Guidelines Related to Tax-Deductibility

In order to be eligible to receive a tax receipt, contributions for the charitable purposes of sponsored projects of Fractured Atlas must be made payable to "Fractured Atlas" only and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law. There are a few things to keep in mind related to tax-deductibility when engaging with donors: 

Why shouldn't I tell donors that donations made to Fractured Atlas are 100% tax-deductible? 

Fractured Atlas can't guarantee the tax-deductibility of any donation. While we can issue a tax receipt for fully-deductible donations and partially-deductible donations, it's up to each individual donor to determine (according to their unique tax situation) whether or not they can claim a deduction on their tax return. We will issue tax receipts for all tax-deductible donations.  

Can I donate to Fractured Atlas to support my own project?

The IRS has ruled that charitable contributions are only tax-deductible when they are motivated by donative intent. If you are unsure whether your donation meets these criteria, you should consult a professional tax advisor. There is no law against donating to your own project, though we do suggest that you speak to your accountant about the potential tax implications before doing so. If you donate funds to Fractured Atlas for your project, and we release those funds to your project, the IRS may not consider the donation tax-deductible since you are spending the donated funds on your own work. 

Do you give donors refunds if my project is not completed?

Our program is structured to ensure that donations made for the purposes of a project are used towards those activities. If a project cannot fulfill its plans, we generally suggest that the project use any funds raised to cover remaining project expenses (even if it didn't yield a finished product, there are usually expenses incurred along the way that you can use your funds to pay). We cannot simply issue a fund release to you without a project-related expense. 

Do you ever refund donations?

As a general principle, donations are presumed by law to be irrevocable gifts unless otherwise specified in a grant agreement or other contract. This is an important legal concept that, among other things, permits gifts to be tax-deductible. For that reason, we do not refund donations, and fiscally-sponsored projects are prohibited from release funds to refund donations themselves. That said, when a donation was clearly made by mistake (for example, if a donor accidentally made duplicate online gifts or typed in the wrong amount when donating online), we will happily refund the erroneous charge.