Making Heaven Crowded
How to give by check to Making Heaven Crowded
Four lines to fill in, a code for the memo, and no fee taken from your gift.
Start on the giving page, then mail the check with your code
To give by check, open the giving page, choose an amount, enter your name, email and mailing address, and pick Check by mail. The next screen shows what to write. Make the check payable to Making Heaven Crowded, put your reference code on the memo line, and mail it to 6511 Spyglass Lane, Bradenton, FL 34202.
The giving page describes this method as old fashioned and completely free. It is the slowest of the five methods because it travels by post, but it is the only one that needs no banking app, no phone and no account with a payment company.
The four lines on the giving screen
After you choose Check by mail, the screen is headed “Mailing a check” and lists four rows you can copy:
- Pay to the order of: Making Heaven Crowded.
- Mail to: 6511 Spyglass Lane, Bradenton, FL 34202.
- Amount: the figure you chose on the previous step.
- Memo line: your reference code, which looks like MHC- followed by four characters.
The four characters are drawn from letters and numbers that leave out O, 0, I and 1, so the code is hard to misread when you copy it by hand onto paper. Write the amount on the check exactly as it appears on the screen.
How a check is matched to your gift
A paper check tells the team a name and an amount, nothing more. Two people can give the same amount in the same week, and a name on a check is not always the name on the gift record. The code on the memo line is what lets a person on the team connect the check in the mail to the gift you started online, which is why you begin on the website rather than just posting a check.
The code appears on your screen once you submit your details, and the giving system is set up to email it to you with the same mailing instructions, so a closed tab does not lose it. If you cannot find it, call (941) 718-2867 or write Makingheavencrowdedtampa@gmail.com before you mail anything. The full explanation of the code is on the page about your donation receipt and reference code.
What the screen says and when the receipt comes
Until the check arrives, your gift summary reads pending confirmation. For manual methods the screen says the team will match your gift as soon as it lands. The official receipt is then emailed to the address you entered, and reopening the summary shows the official wording in place of “pending.”
This page does not promise a mail time, because none is published. One detail to know for your records: the date printed on the receipt is the day the gift was started on the website, not the day the envelope was opened.
A check keeps the whole gift
According to the giving page, these are the fees each method carries:
- Check by mail and Zelle: no fee, the full amount reaches the mission.
- Cash App: about 2.75%, roughly $2.75 on a $100 gift.
- PayPal: about 2.9% plus 30 cents, roughly $3.20 on a $100 gift.
- Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay: a processing fee applies, without a percentage stated.
The trade is speed. If the time matters more than a few dollars, the page on ways to donate compares all five side by side.
Keeping the paperwork for a tax return
For a gift under $250, the IRS generally accepts a canceled check or bank record showing the amount and the organization’s name. At $250 or more you also need a written acknowledgment, which is what the emailed receipt is. Keep both with your tax papers and ask a tax preparer how they apply to your return.
If you are mailing near the end of the year, the IRS counts a mailed check on the day it is mailed. The page on year-end giving to Making Heaven Crowded walks through that rule for every method.
Related pages and sources
Ready to start? Open the giving page. To confirm the organization’s status first, read whether a gift is tax-deductible.
Giving by check
- Who do I make the check out to?
- Make it payable to Making Heaven Crowded. The giving screen lists that name on the line labelled "Pay to the order of."
- Where do I mail the check?
- To 6511 Spyglass Lane, Bradenton, FL 34202. That is the mailing address the giving page shows for checks. Outreach itself happens on foot in downtown Tampa and downtown Gainesville.
- Does mailing a check cost the organization a fee?
- No. Like Zelle, a mailed check has no processing fee, so the full amount reaches the mission. PayPal takes about 2.9% plus 30 cents and Cash App about 2.75%.
- Do I have to put the reference code on the check?
- Yes, on the memo line. A check shows a name and an amount, and the code is how the team ties it to the gift you started on the website. If you lost it, call or email before mailing rather than guessing.
- When will I get a receipt?
- After the team matches your check to your gift. The official receipt is then emailed to the address you entered. Until then your gift summary reads pending, and no mail time is promised on this page.
- Can I give any amount by check?
- Yes. The giving page accepts any amount from $1 to $100,000 for a check. A gift of $200 or more also asks for a shirt size, because a Making Heaven Crowded shirt is sent as a thank you.
Questions? Email Makingheavencrowdedtampa@gmail.com or call (941) 718-2867.