Request for return of donations 

Purpose 

A donation is a charitable gift for which a tax-deductible receipt is issued and which is non-refundable. On rare occasions, a gift is made following a technical or transactional error and donors request that their funds be returned. The purpose of this policy is to outline the process for return of funds following a provable transactional or technical error, as well as the cancellation of the tax-deductible receipt. 

Policy 

1. In normal circumstances donations will not be returned to a donor.

2. Where a donor requests the return of a donation which has been made as a result of a technical or transactional error, One for the World must be notified within 4 weeks of the date of the donation being made.

3. A signed communication from the donor with full explanation of the error must be received by One for the World within 4 weeks of the donation being made. 

4. The request will be reviewed by the Executive Director. They will, at their sole discretion, decide whether a transactional or technical error has occurred. If such an error is not believed to have occurred, a refund will not be issued. 

5. If a technical or transactional error is believed to have occurred, One for the World and the donor must co-sign a letter from the Executive Director confirming that the donation will be returned and that tax-deductible receipt(s) will be cancelled. 

6. The donation will be returned and the donor must confirm receipt of the funds. The donor retains full responsibility for the cancellation of tax-deductible receipts with the IRS (or, for non-US donors, the relevant national office). 

7. Any request for the return of a donation made more than 4 weeks after the donation has been made will be declined.

8. We will only return a donation if the law specifically provides for us to return the donation, irrespective of the above conditions.

If you are based in Australia, please also see this attachment for the refund policy of the Australian Communities Foundation, our local partner for accepting donations in Australian dollars.