Common Questions

Give InKind is the free, all-in-one tool for coordinating support during life’s biggest moments. Combine the power of a Care Calendar, Fundraiser, Wishlist, and Updates to super power your meal train, cancer journey, disaster recovery, and more.

Direct fundraising, secure gift card donations, instant updates, and smart calendar reminders empower your entire support network to stay in-the-loop and help from near and far.

Give InKind does not provide meals or funds to page Recipients. We facilitate the community support process with tools like Fundraising links, Situation Updates, Wishlists, secure Gift Cards, and the Care Calendar.

Chat support is available Monday – Friday 10am-6pm Eastern for help using the website.

Give InKind does not have an app. The website is optimized to be accessed directly from your phone or computer with no downloads necessary.

There is no fee for using Give InKind. Whether you’re creating, accessing, or supporting an InKind Page, it’s all free. There is an option for Supporters to provide a “tip” when sending a gift card that helps keep Give InKind free, but it is entirely optional.

Give InKind does not take any part of your contribution sent through an InKind Page. Donations made through Fundraising buttons like Venmo, CashApp, PayPal, and GoFundMe are all made directly through those platforms and Give InKind receives nothing from the transaction. Gift cards purchased through an InKind Page are all delivered at face value. (When a Supporter pays $25 for a gift card, a $25 gift card is delivered to the Recipient.)

You can create a super effective meal train on Give InKind. Utilizing the Care Calendar allows you to specify your exact needs, whether that’s meals, groceries, help around the house, rides, and more. Supporters can then sign up to provide just what you need, including gift cards, deliveries, and in-person support.

Additional features like the Wishlist, Fundraising, and Updates empower your support network to help from near and far, stay updated on how the situation progresses, and send their own messages of encouragement, all in one place.

You can not only create an InKind Page for yourself, but if you have their permission, you can also create an InKind Page for another individual or an entire organization. When setting up your InKind Page, you will be asked if it is for yourself, someone else, or an organization.

You can create a Group page, which will serve as a central landing page for any InKind Pages you add to the group. This option is great for schools, corporate teams, churches, large families, and any large community-impacting events. Learn more about InKind Groups here.

Your InKind Page can not only share your story with the world, but it can also efficiently convey your privacy preferences. Either in the Page Settings or by clicking directly on the icons on your InKind Page, tell people if you’re welcoming visitors, phone calls, flowers, and more. You can change these at any time as your needs evolve.

You can add any gift or gift card available through Give InKind to your Wishlist. Use the search bar at the top of the website to locate any specific gifts by name, or browse gifts here. Add gifts to your Wishlist by clicking the plus sign “+” or “Add to Wishlist” button.

If you have an existing Amazon Wishlist you can also attach that to your InKind Page in the Page Settings. Once connected, your page will display a button that directs supporters to your customized Amazon Wishlist.

Use the search bar at the top of the website to locate any specific gifts by name, or browse gifts here.

To view gifts specifically requested by someone you’d like to support, visit their InKind Page and scroll to the Wishlist.

Share the link to your page with family, friends, colleagues, and community through email, text message, social media, printed posters, and more. Copy the URL from your browser’s address bar, or click the “Share” button on your InKind Page to quickly share directly via email and social media.

Give InKind was founded to help people know how they can support the people in their lives. Our blog offers tips on what to say, how to help, and even helpful gift ideas for many different life situations.

We welcome anyone who wants to help someone! All you need to do is create a Give InKind profile, sign in, and then search through our InKind Pages to find someone you would like to help. Use the search bar to look up the topic you would like to support.

We encourage Page Organizers to be thorough in sharing dietary preferences, favorite restaurants, and a variety of requests so Supporters know exactly what the Recipient needs. Explore the Story and Special Notes on the InKind Page to get the full story. The Quick Links to Help buttons near the top right of the page take you directly to support features that have been enabled on the page. From there you can send a Care Card, a Visa gift card, sign up to help through the Care Calendar, donate directly through the Recipient’s preferred Fundraising platform, and leave messages of encouragement on the page.

Give InKind does not collect or manage donated funds, but facilitates gifting between Supporters and Recipients with secure gift cards and direct links to fundraising platforms like GoFundMe, CashApp, PayPal, and Venmo.

InKind Page Organizers have the option to make the page Private. In this case it will not appear in a site search, you can only access the page with a direct link. To access a private page, use the link shared directly by the Page Organizer. Following the page will save it in your Give InKind Profile for easy access any time you sign in.

When a Supporter signs up to provide a meal with the “Drop-Off” option they are committing to personally delivering the meal to the Recipient. Once they have completed their sign up on the Care Calendar we will send them the delivery address along with a reminder to be sure they drop off the meal on time.

When a Supporter signs up to provide a meal with the “Order Delivery” option they are committing to setting up delivery of the meal with a service like DoorDash, or directly with a local restaurant. Once they have completed their sign up on the Care Calendar we will send them the delivery address along with a reminder to be sure they arrange delivery of the meal on time.

Add any links to your favorite restaurants or service providers that may not be in the Give InKind catalog in the Special Notes or Story areas of your InKind Page.

When you post an Update on your InKind Page, visit the checkboxes under “Send Update to:” to simultaneously post the Update to your InKind Page and also send it out to your page Followers via email and share the Update to Facebook and Twitter.

Additionally, when you add new requests to the Care Calendar you also have the option to email a notification to page Followers, alerting them of the new request.

Anyone who has access to your InKind Page can become a Follower if they create a Give InKind profile and click “Follow Page.” Also, anyone who signs up to provide support through your Care Calendar will be automatically made a follower of your InKind Page. This helps keep everyone in-the-loop.

Page Organizers can mark an InKind Page as Private in Page Settings. InKind Pages that are not marked as Private can be found through the Give InKind search field. Whether public or private, anyone who has your InKind Page URL will be able to access your page.

To contact a Supporter directly, click their name on the Care Calendar request, then click the Copy button. Open a new email and paste this address in as the destiantion. This is our main reason for asking supporters to create Give InKind profiles: so you have a way to contact them if any changes need to be made to the support you have requested.

To send a gift card that displays on the Care Calendar, click an “I’ll Help” button on a request. If the Page Organizer has allowed gift card support for this request you may click the “Send Gift Card” button. Proceed through the purchase flow to select and send your gift card. Once the transaction is complete your name and gift card will display on the Care Calendar.

If you’ve purchased a gift card through the Wishlist that you would like to designate to fulfill a request on the Care Calendar, click an “I’ll Help” button on a request and select the “Provide Myself” or “Send Delivery” options. In the field designated to indicate what you are bringing, note the gift card type and date that you purchased the gift.

Gift cards sent through Give InKind are stored in the InKind Wallet. Recipients can access the Wallet through their profile. Supporters also have the option to ship a Visa gift card inside a customized Greeting Card. These arrive to the Delivery Address designated for your InKind Page via USPS or Fedex.

For ultimate flexibility and security, gift cards sent through Give InKind are stored in the InKind Wallet. (Recipients can access the Wallet through their profile.) All gift cards are stored in the Wallet and become ready to redeem 24 hours after the time of purchase (this delay is a security measure in-place to protect the Supporter’s transaction). In the Wallet, gifts that are ready can be redeemed at face value, or they can be pooled with other gifts, swapped out for different vendors, or even linked directly to a debit or credit card.

Learn more about the InKind Wallet in our help center.