Donation terms

1. Scope and donation recipient

These donation terms apply to voluntary monetary contributions initiated through the Paw Alliance International (PAI) website. The donation recipient is the Austrian association identified in the imprint. The version displayed when the payment process starts applies to that donation. Depending on the options enabled, a donation may be made once, monthly, quarterly, every six months or yearly. The donation function is not an online shop and does not create a paid membership.

2. Voluntary contribution without consideration

A donation is a voluntary contribution supporting the statutory work of PAI. The donor does not receive goods, services or any other economic consideration in return. The selected amount is displayed before the donor is redirected to payment and must be actively confirmed. Unless the donation page states otherwise, payments are made in euros (EUR).

3. Eligibility, email address and optional account

Donations may only be initiated by persons legally entitled to do so. Minors may donate only as permitted by applicable law or with any consent required from their legal representatives. A valid email address is mandatory for an online donation. It is used to match the payment, send necessary transaction messages and provide the electronic payment or donation confirmation. A company donation additionally requires the company name and does not use the private FinanzOnline reporting route. A free donation account may be requested expressly. It becomes active only after the email address is confirmed through a time-limited activation link and a password is set. Earlier and later donations using the same verified address may be linked to the account. The account may be deleted; payment and tax records that must be retained by law remain unaffected. A donation or account request never subscribes the donor to the newsletter automatically. An optional newsletter request made in the donation form remains legally and technically separate and becomes active only after an additional double opt-in confirmation.

4. Payment processing through Stripe

Payments are processed through Stripe Hosted Checkout. Depending on the device, browser, country, currency, payment frequency and Stripe account configuration, available options may include cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay or other payment methods supported by Stripe. No particular payment method is guaranteed to be available in every situation. For a recurring donation, the donor gives the payment authorisation required for charges at the selected interval in Stripe Checkout. PAI does not store full card numbers, security codes or other complete card details. Those details are processed directly by Stripe and the payment providers involved. Further information is provided in the privacy policy.

5. Payment status and technical confirmation

Reaching a success page does not by itself confirm receipt of payment. The authoritative status is the status delivered by Stripe through a signed webhook and recorded in the PAI database. A donation may be recorded as initiated, pending, paid, failed, expired or refunded. Only a transaction successfully confirmed as paid is treated as a received donation. If a payment fails or is cancelled, the donor is not required to try again.

5a. Recurring donations and cancellation

When a recurring donation is selected, Stripe collects the confirmed amount monthly, quarterly, every six months or yearly according to the selected interval until the donor ends the recurring payment or Stripe or PAI ends it for a legitimate reason. After the first payment has been successfully confirmed, the donor receives a personal email link to a secure management area hosted by Stripe. There the donor can update the stored payment method and end the recurring donation under the conditions displayed in the portal. The personal link must not be shared. Cancellation takes effect immediately or at the end of the current billing period according to the setting shown in Stripe. Payments already completed are not automatically refunded. PAI records each successfully confirmed charge as a separate transaction and sends an electronic confirmation.

6. Electronic donation confirmation

After payment has been confirmed, a concise electronic confirmation is sent to the supplied email address. It contains at least the amount, currency, payment date, unique reference and status recorded by PAI. This message confirms payment or donation; it is not an invoice for paid services and is not automatically a tax donation certificate. If delivery fails, the donor may request another copy using the contact address provided in the imprint.

7. Fees, currency conversion and third-party charges

PAI charges the amount displayed before completion. Payment processing fees may reduce the net amount economically available to PAI without increasing the displayed charge. Additional fees imposed by a bank or card provider, for example for currency conversion or international use, are outside PAI's control and are governed by the donor's agreement with that provider.

8. Mistaken payments and refunds

A completed donation is intended as a final voluntary contribution. A refund is not automatic merely because the donor later changes their mind. Mandatory legal rights remain unaffected, in particular for unauthorized, accidentally duplicated or technically incorrect payments. The donor should contact PAI without delay using the details in the imprint and provide the payment reference. Where a refund is legally required or agreed by PAI after review, it is generally returned through the original payment method. Mandatory revocation or recovery rights under Austrian law remain unaffected.

9. Use of donations

Donations without an expressly accepted restriction are used for PAI's statutory activities. A donation is restricted to a particular purpose only where that purpose is explicitly offered on the donation page and accepted by PAI during the payment process. Information on the use of donations is intended to be published in the transparency section. A donation does not grant the donor a right to direct individual operational decisions, campaigns or projects.

10. Tax deductibility in Austria

A donation is not tax deductible in Austria merely because an electronic payment confirmation has been issued. PAI may communicate tax deductibility only after the required recognition has been obtained and the organization is listed by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Finance at the time of the donation. Only after that status has been documented and enabled can a private donor request Austrian tax consideration. The registered first name, surname and date of birth are then mandatory. Providing this information expresses the request to treat the donation as a special expense and requires PAI to submit the statutory report through FinanzOnline. Without that selection and information no report is made, while the donation itself remains possible. Companies handle donations made from business assets as business expenses in their tax return and may need documentary proof; the private name-and-date-of-birth reporting route does not apply.

11. Data protection and communication

PAI processes only the data needed to complete, match, confirm and secure the donation and to meet applicable documentation duties. Donation data is not used for newsletters or other promotional communication unless independent consent has been given. Details concerning Stripe, retention periods, recipients and data subject rights are provided in the privacy policy.

12. Applicable law and amendments

Austrian law applies, excluding conflict-of-law rules that would refer the matter to another legal system. Mandatory consumer protections of the country in which the donor habitually resides and mandatory European Union law remain unaffected. Statutory places of jurisdiction apply. PAI may amend these terms for future donations. The version documented when an existing payment process began continues to apply to that donation. Contact and association details are available in the imprint.