Frequently Asked Questions
Can't find the answer? Contact help@charities.org, charities.org/support, or use the online chat feature located in the bottom right corner of your screen for additional support.
Campaign Basics
1. What is the Employee Giving Program?
Loudun County has partnered with America’s Charities to provide employees greater flexibility in deciding which charities to support throughout the year by means of payroll deduction.
2. Who is America’s Charities?
America’s Charities, a nonprofit that inspires employees and organizations to support causes they care about, is our employee giving partner, acting as the funds management agent, as well as providing general campaign support and distributing employee contributions to the charities selected by employees during the campaign enrollment.
Campaign Participation
3. What are the dates of the campaign?
October 14 – November 14, 2025. During this time, the campaign/giving site is open to any eligible employee to make a donation to the charitable organization listed in one of two ways: (1) recurring payroll deduction; or (2) one-time credit card payment.
4. Are employees required to participate?
No. This annual charitable giving program is purely voluntary and a personal decision; however, one of our core values is to give back to local communities.
5. Is the site open all year?
The Loudoun Gives giving website will remain open for all year for employees to login and review their donations. The site will be open for active pledging from October 14 – November 14, 2025. There may also be times throughout the year that the Loudoun Gives giving website will be open for special fundraising drives.
6. Can I donate to any non-profit organization?
You can donate to ANY non-profit organization you like - if you don’t see their name listed as an option, feel free to write it in, as long as it is a tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation or association.
7. Is there a limit on how much or how little I can pledge?
You are encouraged to pledge any amount you wish to the charity of your choice (e.g., Employees can pledge as little as $2/paycheck if so desired.)
8. Who do I contact if I have a question not listed here?
If you have another question regarding your workplace giving campaign, please contact your chair for this campaign, Glen Barbour.
For questions pertaining to the online pledge portal, please contact America's Charities at Help@charities.org for assistance. Please do not contact the DIT Help Desk.
Ways to Give
9. How do I donate?
To get started, visit https://loudouncounty.americascharities.stratuslive.com, and from there you will be directed to a secure, online pledging system operated by our giving partner, America’s Charities.
10. What payment methods are accepted?
Recurring Payroll Contribution: Your gift will be deducted from your paycheck each pay period for one year, beginning with your first paycheck for January 2026.
- Recurring payroll contributions will automatically start with the first pay period in 2026.
One-time Credit Card Donation: Your gift will be charged to your credit card and processed immediately (1-2 business days by your credit card provider). To cancel a pledge made via credit card, you can contact America's Charities at Help@charities.org. Contributions by credit card are subject to a transaction fee of 3.5% which will be deducted from your gift.
- One-time contributions by credit card will be processed this year and considered a 2025 donation
11. How do I find charities to support?
View the Charity List posted online to review a list of charities you may wish to support. Or, you may click "Pledge Now" to use the charity search feature where you can enter keywords or the nonprofit name to find a charity to support. If there's a nonprofit you wish to support that isn't currently listed in the site, you can request to have it added by using the write-in feature.
12. How do I cancel a donation?
To cancel pledges made by credit card, contact America's Charities at Help@charities.org. To cancel pledges made by payroll deduction, select the “Pledge Today” tab, select "Give Now" and click on the “Modify a Gift from This Campaign” option. A list of your payroll deduction pledges will display. Select the gift you would like to modify, and then click "Continue".
Payroll Deduction Benefits
13. Why should I give through payroll deduction when I can send a check directly to the nonprofit(s) of my choice?
Payroll deduction is a much more efficient, economical way for nonprofits to process the gift. It could take more people to process individual checks from many different donors rather than this more aggregated method. Processing individual donations drives up administrative expenses for the nonprofit organization. Our funds management partner, America’s Charities, helps streamline this processing.
In addition, it is easier to make larger contributions through payroll deduction than by check. You can give as little as $2 per pay period through payroll deduction, which most people will find easier on their budgets than writing a check for more than $100. You can give $260 to one of your favorite charities with just a $5 weekly deduction.
14. Are my contributions tax deductible?
Yes, your payroll contributions are deductible for the 2026 tax year. Credit card donations are deductible for the 2025 tax year.
15. How much of my contribution will be donated to the charity(ies) I choose?
A nominal administration fee is deducted from your donation. This fee is nine (9) percent of the gross amount of your pledge. If you pledge $100 to the charity of your choice, the charity will receive $91. America’s Charities will receive $9 for administrative purposes, and because America’s Charities is a nonprofit organization, 100 percent of your donation is tax deductible.
Affordability
16. What if I can’t afford to give enough to make a difference?
Thousands of employees across the country feel the same, but the majority of giving in the U.S. (approximately 72%) is a result of generous individuals like you. If 1,000 employees across the country each donate $2 per pay period ($52 total), that equates to as much as $52,000 in nonprofit support that your gift helps make possible.
No gift is too small. Each gift goes a long way to help many organizations and the community. A $2 contribution each pay period can pay for a grocery delivery organization to provide food to a homebound senior biweekly for three months, often at a critical time such as during illness or recovery from an injury. For $25 per pay period, one nonprofit listed in the campaign is able to provide the basic furnishings a formerly homeless family needs to move from a transitional shelter to permanent housing. In some cases, this means children in the family may have their own beds for the first time. So even small amounts add up, along with others from your co-workers and the broader community.
Matching Gifts
17. Does Loudoun County Provide a Matching Contribution to Charities?
No.
