😶🌫️Unknown Donations
💸 Policy on Unknown Donations
Effective Date: June 2025 Owner: All For Climate (A4C) ASBL Implementer: All For Climate Back Office supports person or team Reviewed: Annually, or as needed Contact: [email protected]
🎯 Purpose
📥 What is an unknown donation?
An unknown donation is any amount received directly in A4C’s bank account without a valid reference code or clear collective identification, making it temporarily unassignable.
Examples include:
Bank transfers without using the Open Collective donation flow (and thus reference).
Missing or incorrect reference codes from the OC flow.
Descriptions that mention a general collective name but no matching record is found (we host many different XR groups)
Transfers from unidentified or anonymous donors.
🧾 Handling process
1. Logging the donation
All unidentified donations are:
Logged in a centralized Notion page titled “Unknown Contributions”.
Recorded with available metadata: sender name, date, amount, and any reference message included.
2. Matching efforts
The Back Office person attempts to match the donation by:
Searching the Open Collective platform for recent donations of similar amounts.
Reviewing descriptions that may include the collective name.
3. Donor outreach
If personal details are available (e.g. organisation name on payment record):
The donor is researched for contact details and contacted and asked to confirm which collective the funds were intended for.
Note: only possible with organisations donating
4. Collective outreach
If there is a reasonable indication of which collective may be the intended recipient, we will proactively reach out to them and ask if they are expecting a donation. If they can confirm:
the expected amount,
the donor’s identity (or a close match), and
the timing of the transfer, then we will allocate the contribution accordingly.
⏳ Holding Period
Donations that cannot be matched or claimed are held in an “Unknown Contributions” holding category for up to 6 months from the date of reception.
If a donor or collective claims the donation within this period and can reasonably verify the intent, the funds will be allocated accordingly.
💰 Reallocation of Unclaimed Funds
If no valid claim is made after 6 months, the donation is: - Reallocated to the All For Climate Treasury, in line with our mission to support community initiatives and emergency funding needs. - Marked as resolved in the Notion log with a final status update.
📣 Donor Communication & Prevention
To reduce the frequency of unknown donations:
A4C will remind all collectives and donors to only donate via their collective’s Open Collective page, where a unique payment reference code is automatically generated.
This reminder is also published on the A4C docs
⚠️ Recommendations for Claiming a Donation
To claim a donation, a donor or collective admin must:
Specify the intended collective
Confirm the donated amount
Provide proof of payment (bank transfer confirmation or screenshot) → if they step forward themselves and name is clearly different than on bank account
Contact [email protected]
📘 Transparency
Every unclaimed donations and their resolution will be registered in all transparency on the treasury page of All For Climate on OC
Hence, it will also be included in A4C’s annual financial reports
📝 Amendment & Exceptions
All For Climate reserves the right to amend this policy based on volume, fraud risk, or platform changes. Exceptions may be considered in rare cases with sufficient evidence and approval from the Board of All For Climate.
📨 Contact
If you have questions or need help allocating a donation, please contact:
Last updated
Was this helpful?