Donations are generally final, but if fraud or misuse is confirmed after an investigation, refunds are processed. The amount depends on the remaining balance in the organizer’s account. Email support@whydonate.com to request a refund.

Trust & Safety

Your donations are safe with WhyDonate

Q: Does WhyDonate charge fees?

WhyDonate charges 0% platform fees. There are no hidden costs for organizers — only Stripe’s standard payment-processing costs apply. WhyDonate never takes a cut of your donation.

Q: Where is my donation money held?

In a segregated third-party bank account, completely separate from WhyDonate’s operational funds and overseen by a registered accountant. Payouts go directly from that account to the verified organizer.

Q: How are fundraisers verified?

Every fundraiser completes identity verification through Stripe before any payout. Private accounts need a name and IBAN; organisations need a Chamber of Commerce number and business IBAN; campaigns raising above €1,500 require a government-issued ID and, for organisations, a UBO declaration.

Q: How does WhyDonate handle fraud?

AI-powered tools monitor campaigns for unusual behaviour and automatically flag high-risk categories. A dedicated internal team reviews every flagged campaign, payouts are paused during investigations, and confirmed fraudulent campaigns are removed with refunds processed where funds remain.

Q: How does WhyDonate protect my personal data?

WhyDonate is fully GDPR compliant. Data is transmitted over SSL-encrypted connections, hosted on Google Cloud in Belgium (within the EEA), and never shared with third parties.

Q: How do I report a suspicious campaign?

Email support@whydonate.com with the campaign link and any evidence. The team reviews reports immediately, pauses payouts during the investigation, and removes confirmed fraudulent campaigns.

Every euro you give is ring-fenced in a segregated account, watched over by a registered accountant, and protected by bank-grade encryption — so the only thing on your mind is the cause.

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verified0% platform fee account_balanceRegistered in Amsterdam · KVK 58485317 favorite850,000+ donors

lockSSL encryptedEnd-to-end secure connection

workspace_premiumISO 27001 basedSecurity Verified certified

policyGDPR compliantEU data protection

credit_cardStripe verifiedPCI DSS Level 1 payments

Built on trust

Three layers of protection

Your money, the people you give to, and your data are each safeguarded by a separate, deliberate system.

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Protected funds

Donations sit in a segregated third-party account, separate from our business and overseen by a registered accountant.

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Verified fundraisers

Every organizer is identity-verified before a single payout, with AI and a human team watching for fraud around the clock.

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EU-regulated & secure

Registered in Amsterdam and built to GDPR, PSD2 and international sanctions rules, with data hosted inside the EEA.

Your money

Your donation never touches our business

From the moment you give, your contribution is ring-fenced in a segregated third-party account. A registered accountant oversees every flow, and payouts go straight from that protected account to the verified recipient.

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You donate

Paid securely by card or local method over an SSL-encrypted connection.

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Segregated account

Held separately from WhyDonate’s funds, with registered-accountant oversight.

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Verified recipient

Paid directly to the organizer’s verified bank account — never via us.

schedule7-day clearing period boltPayouts in 2–3 business days event_repeatWeekly, monthly or on-demand

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If something goes wrong

When fraud or misuse is confirmed after an investigation, we remove the campaign, stop all payouts and process refunds from the remaining balance. We can’t promise a full refund in every case, but we act fast to recover what we can — email [email protected].

Verification

We verify every fundraiser before a payout

Identity verification is handled by Stripe and scales with the amount raised — light-touch for small campaigns, rigorous for larger ones. No funds are released until it’s complete.

person

Tier 1

Private accounts

check_circleFull legal name
check_circlePersonal IBAN bank details

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Tier 2

Organisations

check_circleChamber of Commerce (KVK) number
check_circleBusiness IBAN

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Above €1,500

Larger campaigns

check_circleGovernment-issued ID
check_circleUBO declaration (organisations)
check_circleLegal-representative verification

schedule

Usually done within hours

Most checks clear quickly — and no payout is ever released before verification succeeds.

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Continuous monitoring

Verification isn’t a one-time gate — our systems keep watching and can trigger fresh checks at any point.

Fraud prevention

AI that never sleeps, people who always look

Automated tools flag unusual behaviour in real time, and a dedicated internal team investigates every flagged case. No alert goes unreviewed.

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AI-powered monitoring

Our tools automatically flag high-risk categories and campaigns with unusual donation patterns or suspicious descriptions.

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Human review

A dedicated team reviews every flag and every user report, requesting documentation before any decision is made.

Categories we automatically flag

currency_bitcoinCryptocurrency how_to_votePolitical fundraising trending_upInvestment schemes public_offSanctioned regions priority_highOther sensitive topics

What happens when a campaign is flagged

Flagged

By our automated systems or a report from a user like you.

Reviewed

Our team checks the details and asks the organizer — and any reporter — for supporting evidence.

Payouts paused

Funds are frozen for the full duration of the investigation.

Resolved

Cleared and released — or removed, with refunds processed where funds remain.

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Sanctions compliance

Campaigns originating from or benefiting restricted regions are not permitted on the platform.

CubaNorth KoreaSyriaIranRussiaCrimeaDonetskLuhansk

Payments

Secure payments, powered by Stripe

Every transaction runs through Stripe — PCI DSS Level 1 certified and licensed under the EU’s PSD2 directive. Its own fraud-detection layer analyses patterns across a global network, giving you a double layer of protection on top of ours.

stripeVerified Partner

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PCI DSS Level 1

The highest level of payment-data security.

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PSD2 licensed

Regulated under EU payment-services law.

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119 currencies

Including EUR, USD and GBP.

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100+ countries

Cross-border giving, same standards.

Compliance & data

Held to Europe’s strictest standards

As a platform registered in Amsterdam (KVK 58485317), WhyDonate operates under some of the world’s toughest financial and data-protection rules. We see that as a strength, not a burden.

policy

GDPR compliant

We collect only what we need, transmit it over SSL-encrypted channels and never share transaction data with third parties.

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Data hosted in the EEA

All data lives on Google Cloud in Belgium — it never leaves the protection of EU data-sovereignty laws.

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Segregated & audited

Donated funds are kept strictly separate from our operational cash flow, with registered-accountant oversight and tax reporting.

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Cross-border ready

Donations flow across 100+ countries and 119 currencies while every transaction keeps European regulatory standards.

Report a campaign

See something off? Tell us.

Reporting keeps the platform safe for everyone, and we take every report seriously. Flag a campaign if you believe it contains false information, misrepresents its organizer, or won’t use funds as described.

How to report

Email us the campaign link and a short description of your concern. Include any supporting evidence you have.

mail[email protected]

After you report

1
We review immediately
Our team looks at your report straight away.
2
Payouts are paused
We contact the organizer for documentation while funds stay frozen.
3
We resolve & follow up
You may be asked for more evidence. Confirmed misuse means removal and refunds where possible.

FAQ

Questions, answered

Is WhyDonate safe to donate to?expand_more

Yes. WhyDonate is a European platform registered in Amsterdam (KVK 58485317). Donations are held in a segregated third-party account overseen by a registered accountant, payments run through Stripe with PCI DSS certification and SSL encryption, and the platform is GDPR compliant with Security Verified certification based on ISO 27001.

Does WhyDonate charge fees?expand_more

Where is my donation money held?expand_more

How are fundraisers verified?expand_more

How does WhyDonate handle fraud?expand_more

Can I get a refund?expand_more

How does WhyDonate protect my personal data?expand_more

How do I report a suspicious campaign?expand_more

Start with confidence

Every feature on this page exists so you can give and raise without worry — built on European regulation, transparent finances and security beyond the baseline.

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