Donation and refund policy

Universal Aid Foundation, legally registered in India as [Legal name] with its registered office at [Registered address], relies on voluntary contributions to fund its humanitarian work. This policy explains who can donate, how to make a gift, how we confirm and use donations, and how to request a refund for a mistaken or duplicate transfer.

Indian accounts and Indian Rupees only

We accept donations only in Indian Rupees, or INR, from domestic bank accounts in India held by Indian citizens or Indian entities.

We do not accept foreign contributions, transfers from overseas bank accounts, international payment cards, or Non-Resident External accounts. Under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010, [Legal name] will not accept any foreign source contribution unless and until it holds verified registration or prior permission from the Government of India.

When you make a donation to [Legal name], you confirm that you are donating in INR from a domestic bank account in India and that the funds come from an eligible Indian source.

No tax deduction benefit at this stage

We make no statement about tax benefits for donations at this time. Do not give expecting a tax deduction.

If [Legal name] confirms that it qualifies for a tax benefit, we will update this policy and publish the verified registration details on our Donate page first.

How to give

At launch, you can donate in INR through two channels once our finance team publishes the verified collection details on the Donate page:

UPI transfer. Scan the official UPI QR code or send funds to [UPI ID] using any Indian UPI app.
Direct bank transfer. Send funds by NEFT, RTGS, or IMPS to the following account:
- Account holder name: [Legal name]
- Bank name and branch: [Bank name and branch]
- Account number: [Bank account number]
- IFSC code: [IFSC code]

Always check our official Donate page immediately before sending a transfer. Only our finance team and administrators can update these collection details. We never ask for donations through personal bank accounts, personal UPI IDs, or cash collectors.

If collection details are not yet active on the website, the Donate page displays a support inquiry option instead of payment instructions.

We plan to add an approved online payment gateway for domestic cards, net banking, and online UPI checkout in a later phase. When online payments are active, our website will redirect you to the approved payment provider's hosted checkout page and will never store your card numbers, CVV codes, bank login credentials, or payment PINs.

How a donation is confirmed

Sending a bank transfer or submitting a transaction reference on our website does not by itself confirm a donation.

After you complete a UPI or bank transfer, send your transaction reference or UTR number, your full name, your phone number or email address, the date and amount in INR, and your chosen donation purpose to [Email address].
Your payment reference stays in a pending, unverified state until our finance team matches it against an actual credit entry in [Legal name]'s official bank statement.
Once our finance team verifies that the funds have settled in our bank account, we issue an official donation acknowledgement within [Response time].
Every donation acknowledgement states our organization name, your name, the date received, the verified amount in INR, the approved donation purpose, and a unique internal receipt reference.

Donation purposes

We keep all donation categories strictly non-religious. We use contributions to help people in need regardless of religion, caste, gender, or background.

When you donate, you can choose from the purposes enabled on our Donate page:

General Support. Funds go to our active humanitarian programs and essential operational needs where support is needed most.
Approved program categories. You may direct your gift to an active program category listed on the Donate page, such as Food Support, Healthcare, Education, Child Care, or Elder Care.
Approved active projects. Where our finance and management teams have enabled direct giving for a specific active project, you may designate your gift for that project.

How we use funds when a purpose is met or a concept does not go ahead

We honour the purpose you select when you give. In some cases, a project's funding needs change over time:

When an active project reaches its funding need or closes. If a specific active project or program category receives more funds than it requires, or if the project finishes with an unused balance, our management and finance teams will reallocate the surplus funds to the closest active humanitarian program operated by [Legal name].
Future concept projects. Future Concept Projects listed on our website do not accept donations unless our management and finance teams explicitly approve a concept for fundraising and display its prospective status, funding target, and plan on the Donate page. Expressing interest through our Concept Interest form never creates a donation or financial pledge.
If an approved concept project does not proceed. If we ever open fundraising for an approved future concept project and that project later cannot go ahead or does not raise the minimum funds needed to launch, we will contact donors whose details we hold. Donors may ask us either to move their contribution to an active program or to refund their contribution to their original Indian bank account.

Refunds for mistaken or duplicate transfers

Once we apply a donation to our charitable work, we generally cannot refund it. However, we recognize that payment mistakes happen. We review and process refund requests for genuine errors, including duplicate transfers, an unintended amount entered by mistake, or an unauthorized transfer from your account.

How to request a refund

Send an email to [Email address] within [Refund request window] of the transaction date with the subject line "Donation refund request".

What information we need

Include the following details in your email so our finance team can trace and verify the payment:

Your full name and phone number.
The exact date and INR amount of the payment.
The UPI transaction ID or bank UTR reference number.
The last four digits of the bank account or the UPI ID from which you sent the money.
A brief explanation of why you are requesting a refund, such as a duplicate payment or typing error in the amount.
A screenshot of the UPI confirmation or a copy of the bank statement line showing the debit.

Review and refund time frame

Our finance team will check your request against our bank statement and reply within [Response time].

If our finance team verifies the error and approves the refund:

We will cancel any donation acknowledgement previously issued for that transaction.
We will return the funds within [Refund processing time] of approval.
We send refunds only in INR by bank transfer or UPI back to the original Indian bank account from which the payment came. We never pay refunds in cash or to a different person's account.

Finance contact

For questions about donation verification, acknowledgements, or refund requests, contact our finance team:

Organization: [Legal name]
Address: [Registered address]
Email: [Email address]
Phone: [Phone number]