Care & accountability
Donation Terms
These terms describe safeguards for a future donation service. Donation processing, recurring gifts, currencies, payment methods, receipts, refunds, and tax benefits are not represented as currently available, and no provider, account, merchant code, bank detail, wallet, or crypto address is supplied or implied here.
Donation service status
A donation option should be published only after the purpose, provider, supported countries and currencies, settlement account, fees, verification, reconciliation, receipt process, and donor privacy notice are approved. Until then, the website should clearly state that payment processing is unavailable rather than inviting visitors to submit payment details or treating an unconfigured button as a donation channel.
Donor choices and authorisation
A live donation flow should show the amount, currency, one-time or recurring nature, any fees or restrictions, and the destination or general purpose before payment. Donors should authorise payment through the provider's approved secure interface; the foundation should never ask for card credentials, passwords, PINs, or one-time codes through ordinary website messages or generic forms. Recurring gifts require explicit consent and a workable cancellation route.
Confirmation and records
A browser redirect or screenshot is not proof of payment. A donation should be recorded only after server-side verification of the provider's signed event or equivalent confirmation, with amount and currency reconciled, duplicate processing prevented, and a receipt issued only through an approved process. Failed, pending, reversed, disputed, or suspicious payments should not be described as completed gifts.
Use, restrictions, and transparency
The terms should state whether gifts are unrestricted or may be applied to a named approved purpose, and explain what happens if a restricted purpose cannot proceed. Public appeals must be accurate and must not promise a specific outcome, beneficiary, tax treatment, or programme that has not been approved. Donor information should be used only for stated purposes, protected appropriately, and not published without separate permission.
Refunds, cancellations, and disputes
The terms should set out an accessible process for correcting errors, cancelling recurring gifts, requesting a refund where permitted, and disputing an unauthorised transaction. They should explain that provider rules, bank processes, fraud controls, and applicable requirements may affect timing and outcome without promising a result that cannot be controlled. No refund window, fee, or processing period should be stated before approval.
Security, providers, and changes
Payment credentials should remain with the approved provider, while foundation systems receive only the minimum information needed for reconciliation, support, reporting, and approved stewardship. Providers and data flows should be reviewed before launch, with access limited and incidents escalated. Material changes to methods, currencies, recurring giving, digital assets, bank arrangements, fees, or public appeals require approval before they are displayed.