Frequently Asked Questions
Application Approval
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Drop us a note at fundraisers@chipotle.com and we’ll be happy to look into it.
TAX INFORMATION
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A federal tax ID number (or TIN/EIN) is a nine-digit number assigned after an organization registers themselves with the IRS. This number will always be nine digits (no letters or special characters) and is typically formatted like so: 12-3456789.
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If your organization is registered with the IRS, it will have a federal tax ID number. If you are not able to locate your federal tax ID number, please speak with your administration, treasurer, finance person, national office, or anyone in your organization that may have access to this information.
If this is the only combination that you have on file, then you would need to speak with the IRS directly since it is an issue on their end that we cannot resolve or bypass.
You can ask the IRS to search for your EIN by calling the Business & Speciality Tax Line at (800)829-4933. The hours of operation are 7:00am – 7:00pm local time, Monday through Friday. An assister will ask you for identifying information and provide the number to you over the phone, as long as you are a person who is authorized to receive it. Examples of an authorized person include but are not limited to: a sole proprietor, a partner in a partnership, a corporate office, a trustee of a trust, or an executor of an estate.
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Yes! If your organization falls into one of these categories, it will have a federal tax ID number. If you are not able to locate your federal tax ID number, feel free to contact your treasurer, finance person, national office, or anyone in your organization that may have access to this information.
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If the number you are using has more or less than nine digits or includes letters, this is not your federal tax ID number and not a number we may use.
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When verifying your tax information, the IRS doesn’t tell us what doesn’t match, only that the name and federal tax ID provided aren’t a match in their system. We aren’t informed which piece of the information is incorrect. If you receive this message, it means that either the name in line 1 of the W-9 doesn’t match the federal tax ID, vice-versa, or both are incorrect. Please verify this information with your organization again before resubmitting.
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No problem! If you don’t have a federal tax ID, we can make the check payable to the district and school. In step 3 of the Fundraiser Approval Process, you’ll follow the prompts on this page to select your school district and specific school. This will bypass the W-9 and allow us to approve your fundraiser without further tax information.
If you need the check written to an organization other than your school district, (like a PTA/PTO or booster club) we can do that too! In step 3 of the Fundraiser Approval Process, select no, and then we’ll need the tax information and possibly a W-9 completed.
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That’s ok! In step 3 of the Fundraiser Approval Process, you’ll have the option to have the check made payable to your public college or university. Follow the prompts on this page to select your school. This will bypass the W-9 and allow us to approve your fundraiser without further tax information.
If you need the check written to a student organization other than your school, we can do that too! In step 3 of the Fundraiser Approval Process, select no in order to complete tax information accordingly.
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You can ask the IRS to search for your EIN by calling the Business & Specialty Tax Line at (800) 829-4933. The hours of operation are 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. An assistor will ask you for identifying information and provide the number to you over the phone, as long as you are a person who is authorized to receive it.
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To change your tax information, please email fundraisers@chipotle.com and let us know. We will reset your tax information, but please note that this will take your fundraiser out of “approved” status until we have new tax information submitted and verified. You will have four days to re-complete the tax information; if tax information isn’t supplied within the four day window, the fundraiser will expire and you will lose your date on the calendar.
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We’d love to, but the IRS requires we verify fresh tax information for each organization that we partner with.
PAYMENT AND CHECK INFORMATION
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We are unable to write a check or envelope to anyone’s attention or include a “courtesy of” note, due to the way our checks are processed. Any “ATTN” or “℅” instructions given will not be included on your check/envelope. Feel free to include any directions in the check’s memo line, which you will have the chance to edit once you finish hosting your event and receive your final results.
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We will send you an acknowledgement letter to sign and confirm you’ve received your results. Once you complete that, our accounting team will confirm the check is in the mail. We ask for 30 days from the mail out date to receive your check via USPS mail.
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Absolutely! Once your fundraiser is hosted and complete, you will be sent a required acknowledgement letter to fill out. You can put all of the necessary information in the memo line section of this form.
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Our checks expire 180 days after they are issued. If you’re unable to deposit the check prior to the expiration date, please email payfundraisers@chipotle.com.
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Please mail your check to a valid and reliable address that will be easy for your organization to obtain the check, with consideration for things like specific mailboxes and offices/locations being closed during holidays or summer break. Keep in mind, it must be a USPS verified address.
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As our checks are sent from our accounting center in Columbus, Ohio, it is not possible to pick up your check from your local Chipotle restaurant.
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We are unable to write checks to individuals, only to organizations. We ask for your organization’s federal tax information in order to verify everything and ensure we can write you a check after your fundraiser.
FUNDRAISER DETAILS
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All promotion must be done ahead of time and not in our restaurant or on the premises so as to not interfere with our regular guests. Violating this policy may result in your fundraiser being cancelled and sales no longer being counted.
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We are thrilled to support your organization with our fundraiser, but we won’t be able to accommodate tables, donation jars, decorations, or distribution of information. We need to do everything in our power to be the very best neighbors to our surrounding businesses, and also ensure that we are making those guests who are not dining with us in conjunction with your fundraiser feel at home and unsolicited.
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In order for your purchase to count towards your fundraiser, your supporters must either a) verbally tell our cashier of their participation, b) show a physical fundraiser flyer, c) show a digital flyer on a smartphone or other mobile device, or d) use your fundraiser’s online ordering code to place an order for pickup through the Chipotle app or website. Remember, delivery orders or orders placed at a different time/location than your scheduled event will not count towards your fundraiser.
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Yes! Online or in-app orders can be counted towards your fundraiser. Supporters must place their orders for pickup through the Chipotle app or website and during checkout use your fundraiser’s code in the “promo” field. Your unique code will be shared with you via email once we have approved your fundraiser. Remember, delivery orders or orders placed at a different time/location than your scheduled event will not count towards your fundraiser.
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We give back 25% of the proceeds brought in by your supporters (pre-tax), meaning if your supporters bring in $200, we’ll send you a check for $50. A minimum of $150 in total sales for your fundraiser applies in order for Chipotle to make any donation.
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To receive a check, we require your organization to bring a minimum of $150 in total sales. On average, this is about 15-20 people.
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We don’t need staff or team members to be there during the fundraiser to facilitate, however, keep in mind that you do need your supporters to show up and tell our cashiers that they’re there supporting the fundraiser (which is how your group raises funds for the event). The more money spent by your supporters, the more you receive back!
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No problem, if you haven’t completed the tax information yet, just click the “Reschedule or Change Location” button in Step 1 of the Tax Information portal.
If you’ve already received your flyers, email us at fundraisers@chipotle.com and we will help you select a new date. NOTE: you’ll have only one opportunity to reschedule your fundraiser, so please be sure to carefully consider the new date before rescheduling.
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To update your flyers, just email and we’ll get those updated for you.
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Of course! As long as you set your pick up time during the fundraiser hours, your purchase will be counted. Orders must be placed the day of the fundraising event and cannot be placed sooner.
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Unfortunately it cannot. You can pay for your order with a gift card and that will be counted towards the fundraiser! Gift card purchases are not considered an order, and therefore it is not included during the fundraiser.
GENERAL
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Our fundraisers are extremely popular, and we want to accommodate as many different groups as possible. As a result, we limit each organization to one fundraiser every six months. If you are interested in fundraising with us again in the future, feel free to reach out again in six months by visiting chipotle.com/fundraisers to apply.
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Due to the popularity of our fundraisers, we must limit the number of participating restaurants to one. To maximize your results, please choose the restaurant that is most centrally-located for your supporters.
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We only host fundraisers during our slower evening hours. When we host them during our peak lunch hours, it tends to cause long lines and a really negative experience for both your supporters and our regular guests. We stick to the two time-frames of 4-8pm and 5-9pm.
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Please do not make any edits to our fundraiser flyers. These are created by our Design team and must stay within our branding requirements. We are unable to add your organization’s logo to our flyers.
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A Spanish version of the fundraiser flyer will automatically be generated for you. You will be able to access it along with the English version in the fundraiser portal.
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Yes, Burritos by the Box orders and catering orders for up to 200 people can be counted towards your fundraiser. But, you’ll have to follow this simple process: Call 1-800-CHIPOTLE to place your order (at least 24 hours in advance) to be picked up during the timeframe of your fundraiser and let them know that you want to pay upon pickup. When you pick up your order, alert the cashier before payment that you would like it to count towards your fundraiser. And just like that, assuming your group meets the $150 minimum in total sales, 25% goes back to your group!