Givebacks FAQs for Massachusetts PTA Unit Leaders

For more general information, visit the support page on the Givebacks website.

Last revised 11/04/2024

We at the Massachusetts PTA want everyone to be successful in this transition to Givebacks! Below is a list of FAQs that we hope will help you in the new system. For any questions concerning this process or membership, please email Membership@masspta.org.

What is Givebacks?

Givebacks is a tool that makes running the PTA easier. The system puts all your online tools in one place, making it easier to engage families, raise funds, and stay in good standing. You and your volunteers will save hours on admin tasks so you can focus on connecting with your children and supporting your school.

What is required of me?

The only requirement is to use Givebacks to manage your PTA members, officers and good-standing requirements. However, Givebacks has built-in benefits for PTA leaders, including: 

• Online purchase of PTA memberships, with emailed membership cards
• Automatic membership reporting to the state
• Easy submission of good-standing confirmations
• Instant dues remittance via ACH

PTA units must meet these requirements every year with their state, and Givebacks makes it easier.

Is this tool only for PTA members?

No, MemberHub makes engaging easier for all school families, teachers and school administrators. Families don’t have to be PTA members to use all the tools in MemberHub. PTA leaders can invite and communicate with everyone in their school community to increase engagement and raise funds. Once you have ongoing communication with non-PTA members in your school community, it is easier to ask them to join and support the PTA.   

I’m having trouble logging in.

If you’ve logged in before: 

If you’re the president and you’re sure you submitted your updated officer lists to the state officer, go to the log-in screen and choose “forgot password.” You will get a link to reset your password. If you didn’t submit the updated list, contact membership@masspta.org.

If it’s your first time logging in: 

You’ll need to go to the login screen, enter your email address and select the “I need to create a password” button.

I’m the membership chair. How do I access the site?

Please make sure that your president has already done the initial site setup. Once the president logs in and enters officer lists, he or she can make you an admin. We ask that you go through this process with your president, to work together to create your site. Please include your treasurer so he or she also has an understanding of the site, particularly the financial aspects.

What are the fees to use Givebacks and how does Givebacks make money?

Givebacks software is free to partnered PTA units. Givebacks charges a small transaction-processing fee on payments, offers an email sponsor program with excellent value for units, continually enhances system integrations, and sells platform ads. Givebacks also sells the software to other entities at up to $1,200 annually. Givebacks wants to make family engagement in schools a top priority, just like the PTA. That’s why Givebacks partners with state PTAs to provide the technology to PTA units at no charge. 

Who is the payment processor that Givebacks uses?

Givebacks uses WePay, a Chase Bank-owned company, to process all transactions. WePay is a trusted platform to accept payments online. WePay handles payments for a variety of purposes, such as donation campaigns, online merchants, events, and more.

Do we have to use WePay or can we use any online payment platform? 

Givebacks is integrated only with WePay for payment processing. All payments taken through Givebacks will be automatically routed to your PTA checking account, and all transactions will be reported inside your WePay PTA portal.

How much are the credit card fees with Givebacks?

WePay, Givebacks’ payment processing company, and Givebacks charge in total 3.95% + $0.59 per credit card payment. The ACH fee is just $1, no matter how much the transaction is. Currently, ACH is only for remitting state dues, but Givebacks is looking to expand its use in the future. It’s a great way to save money on fees for any larger transactions. (rates quoted as of July 1, 2024 and may be subject to change by WePay or Givebacks and not reflected here)

Similar services charge as much as 7% plus $0.50 comparatively, so Givebacks saves in fees over other services. There are no fees from Givebacks for cash or check payments.

Who pays the fees with Givebacks?

You can choose who absorbs the fees — the PTA or the person paying. Almost all PTAs that Gviebacks works with pass the fee on to the payer (the buyer). For example, a unit with $10 PTA dues would charge buyers $10.85, and the PTA keeps $10.

Once units submit the merchant agreement, is there an email that will let the unit know they are all ready to go?  

The unit will see a green box with a message that they have successfully set up the account. A yellow bar would mean that more information is needed. Login to your WePay account, then go to Settings >> Alerts for more information. Then, they are ready to go and can set up their store.

Do units need to set up a store with memberships in it to take membership payments online?   

Yes! Setting up memberships, including standard and custom memberships types, is part of the store set up process.

How are the PTA dues routed electronically?

Along with the launch of the Givebacks store, users can now pay their state dues directly to the state PTA via e-Check/ACH in MemberHub.

From your Admin Console click on the PTA Tab and choose State Payments from the menu on the left. From there, you will see how much you owe the state for how many members. To see which members you owe for, click on the show/hide members button. All the members will be listed at the bottom of the page. 

You, the local PTA officer admin, control when you send the money to the state and can pay electronically via e-Check/ACH in Givebacks. The fee for this option is a flat $1, and it sends an e-Check directly to your state PTA. The other option is to submit a form and mail a check to the state office. 

Will the PTA member still get a membership card?

Yes! Each person who buys a PTA membership in your school store will get a membership card automatically added to his or her user profile, as well as an email receipt of their payment with an electronic membership card. 

{You can also enter member information for people who paid with cash or check. Once they are entered, they will receive an email with their membership card. If a member doesn’t submit an email address but still wants the card, enter the individual into Givebacks and then print their membership card from their profile.}

What reports will I see in the admin section?

You will have access to a number of reports in the PTA Admin Console, including membership information, payment transactions and more.

What training is provided by Givebacks?

As part of Givebacks’ onboarding program, they have a state-specific webinar and provides more general Givebacks training webinars. You’ll also get marketing/announcement content support, regularly scheduled product webinars, and a comprehensive support center with articles and videos that are available 24/7 for users to learn all about their school’s new resource.

Will the teachers have to use it?

No. Teachers don’t have to use the system. However, teachers and parents get the most benefit and involvement when they do. Many teachers love using Givebacks and find it is much easier than similar classroom communication tools.

Are there privacy settings?

Yes. Only people who are approved can get into the site. As a PTA administrator, you have complete admin control and can give control to only those you want. Parents can manage all personal information and notification settings to be as public or private as they want.

Is this FERPA-compliant?

Because each user “opts in” to Givebacks, this maintains compliance with FERPA standards.

How do we get all our families into the system?

There are a few simple ways to add users. You can provide a link to your Site Joins page via email, paper or text. You can also manually add users or import an Excel file of people.

How much/what kind of communication will go directly to PTA members via Givebacks access?

Givebacks doesn’t communicate directly with PTA members. Instead, the company reaches out to site admins on the unit and state level about features, products, and services in Givebacks. Givebacks provides them with tools and support to better engage school families, grow membership, and raise funds. 

Givebacks never sells membership lists or shares any personally identifiable information, and all membership lists are property of the state PTA. Please see Givebacks’ terms of use and privacy policy for more information.

Are security measures in place to protect member data and financial data?

Givebacks takes every commercially available opportunity to maintain the privacy and security of member data and financial information. WePay, Givebacks’ payment processor, uses bank-level security to protect your financial information. See Givebacks’ privacy policy and WePay’s privacy policy.

More Givebacks resources

• MemberHub Help center – access via this URL, https://support.givebacks.com/hc/en-us or by clicking the blue widget in the lower-right corner of the application screen.
• MemberHub Video help – many videos are available in MemberHub’s YouTube channel