Second Wind Dreams® E-Dreams Network
FAQ – Donors
Is my donation to Second Wind Dreams® tax deductible?
Yes. Second Wind Dreams® is a registered 501 (c) (3) (tax exempt) organization, Federal ID #31-1519675. Any contribution that you make to Second Wind Dreams® is tax deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
How can I make a donation to support Second Wind Dreams®?
The fastest, easiest and most secure way to support Second Wind Dreams® is to make a monthly pledge/one-time gift using our secure online payment form.
If you'd like to support Second Wind Dreams® but would prefer not to make your donation online, we offer several other ways to support Second Wind Dreams®. These include making a gift or pledge by check or through your bank's bill payment software, volunteering your skills, donating an in-kind gift to make a dream come true, even selling on eBay to benefit Second Wind Dreams®. And of course, you're welcome to make a gift or pledge by phone by calling (678) 624-0500.
Is there any limit to the number of donor registrations that I / my household can create at Second Wind Dreams®?
No. Because we know that many persons living in the same household wish to track their charitable contributions separately, you and the persons living in your household may create as many donor registrations as you think are necessary to appropriately track your household's giving.
However, if at all possible, we would ask that you limit the number of donor registrations you create to ONE per household member (we define 'household member' here as 'a person who resides at your physical address.')
Limiting your donor registrations in this way limits both the size of our database and our cost to maintain it. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation in this regard.
If I choose to contribute to Second Wind Dreams® online, is my credit / debit card information secure?
Yes. To safeguard your sensitive personal information, our online payment form is secured using the highest level of encryption available and is powered by Paypal, Bank of America and Authorize.net, the leaders in secure online payments.
Additionally, and as an added layer of security, Second Wind Dreams® DOES NOT archive or retain access to your credit / debit card data. Once your contribution is complete, we electronically 'shred' your contribution data such that is it never again accessible to anyone - not even Second Wind Dreams® staff members have access to it.
Additionally, if you make a recurring contribution, your billing information is stored, not at Second Wind Dreams®, but at Authorize.net, which is fully licensed, secured and able to store sensitive data such as the data necessary to process you pledge payment.
We take the issue of donor security very seriously at Second Wind Dreams® and work diligently to protect your personal data and financial information.
Who decides how my donation to Second Wind Dreams® is used?
You do. Each time you make a tax-deductible contribution to Second Wind Dreams®, we credit your Second Wind Dreams® account with that amount which you can either allocate to the prequalified applications at Second Wind Dreams® that mean the most to you or the donation will be applied to the next dream needing funding.
Each donation that you give to a request for help brings that elder one step closer to receiving a Second Wind Dream®.
Best of all, the second that our donors allocate to an application all of the funds necessary for us to authorize an E-Dream, we instantly fund that request for help on behalf of our donors.
In this way, Second Wind Dreams® gives our donors the power to participate directly in our dreamweaving process by determining - simply, quickly, and directly - which E-Dream requests you would most like for us to support.
Second Wind Dreams® is one of a very few charities of its kind in the world to allow its donors this level of hands-on participation in our donation process.
How does Second Wind Dreams® calculate the amount an E-Dream needs in order to be funded?
The value of an E-Dream (the monetary amount a dream needs to be funded by Second Wind Dreams®) is equal to the actual amount of assistance requested by the applicant, plus 12% of that amount.
For example, an E-Dream with a $100.00 expense would need $112 in donations to Second Wind Dreams® in order to be fully funded by Second Wind Dreams®.
We build this additional 12% into the monetary value of each application for two purposes. First of all, at this time, Second Wind Dreams® has very little funding for its own costs to run the organization / we have no corporate grants for that purpose. Obtaining grants of this type for a charity that serves our nations elders has been exceedingly difficult. Consequently, we use this additional 12% for several purposes. 1. To help fund the operational costs of this program 2. To 'jump start' applications that our donors haven't noticed. 3. To 'top off' applications that we believe are critical and which need just a small number of extra dollars in order to receive a Second Wind Dream®. 4. To help fund our community based program. 5. To fund the costs we incur in performing due diligence on the applications for dreams that we receive. By helping us to cover these costs each time you fund an application, you empower Second Wind Dreams® to continue to offer all of our services at absolutely NO cost to elders and nursing homes who need our help the most.
Either way, this use of donations turns every contribution you make to Second Wind Dreams® into two gifts. In addition to funding an E-Dream, you're giving the gift of Second Wind Dreams® itself by keeping our services absolutely free and available to all who need them.
How quickly does my contribution actually get to a Nursing Home who has applied for an E-Dream from Second Wind Dreams®?
Almost instantly. As soon as our donors submit the donation to one of our pre-qualified applications, Second Wind Dreams® instantly updates that dreamer's status to 'funded' and places the check necessary to fund that E-Dream in the mail.
If I contribute to Second Wind Dreams®, can I expect to receive any feedback from Nursing Homes who’s E-Dreams I've helped to fund?
Absolutely! In fact, many donors tell us that the most rewarding part of contributing to Second Wind Dreams® is reading the stories in the gallery of the persons their contributions have enabled us to reach.
You can browse the gallery of photos that we receive from our funded E-Dreams by clicking here. To view testimonials related to specific dreams that you have helped to fund, simply log in to the Second Wind Dreams® site and view your account. Any dream that you have helped to fund will be listed with comments and testimonials.
Suppose I donate to Second Wind Dreams® for an E-Dream that ultimately cannot be funded by Second Wind Dreams®. What happens to the donation I've invested in that request for an E-Dream?
Donations you invest in E-Dreams that we cannot fund are administratively credited back to your account as soon as that application expires.
This way, in the event that you invest your donation in an E-Dream that expires before Second Wind Dreams® is able to fund it; these funds remain available to you to invest in other pre-qualified applications for E-Dreams.
I don't have time to search dreams and specify my Second Wind Dreams® donations myself. Can Second Wind Dreams® do this for me?
Yes. If you'd like to have Second Wind Dreams® determine which dream to apply your donation, simply make a “general” donation and we will apply your donation to the next dream that needs funding. We will notify you when your donation has been applied to a dream.
You can also choose to donate to a specific Elder Care Community by selecting the donation button on that ECC’s detail page.
Where can I find more information about how Second Wind Dreams® uses the donations it receives?
One of Second Wind Dreams® most important policies is that of complete operational transparency.
For information on Second Wind Dreams® past years' financial activities, we invite you to review our online tax exempt filings, available from 2005 to present. Our online reports contain a summary of each year's achievements and access to our Form 990, and 501 c 3 determination letter.
In addition, you can view Second Wind Dreams® profiles at Guidestar.Org, and Network For Good. You can also view our company profile here.
If you have other questions about our use of your donations that are not answered by any of these sources, please contact us, and we'll respond to your question as quickly as possible.
Where can I find more information about Second Wind Dreams® E dream process?
For more information about our E-Dreams process (and the role you play in that process as a donor), please explore our FAQ for Nursing Homes below.
These sections of our website contain comprehensive information about Second Wind Dreams® dream weaving process and eligibility requirements, both for nursing home registration and the individual elders.
What steps does Second Wind Dreams® take to ensure that the E-Dreams it receives and funds have been made in good faith?
At Second Wind Dreams®, we take very seriously the responsibility of using your gifts wisely.
The most important steps we take in this regard are a) we perform extensive due-diligence on each nursing home and nursing home contact we receive and b) we insure that the elder is eligible for the E-Dream that is being requested by their nursing home.
When our donors authorize Second Wind Dreams® to fund an E-Dream, we pay the nursing home the exact amount which the nursing home has requested to help directly make the elder’s dream come true. In addition, the nursing home that received the funds for the E-Dream is unable to submit another dream request until we have received specific documentation that the dream has come true. For this reason, we always know exactly how your contributions have been used.
But we do much more than this to safeguard our donors' contributions. To learn more about the steps we take to make sure your contributions get to the elders who are in most need of a dream, please read our Donor Security FAQ found below.
Can I make a gift or pledge via eCheck or an electronic debit / automatic payment from my checking account?
Yes. To make a gift or pledge via your checking account using your bank's bill payment software, just input the amount of your one time gift or recurring pledge using the following payee information:
Payee Name: Second Wind Dreams®
Payee Address: 4343 Shallowford Road – E6 – Marietta – GA - 30062
Contact Number: 1.678.624.0500
That's all there is to it. Once - or once monthly - your bank will automatically send a check in the amount you specify to Second Wind Dreams®.
If you need further help with this process, just contact us or give us a call at (678) 624-0500, and we'll be happy to help you in any way that we can.
Is Second Wind Dreams® able to take advantage of employer/employee matching gifts?
Yes. If your employer offers a matching gift incentive, then all you have to do is send your gift, along with your employer's matching gift form, to:
Second Wind Dreams®
4343 Shallowford Road – E-6
Marietta, GA 30062
Immediately upon receipt, we'll fill out the matching gift form and return it, plus any necessary documentation, to your employer.
You may need Second Wind Dreams® Federal Tax ID number to expedite this process. Second Wind Dreams® Federal Tax ID Number is 31-1519675.
Does Second Wind Dreams® accept gifts of material goods (coats, clothes, etc.) for distribution to others?
Not at this time. Second Wind Dreams® simply does not have the staff or space available to receive, catalogue, and responsibly distribute tangible items.
There are, however, several terrific organizations with the space, funding and personnel necessary to distribute goods to persons who need them the most. If you'd like to make a donation of this type, please consider either GoodWill or The Salvation Army.
We DO accept in-kind donations. If you see an E-dream that you can help make come true through the donation of a hotel room, transportation, gift certificate, event tickets, etc. please contact us via email and we will assist you in making your donation to the ECC.
I signed up to make a weekly/bi-weekly/monthly pledge (recurring gift) to Second Wind Dreams® and would like to increase/decrease/cancel my pledge or change my payment information. How do I do this?
To increase or decrease a pledge, or to change your payment information, just use our online donation form to create the new pledge of your choice and / or update your payment information.
When you're finished, click 'submit' and then follow the directions in the pop-up window that will appear. It couldn't be simpler!
If you need to cancel a pledge, please call Second Wind Dreams® at (678) 624-0500. We'll help you to cancel your pledge immediately.
Where can I see a record of my donations to Second Wind Dreams®?
You can see a complete record of the donations you have made to Second Wind Dreams® by logging in to our website and visiting your personal page.
You can see a complete, itemized record of every contribution you've made to Second Wind Dreams® and a list of all E-Dreams in which you've invested your Second
Wind Dreams® donation by clicking the 'Contribution Details' link on that page.
Please note that if you make a donation using our secure online payment form, that gift is recorded instantly.
If you donate by phone or by mail, your donation is recorded as soon as we receive it.
Can I choose to make my donations to Second Wind Dreams® anonymously?
We certainly respect your desire to give anonymously. To elect this option, from your personal page, click 'Edit My Info' and then select the option 'make contributions annonymous' (this option is deselected by default). At that point, your donations will be visible on your personal page, but you will be listed as 'Anonymous' on the Second Wind Dreams® community roster.
When I give to Second Wind Dreams®, can I expect to receive an acknowledgement or receipt for tax purposes?
Yes. At Second Wind Dreams®, donors who are also registered users of Second Wind Dreams® receive an e-mail thanking them for their gifts as their gifts are entered into our database. These emails are themselves acceptable as receipts for tax purposes.
Additionally, in the second week of January of each year, we send year-end gift statements (which also can be used as receipts for tax purposes) to all persons whose gifts total more than $200 for the year, as well as to any person who requests a formal record of their donations to Second Wind Dreams®.
I would also like to visit a nursing home in my area? Can Second Wind Dreams® help me with that?
Yes. Second Wind Dreams® has a large network of nursing homes that would welcome a visitor. Please contact Second Wind Dreams® via email or (678)-624-0500.
I have a question about giving to Second Wind Dreams® that is not addressed here. Is there someone who can answer that question for me?
Certainly. Please contact us and we'll do our best to answer your question as quickly as possible.
