anti-money laundering laws. As part of the identity verification process, Stripe.com may ask the Donation Fund administrator to provide their date of birth and the last 4 digits of their Social Security number. This process is generally consistent across all crowdfunding sites and is done in accordance with financial regulations.
How safe is it to donate?
All payments are securely processed using industry-standard Secure Socket Layer encryption, or SSL. A small security indicator, usually a lock icon or green bar, will appear in the web browser you’re using to verify the security of the transaction. At no time will MealTrain.com have access to or see a donor's sensitive payment information. All processing, transmission, and storage of payment data is handled by Stripe.com, our PCI compliant payment processor.
Do I have to link a bank account to collect the donations in a certain amount of time?
Yes, The administrator of the Donation Fund must link a bank account (checking) within 60 days of the first donation. Failure to do so leads to an automatic refund of all donations. As long as an account is linked the Donation Fund can continue to be used beyond 60 days.
Will MealTrain.com charge any fees for use of the Donation Fund feature?
If no donations are received, then there are no fees charged. MealTrain.com will automatically deduct a 5% platform fee from each donation received. In addition, for each donation, a financial transaction/credit card processing fee of 2.9% and $0.30 per transaction will apply. There are no additional recurring fees or fees to withdraw the funds. Card processing and platform fees are generally standard across most fundraising sites.
I live outside of the United States. Can I still use the Meal Train Donation Fund feature?
If you are a donor and you see the donation fund active on a page, yes. However, the Meal Train Donation Fund feature can only be used to collect donations in US dollars for recipients who have a United States bank account. If you are an organizer who was able to organize a Meal Train page but do not have a US bank account (or know someone who does), please contact us for help.