# The Game of Giving

> The Game of Giving is a publication about nonprofits and charitable giving in the United States, with a focus on the small, often volunteer-run organizations that rarely get coverage outside a local paper. It has three parts: editors report and write about the sector; member nonprofits publish their own updates, labeled Partner Content, through the Contributor Network; and the Nonprofit Playbook is a free guide to forming and running a charitable organization.

- Stories are bylined to The Editors; Partner Content is written by member organizations and labeled as such.
- Coverage is not for sale; Contributor Network membership does not affect editorial decisions.
- Every statistic links to its original source, such as a study, a Form 990, an annual report or a press release.
- An organization's exempt status is confirmed with the IRS before it is profiled.
- Corrections are made promptly and noted at the end of the affected page.
- Playbook material is general information, not legal, tax or accounting advice.

## Sections

- [Home](https://thegameofgiving.com/): the latest stories
- [Stories](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/): reporting, analysis and explainers in five sections
- [Fundraising & Campaigns](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/#fundraising): appeals, capital campaigns, major gifts, donor retention
- [Money, Data & Research](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/#money): giving trends, grants and foundations, tax and policy changes
- [Culture, Galas & People](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/#culture): profiles, philanthropists and charity events
- [Leadership & Strategy](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/#leadership): executive directors, boards, governance
- [Impact & Community](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/#impact): programs, outcomes, volunteers and local giving
- [People](https://thegameofgiving.com/people/): profiles of nonprofit founders, staff, board members and volunteers
- [Nonprofits](https://thegameofgiving.com/nonprofits/): browse nonprofits by cause
- [The Nonprofit Playbook](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/): free guide to starting a US nonprofit
- [Contributor Network](https://thegameofgiving.com/contributors/): publishing membership for nonprofits

## The Nonprofit Playbook

- [Filing Form 1023 or 1023-EZ](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/form-1023/): The application for federal recognition of exemption. Choosing the right form and filing on time both matter.
- [Choosing a mission](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/choosing-a-mission/): Before any paperwork, decide what problem you are working on, for whom, and where. A precise mission makes every later decision easier.
- [501(c)(3) explained](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/501c3-explained/): What the designation actually means, what it allows, and the limits that come with it.
- [Common mistakes new nonprofits make](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/common-mistakes/): Most early failures are not dramatic. They come from small administrative lapses and a board that never learned to govern.
- [Incorporating a nonprofit](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/incorporating/): Forming the legal entity with your state is the first formal step, and the wording of your articles matters later.
- [Getting an EIN](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/getting-an-ein/): The Employer Identification Number is the organization's federal tax ID. It is free, and it comes after incorporation.
- [Building a board](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/building-a-board/): The board is legally responsible for the organization. Choose people who will govern, not just people who will agree.
- [Writing bylaws](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/writing-bylaws/): Bylaws are the internal rules of the organization. Write ones your board will actually follow.
- [Opening a bank account](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/opening-a-bank-account/): Organization money must never mix with personal money. A dedicated account with proper controls is the first safeguard.
- [Donations and tax receipts](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/donations-and-tax-receipts/): Donors rely on your acknowledgment to claim deductions. The rules are specific about when and what to write.
- [Fundraising legally](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/fundraising-legally/): Asking for money is regulated. Most of the rules are about registration, honesty, and specific kinds of events.
- [Finding and winning grants](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/finding-grants/): Grants reward organizations with a clear plan and a track record. Most early money comes from smaller, local sources.
- [Working with corporate sponsors](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/corporate-sponsors/): Sponsorship can fund events and programs, but the line between acknowledgment and advertising has tax consequences.
- [Annual reporting and compliance](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/annual-reporting/): Exemption is not permanent by default. Staying in good standing requires a handful of filings every year.
- [Building a website](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/building-a-website/): For most donors and volunteers, the website is the first check on whether an organization is real.
- [Marketing a nonprofit](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/marketing-a-nonprofit/): Marketing for a small nonprofit is mostly consistent, specific communication with the people who already care.
- [Recruiting volunteers](https://thegameofgiving.com/start-a-nonprofit/recruiting-volunteers/): Volunteers are not free labor. They need defined roles, screening where appropriate, and someone responsible for them.

## Key guides

- [How to read a charity's Form 990 in ten minutes](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/how-to-read-a-form-990/): Almost every charity of meaningful size files a public annual return, and ten minutes with a few sections tells a donor most of what matters.
- [Donor-advised funds, explained for the charities that receive them](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/donor-advised-funds-explained/): More gifts now arrive from a fund rather than a person, which changes how a charity should thank, receipt, and ask.
- [Before you incorporate, consider a fiscal sponsor](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/consider-a-fiscal-sponsor/): An established charity can accept tax-deductible gifts for your project while you find out whether the work should become its own organization.
- [A gift to a person through crowdfunding is not deductible](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/crowdfunding-for-a-person-is-not-deductible/): The cause may be urgent and the need real, but the tax treatment of a crowdfunded gift depends on who receives the money.
- [A Minnesota lawsuit shows what a board is for](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/what-a-board-is-for/): Minnesota alleges a recovery nonprofit sent nearly all its revenue to companies its founder created while its board barely met.
- [What a board treasurer actually does](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/what-a-board-treasurer-does/): The treasurer is not the bookkeeper, and the real job is making sure the whole board understands the money well enough to govern it.
- [A restricted gift is a promise you have to keep](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/restricted-gifts-are-a-promise/): When a donor says what a gift is for, the organization is legally bound by it, and tracking those promises is basic stewardship.
- [Writing a grant budget a program officer can read](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/a-grant-budget-a-program-officer-can-read/): The budget is often the page a funder reads most closely, and it should tell the same story as the narrative, in numbers.
- [A food bank and a food pantry are not the same thing](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/food-bank-or-food-pantry/): One is a warehouse and the other is where people pick up groceries, and knowing the difference tells donors where help goes furthest.
- [What the 2026 deduction rules change for every donor](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/what-the-2026-deduction-rules-change/): Non-itemizers gain a deduction, itemizers face a new floor, and top earners a cap, starting with gifts made this year.
- [How a small nonprofit can prepare for GivingTuesday](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/preparing-for-giving-tuesday/): The day itself is short, and the work that decides whether it raises anything happens in the six weeks before it.
- [What to ask a local business for, besides a check](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/what-to-ask-local-businesses/): Most small businesses cannot write large checks, but nearly all can offer something useful when a nonprofit makes a specific, practical request.

## Newest stories

- [The Bainum Family Foundation raises its spending ceiling to 10% of its endowment, against about 4% in recent IRS filings](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/bainum-family-foundation-10-percent-spending/): Bainum Family Foundation will spend up to 10% of its endowment a year. Its returns show about 4% of assets went out each year from 2019 to 2023.
- [Miami's Farmer School gets up to $100 million from the family foundation that has backed it since 1992](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/farmer-family-foundation-100-million-miami/): Farmer Family Foundation pledges up to $100M to Miami's business school. Our look at its 990-PFs: $44.1M in grants in 2023, $1.17B in assets.
- [Mental health projects got a third of the Michigan Health Fund's first $9.7 million Healthy Kids round](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/michigan-health-fund-healthy-kids-grants/): Michigan Health Endowment Fund's first Healthy Kids round: 26 grants, $9.7 million. Our count: a third went to children's mental health.
- [Montana voters bar nonprofits and corporations from spending on elections, with 65% voting yes](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/montana-i-194-nonprofits-election-spending/): Montana's I-194, barring nonprofits and corporations from election spending, passed with 65.5%. Our table of three ballot measures that touch charities.
- [The Gates Foundation says it shares responsibility for AGRA's missed goals and will keep funding it](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/gates-foundation-agra-missed-goals/): Gates says it shares blame for AGRA's missed 2020 farm goals. Our tally of its grants database: $886.3 million over 34 grants since 2006.
- [The Simons Foundation commits $80 million over 10 years to study how the brain uses energy](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/simons-foundation-80-million-brain-energetics/): Simons Foundation launches an $80 million, 10-year brain energetics collaboration with 26 investigators. Our arithmetic on what it means per year.
- [What charities may and may not do on Election Day, with the Johnson Amendment still in force](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/election-day-rules-for-charities/): Every 501(c)(3) is still barred from backing candidates on November 3. What the IRS allows, what it bars, and where the church case stands.
- [Six years after $350 million in private grants, 29 states limit private money for election offices](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/private-money-election-offices-29-states/): 29 states limit private donations to election offices, up from none before 2020. This year one nonprofit grant pool offers $2.5 million.
- [The volunteer-run nonprofit behind AO3 says the archive could be offline for up to four weeks](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/ao3-outage-organization-for-transformative-works/): AO3 has been down since October 29 after a security incident. What the Organization for Transformative Works' own finances say about the archive.
- [Colorado Gives Day opens early giving for more than 5,000 nonprofits, with $1 million in incentives](https://thegameofgiving.com/stories/colorado-gives-day-2026-early-giving/): Colorado Gives Day early giving opened November 1 for 5,000+ nonprofits ahead of December 8, with a $1 million-plus incentive fund and a monthly match.

## About and standards

- [About](https://thegameofgiving.com/about/): what the publication does and how it is funded
- [Editorial standards](https://thegameofgiving.com/about/#standards): sourcing, labeling, verification and corrections policy
- [Editorial and Image Guide](https://thegameofgiving.com/editorial-guide/): how stories are reported, written and photographed
- [Contact and corrections](https://thegameofgiving.com/about/#contact): corrections, membership and press inquiries
- [Submit a Story](https://thegameofgiving.com/submit/): pitching the editors
- [Impact](https://thegameofgiving.com/impact/): what has been published and how the publication reports on its own work

## Sitemap

- [Sitemap page](https://thegameofgiving.com/sitemap/): every section, story and Playbook guide
- [sitemap.xml](https://thegameofgiving.com/sitemap.xml): machine-readable list of all pages
- [llms-full.txt](https://thegameofgiving.com/llms-full.txt): full text of the Playbook and key guides