---
title: Donation Acceptance Policy
description: Privacy Guides aspires to obtain funding from a wide variety of sources to reduce our dependency on any single donor. Please consider donating!
---

Privacy Guides takes the ethical responsibility of making unbiased recommendations on its website very seriously.

Privacy Guides aspires to obtain funding from a wide variety of sources to reduce our dependency on any single donor. Please consider [donating](donate.md)!

## What we **can** accept

In the course of our regular fundraising activities...

- Donations and other forms of support will generally be accepted from individuals, corporations, foundations, or other entities, without limitations.
     - This includes cash, cash equivalents (checks, money orders, credit/debit card payments), and cryptocurrency.
- Gifts of Real Property, Personal Property, or Securities may only be accepted upon approval of the MAGIC Grants board of directors.

Privacy Guides will only accept such gifts that are legal and consistent with our policies. Gifts must not interfere with Privacy Guides' mission, purpose, and procedures.

## Things we do **not** do

- Accept sponsorships.
- Offer to recommend a product or service in exchange for a donation or other incentive.
- Threaten to remove a recommendation for a product or service unless we receive a donation or other incentive.
- Offer to expedite a review of a product or service in exchange for a donation or other incentive.
- Write sponsored content or feature sponsored components in our content.

## Things we **may** do

- Accept donations from privacy-related companies and non-profits.
- Apply for grant programs.
- Accept free versions of software or hardware to test and review, while being mindful of possible differences in versions that could differ from a regular customer experience. ([More details](executive-policy.md#ep1-freely-provided-product-samples))
- Accept discounted versions of software or hardware that assist our operations (for example, discounted software costs made available to non-profits).

## Restrictions on gifts

Privacy Guides accepts unrestricted gifts, and we appreciate the flexibility to apply your gift to our programs where they are most needed.

We also accept and appreciate gifts for specified programs or purposes, provided that such gifts are consistent with our program's stated mission, purpose, and priority. Privacy Guides will not accept gifts which are too restrictive in purpose.

Examples of gifts which are too restrictive include:

- Those which fund the research and review of a specific product category or specific product.
- Those which violate our existing policies.
- Those which are too difficult for us to administer.
- Those that are for purposes outside our general mission.

An example of an acceptable restriction could be a gift towards funding our [video](https://www.privacyguides.org/videos) production, or hosting our website and forum.

Final decisions on the restrictive nature of a gift and its acceptance or refusal will be made by our executive committee.

## Additional terms

Privacy Guides generally does not pay "finder's fees" or commissions to third parties in connection with any gift to Privacy Guides. We may, however, pay commissions and fees to properly negotiate and receive assets when appropriate.

No officer, committee member, employee, or other agent of Privacy Guides will be compensated in a manner which is dependent on the size or nature of gifts made to Privacy Guides by any person. If we engage with legal, accounting, or other professionals, their fees and expenses will be determined by the time they spend engaged with our work, and not by reference to any particular gift in connection to their retainer.

Privacy Guides always follows the MAGIC Grants Gift Acceptance Policy, available on their website: <https://magicgrants.org/about/documentation/>
