Donor Terms

Last updated: June 8, 2026

How donations work

When you donate to a sighting, your payment is charged immediately and held in escrow by CatMaps. Funds are released to a verified rescue's Stripe Connect account only after they claim the case and the case reaches a positive outcome (adopted, TNR'd, transferred, in care, or reunited).

Automatic refunds

• Unclaimed in 30 days: if no verified rescue claims the sighting within 30 days, every donation is refunded in full to the original payment method.
• Stalled case: if a claimed case has no status update for 21 days, it is flagged for admin review and may be refunded.
• Rescue abandons the case: full refund to all donors.

Discretionary refunds

You can email hello@catmaps.app to request a refund before funds are released. Once funds have been released to the rescue, CatMaps no longer holds the money and a refund must be coordinated with the rescue directly.

Fees

Stripe processing fees are deducted before release. CatMaps does not currently take a platform fee — 100% of your donation (minus Stripe fees) reaches the rescue.

Tax deductibility

Whether your donation is tax deductible depends on the receiving organization's tax status. CatMaps itself is not a 501(c)(3) and cannot issue tax receipts for the donation. Many rescues on CatMaps are 501(c)(3) and can issue their own receipts on request.

Disputes

Please contact us before filing a chargeback — we can almost always resolve issues directly. Chargebacks initiated without contacting us first may result in a ban.

Contact

hello@catmaps.app