Hello CodeBlahkEnt,
Welcome to the PayPal Community. I'm sorry it's under these circumstances. however, since it appears you're inquiring about assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. I will do my very best to answer your question.
I regret that PayPal Giving Fund does not offer or provide grants through applications for assistance in the manner you appear to be referencing. The organization does support charities by connecting them to more potential supporters through their programs, but it's not something that you would apply for like applying for a grant from the government or a foundation.
In general, anyone can set up a PayPal account and ask for donations (or goodwill offerings, or contributions, or whatever you want to call it). Please check out the information at https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/fundraising to learn more about fundraising and asking for donations.
You don't have to be a non-profit or a registered charity to do this. PayPal will likely ask for more information, and you would be expected to follow all the policies and procedures in the User Agreement, but it's really that simple.
If you have a website and you tell people you're collecting money for yourself to help in the aftermath of Harvey, that's fine. If you say you're a non-profit organization, you need to be registered through a state and/or federal agency. And if a business says donations are tax deductible, they must have 501(c)(3) status through the IRS.
If you intend on incorporating a business and want to accept donations that are tax deductible, I recommend that you consult with a professional, however, to see what's involved in being recognized as a non-profit or a registered charity.
To see more information on how PayPal Giving Fund works, please visit https://www.paypal.com/givingfund/faq. If you have more questions, please use the Contact Us button at the bottom of the page.
I hope this information is helpful. For additional assistance, please contact PayPal Giving Fund as mentioned above, or contact PayPal by clicking Contact Us at the bottom of the page when you're logged on to your PayPal account (https://www.paypal.com). Take care!
Sincerely,
Michael
PayPal_Michael
