Hello!
I checked the FAQ for donations, and there is something about “charity donation receipt”, but nothing about a plain receipt. I would like to file a donation in my accounting in which case I need a receipt. Just a short note stating what it is, date, amount, that’s it. Is this possible?
Thanks!
There are three different ways to donate via the donate button on KiCad’s website.
- Via Stripe / Kipro.
- Via the Linux Foundation.
- Via CERN.
Recently I choose the first option (which is the default) and I received the following E-mail as a receipt:
Receipt from KiCad Receipt #1023-0438
Amount paid
€500.00Date paid
October 13, 2021Summary
- Donation Supporting KiCad × 1 : €500.00 - Amount charged : €500.00
If you have any questions, contact us at support@kipro-pcb.com (support@kipro-pcb.com).
Something wrong with the email? View in browser: (https://dashboard.stripe.com/emails/receipts/pmtrc_1JkHLcAV4RmX3xVPPvPiN9y1)You’re receiving this email because you made a purchase at KiCad, which partners with Stripe (https://stripe.com/) to provide invoicing and payment processing.
Donations via The Linux Foundation get logged on their website.
Hello!
Thanks for your reply. Yes, the dashboard URL would be just fine, but I would need something with my company name. Is there a way to have a more formal invoice? My tax consultant here expects formal documents, and he’s always yelling when I bring back an anonymous supermarket-like register ticket.
Couldn’t you pay for it (and the supermarket purchases) with a “business” credit/debit card, then it will be itemised on your statements?
Hello!
Thanks for your reply.
The tax consultant is quite strict with many things. Here in Japan, purchasing something is always a nightmare. Basically you need:
- A quotation, to which you reply (or not) with a:
- Purchase request.
- The company you purchase from delivers what you purchase and provides you
- A delivery document
- An invoice
6 You pay
7 You get a proof of payment.
I’m not sure I wrote all the steps, but you get the picture.
These days it tends to be simplified when you purchase something on the net, and in this case,
I decide the amount, so I could get a confirmation that steps 6 and 7 would be enough as long
as there is one formal document.
Anyway in Japan, it’s not easy to walk off-road, so you’re supposed to do exactly like in the user’s
manual.
Paying with a credit card is not anonymous, but the reason for payment is not specified. Anyway I
will show the above link (with Kicad receipt) to the tax consultant and see how I can manage that.
From the western logic point of view, if I have a receipt and a credit card statement, same amount,
same time, it’s clear that it’s the same thing, but I wouldn’t be surprised that it can’t be done that way,
and that’s why it would be easier with a receipt with company name, etc…
Tagging @Seth_h who may have other donation options to present in case they are easier to use for the tax purposes in Japan.
Maybe it’s a good idea to extend the “Donation forms” with a description and example of what the receipts look like.
We can generate a more formal receipt if that is helpful. Please DM me with the details of your donation and I’ll send you a PDF
Hello!
Thanks for the replies, and especially thanks to Seth for your help.
I will first try to check with the tax consultant here because I wouldn’t like to ask for
a total change in return of a modest participation.
Thanks again!
In case you or others are wondering. This is what the KiCad Donation by credit card receipt looks like:
And this is what the PayPal Donation receipt looks like:
If you donate through CERN, you get a tax receipt that should have more than enough information to satisfy your accountant - something like this:
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The CERN donation site includes a link to https://cernandsocietyfoundation.cern/page/tax-efficient-giving which mentions that it’s possible to make a tax deducbible donation (US-based) to CERN by donating to the CERN & Society Foundation US Fund at the King Baudouin Foundation United States (KBFUS).
It wasn’t clear to me whether a donation to this foundation would actually go towards the development of KiCad. Does anybody know whether donations to the King Baudouin Foundation by US-based donors can be directed to help fund KiCad development?
I have the same question, but regarding donations through “The Linux Foundation”.
ALSO . . . will donations made via these foundations (CERN and Linux) be matched in the current “2021 End of Year Fund Drive”?
Dale
We have a question out to CERN to answer this. Interestingly, we hadn’t thought to ask yet. I’ll post back here when we hear back.
Linux Foundation is a 501( c )6, which is not a charity and not tax-deductible by individuals.
Yes, the matching fund extends to donations to TLF the same as last year. We are asking for totals from CERN for this period to match as well. This might take some time and so it may end up being contributed later in 2022.
@Seth_h is there a place that describes how donations to CERN, The Linux Foundation, and directly to https://donate.kicad.org/ actually end up translating into development work on KiCad? For example, does CERN pay developers directly to work on KiCad or do they grant the donations to some kind of KiCad organization that actually pays the individual developers? Are the developers paid to develop a specific feature (like a contract or SOW) or are they paid per hour?
Also, how does this relate to the work you guys do at KiPro? For example, do some of the donations to KiCad.org end up going to pay KiPro to do work on KiCad?
I apologize in advance if these questions come off as nosy, but I’ve always been curious about how this works (I checked https://www.kicad.org/donate/faq/ and didn’t see any specifics).
If this turns out to be possible, it might open up the ability for people to support KiCad through a charitable vehicle like a Donor-Advised Fund which might unlock some additional donations that otherwise may not happen.
I’ll try to answer the questions as we don’t have a direct FAQ on this. Let’s see if I can start that
Yes. The core team develops work packages that address functionality that we’ve targeted for the upcoming release. We divide up the work packages based on time/interest and developers can submit a work proposal for the amount of time the work will take. This is paid on completion of the work.
We have a similar process with work paid through the Linux Foundation.
KiPro exists to support the same work. Our goal with KiPro is to provide stable, full-time funding to developers and designers working on KiCad. This is not tied to work packages although we do also fund some work to outside contractors.
1 Like
We have an official answer back from CERN. I’ll quote here:
@Seth_h thanks for following up on this! I just recommended a grant from my DAF to KBFUS with the details requested (“Donation to KiCad Development”). I’ll let you know if it gets approved 
(it should go through, but any time there is a custom purpose specified, it goes through additional audits).
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