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Donation timelines for U.S.-based nonprofits
Donation timelines for U.S.-based nonprofits

Expecting a donation? A quick overview on when donations are sent, based on the donation type.

Michelle Marinas avatar
Written by Michelle Marinas
Updated over a week ago

Credit card or PayPal Donations

Credit card and PayPal donations made on Bright Funds are typically disbursed to nonprofits in the middle of the month following the month the donation was received.


For example, a credit card/PayPal donation made on Bright Funds by a donor in January will be disbursed to the nonprofit in mid-February.

Matching Donations*

For matching donations, it typically takes two months after the match request is approved for matching funds to be disbursed, primarily because Bright Funds must receive the matching funds from the matching company before we can queue the match to be disbursed to your nonprofit.

Example #1

If a match was approved in January, it is expected to be sent to your nonprofit in mid-March.

Example #2

If you received an original donation (credit card or PayPal) from Bright Funds in January, the matching donation would be expected to be sent in April.

Credit Donations*

Credit donations follow the same timeline as Matching Donations.

Donations made on Bright Funds by donors will appear on your Bright Network account, under Donor Reports, a few days before your donations are disbursed.

For example, if a donor donated via credit card on Bright Funds in January, you won't see it listed in Bright Network until February, when the donation is expected to be disbursed.

Below is a helpful table to determine when funds will be sent to your nonprofit*:

Month donation is submitted

Month credit card/PayPal donation will be sent

Month matching/credit donation will be sent

(mid-month)

January

February

March

February

March

April

March

April

May

April

May

June

May

June

July

June

July

August

July

August

September

August

September

October

September

October

November

October

November

December

November

December

January

December

January

February


*Note: for matching and credit donations, the two-month timeline is contingent on Bright Funds receiving the matching funds from the matching company, and may extend beyond that timeframe.


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