# FAQ

## What is the mission statement of the Privacy Guides Fund?

- We are a committee of a 501(c)(3) public charity that funds educational initiatives related to privacy and digital rights.
- Donate to Privacy Guides and support our mission to defend digital rights and spread the word about mass surveillance programs and other daily privacy invasions. You can help Privacy Guides researchers, activists, and maintainers create informative content, host private digital services, and protect privacy rights at a time when the world needs it most.
- Privacy Guides has been a nonstop effort for over 5 years to stay up to date with the world of cybersecurity and privacy, and to promote the benefits of privacy overall. This is a **non-profit, community-driven** project that would not be possible without the generous support of all our [contributors](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/about/contributors/).

## Who receives these donations?

- Your donation will go to a fund dedicated to *Privacy Guides* within [MAGIC Grants](https://magicgrants.org), a 501(c)(3) organization. The funds will **only** be used for this project specifically.

## How do you use donations?

- Privacy Guides is a non-profit organization. We use donations for a variety of purposes, including:
- **Web hosting:** Privacy Guides receives millions of requests and serves hundreds of gigabytes of data per month, we use a variety of service providers to keep up with this traffic.
- **Payroll:** We are endeavoring to [hire](https://www.privacyguides.org/en/about/jobs/) full-time journalists and writers to review products and create more educational content on a regular basis.
- **Online Services:** We host internet services for testing and showcasing different privacy-products we like and recommend. Some of them are made publicly available for our community's use (SearXNG, Tor, etc.), and some are provided for our team members (email, etc.).
- **Product Purchases:** We occasionally purchase products and services for the purposes of testing our recommended tools.
- **Domain Registrations:** We have a few domain names like privacyguides.org which cost us around $10 yearly each to maintain their registration.
- As a non-profit, we strictly cannot use donations to support political campaigns/candidates or attempt to influence legislation. Earnings also will not inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual.

## Are there other ways to support Privacy Guides?

- We alternatively accept donations via [GitHub Sponsors](https://github.com/sponsors/privacyguides) if you prefer that platform or would like to publicize your support there.
- Another option to support us is by buying our merchandise from [HelloTux](https://hellotux.com/privacyguides). We get a small commission for each item sold, and you get a quality product to show for it.
- You can also support Privacy Guides via non-financial means by getting involved with our [community](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/), [helping edit the site](https://github.com/privacyguides/privacyguides.org), or by [contributing translations](https://crowdin.com/project/privacyguides).

## How do you collect Monero donations?

- We use BTCPay Server to receive Monero and Bitcoin donations. For fiat donations, we leverage Stripe Payments.

## Can you provide the view key to verify the Fund's incoming Monero donations?

- Yes. You can create a view-only Monero wallet with this information:
- Do **not** donate to this Monero address directly instead of using the form on this website, because it is **shared** with other MAGIC funds, and therefore may not be properly attributed to Privacy Guides.
- Main address:
  ```
  4BE3G7JCwcphuZYGw56AcpDEsDsZ7kCDjZwkxQSf3cSrJxbq4Mgqu1tNZeQny1QUZG9aeNWaHEiK82fvzsCcuySJSFccM5u
  ```
- Secret view key:
  ```
  9a7202066d71e2b72d5fe61baf2f77a91258387b2abdf2516797f3ce30400802
  ```
- Restore height: 3245346

## How can I communicate with you?

- You can reach the Privacy Guides via our forum at [discuss.privacyguides.net](https://discuss.privacyguides.net/).
- To reach MAGIC Grants, our fiscal host, please email [info@magicgrants.org](mailto:info@magicgrants.org).

## Are my donations tax-deductible?

- Yes. MAGIC Privacy Guides Fund is a project fiscally hosted by MAGIC Grants, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your donation may qualify for a tax deduction.
- If you would like to receive a tax deduction, we may need to collect supplementary information such as your name and email for required record keeping. If you donate over $500 with cryptocurrencies, you will need to fill out [Form 8283](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8283.pdf) and email that form to [info@magicgrants.org](mailto:info@magicgrants.org) for us to sign Part V.
- MAGIC Grants does not provide legal or tax advice. Please consult a tax professional to determine if your donation is eligible for a tax deduction.

## Can I donate with bank transfer or wire?

- Yes! Please [email](mailto:info@magicgrants.org) MAGIC Grants, who will send you the bank details and manually add your donation. We can accept domestic and international wire transfers. Wires are appreciated for large donations, so that ~3% more of your donation can go to the recipient instead of credit card fees.
- Privacy Guides relies on donors like you to help promote and support our mission to defend digital rights, spread the word about mass surveillance programs and other daily privacy invasions, and create free and detailed educational materials to help everyday technology users improve their privacy. We greatly appreciate your contributions.
