Rules and Eligibility Requirements for Prizes
Participation: Any individual may donate. Donations made through www.kygives.org to nonprofit organizations and registered public schools are 100% tax deductible to the extent allowed by law and irrevocable. Donations will not be refunded. Contributions may be made via credit card, debit card, or ACH checking account. Donations made by check or in any way outside of the www.kygives.org platform may be entered by the organization as an “offline” donation and will count toward the organization’s page total and the overall event total, but will NOT count toward any prizes.
The minimum donation on www.kygives.org is $5.00. There is no maximum donation for Kentucky Gives Day.
Kentucky Gives Day prizes will be calculated by gifts made online on www.kygives.org by credit card or ACH checking account withdraw from 12:00am through 11:59pm ET, May 12, 2026. All prize windows are based on Eastern Standard Time.
Prizes will be tracked and listed throughout the day on kygives.org; however, regardless of listing or announcements made on the day, all prizes are subject to verification after the event concludes and may be reversed up to 30 days after the event.
Golden Ticket Prizes are awarded as follows: the GiveGab software will select a random donor during each of the selected time periods. The organization receiving the donation from that randomly selected individual donor will receive a $200 prize. A nonprofit is only permitted to win one Golden Ticket Prize.
KNN-sponsored Power Hour Prizes are awarded as follows: $500 will be awarded to the organization with the most unique donors in each of the identified time frames based on their budget size: small nonprofit ($499,000 or less annual operating budget) and large nonprofit ($500,000 or more annual operating budget). An organization's budget size is based on the information provided by the organization at the time of registration and confirmed via KNN membership records and/or IRS Form 990 information. A nonprofit is only permitted to win one KNN-sponsored Power Hour Prize. In the event of a tie, the organization with the most dollars raised during that power hour time slot will win.
A prize calculated by counting the number of unique donors to an organization over a period of time defines a unique or distinct donor as a single individual or entity that made his/her donation online via the kygives.org website and is identified via a unique email address. For purposes of awarding prizes, multiple donations from one donor to the same nonprofit will count as one gift (and thus they will count as one unique donor).
Peer to Peer Fundraising Champion Prize: one organization with the most individual peer to peer fundraisers securing gifts from at least two unique donors each on May 12 from 12:00AM - 11:59PM ET will receive $500. In the event of a tie, the organization with the highest total number of donors who gave on May 12 through the Peer to Peer campaigns will be selected.
#KYGives26 Social Media Impact Prize: The #KYGives26 Social Media Impact Prize will be awarded to one participating nonprofit organization based on staff review of eligible social media content and is evaluated separately from donation‑based prizes. This prize is not calculated by donation totals, donor activity, or fundraising outcomes on www.kygives.org. Eligible content must be shared as Facebook posts (not stories) on May 12, 2026. To qualify, posts must include a direct link to the organization’s KY Gives Day profile on www.kygives.org and use the official hashtag #KYGives26. Posting on other social media platforms is strongly encouraged but is not eligible for consideration for this prize. The winning organization will be selected by KY Gives Day staff based on clarity of message, creative and effective use of social media, and overall impact in encouraging giving. Selection for this prize is qualitative and subjective; all decisions made by KY Gives Day staff are final. This prize is not based on follower count, number of posts, likes, shares, comments, or other engagement metrics. Facebook is not a sponsor of, nor affiliated with, Kentucky Gives Day, or the Social Media Impact Prize.
Recurring Gifts Momentum Prize: This prize recognizes one organization for building sustained donor support on KY Gives Day. The prize will be awarded to the organization that secures the highest number of unique recurring donors who initiate a recurring donation through GiveGab on May 12, 2026 (12:00 a.m.–11:59 p.m. ET). Eligible recurring donations must be created online at www.kygives.org during KY Gives Day. To qualify, donors must select “Make this a recurring gift” at checkout and set up a recurring option (ex. monthly or quarterly). In the event of a tie, the prize will be awarded to the organization whose first eligible recurring donation was initiated first/earliest on May 12.
CKCF-sponsored regional Power Hour Prizes are awarded to the organization raising the most dollars in each of the identified time frames (only available to organizations who are eligible for prizes from Central Kentucky Community Foundation). A nonprofit is only permitted to win one CKCF-sponsored prize in addition to the CKCF Most Dollars Raised Prize.
A nonprofit may win one of each of the following prizes: Golden Ticket, KNN Power Hour, Peer to Peer Fundraising Champion, Recurring Gifts Momentum, and Social Media Impact. A nonprofit is eligible for both KY Gives Day and regional prizes.
Online dollars raised prior to May 12 and offline donations (gifts given off the platform and entered by you) will show in your organization’s overall total dollars raised and the Kentucky Gives Day totals; however, ONLY ONLINE GIFTS GIVEN ON WWW.KYGIVES.ORG FROM 12:00AM - 11:59PM ET ON MAY 12 WILL COUNT TOWARD PRIZES. DAF gifts will not count toward prizes.
Prize checks will be mailed prior to June 30, 2026.
While offline donations are permitted, Kentucky Gives Day is an ONLINE giving event and prizes are awarded to recognize this unique aspect of the event. Any participating organization found to accept checks from donors and enter them online with their organization’s credit card (or any similar actions), will be prohibited from receiving prizes – such actions violate the spirit of Kentucky Gives Day.