How do donation refunds and chargebacks work?
Last verified October 18, 2026
When a gift is refunded or charged back, your balance goes down by the share of the gift that reached it, and the same share of the Foundation's fee comes back to you. Stripe's dispute fee is never charged to your team. Teams can't refund a donor themselves; email the Foundation.
A donor wants their money back
Refunds aren't something your team can start in Robolyst. Ask the donor to reply to their receipt email, or email contact@robotics-catalyst.org yourself with the donor's name, the amount and the date.
For a monthly gift that should stop, the donor can manage it themselves. Their receipt email links to the donor portal at /donate/portal, where they can see their gifts, download receipts and manage recurring donations.
What a refund does to your balance
Your balance only ever moves by what actually reached it. A refund reverses that, in proportion:
| Entry on your Balance page | What it means |
|---|---|
| Donation refunded | The share of the gift that was credited to you, taken back |
| Platform fee returned | The matching share of the Foundation's fee, given back |
Refund half a gift and you lose half of what you banked and get half the fee back. A full refund leaves your balance where it was before the gift.
Chargebacks
A chargeback is when a donor disputes the payment with their bank. When Stripe pulls the money back, you'll see Donation charged back with the same proportional reversal and fee return as a refund.
Stripe also charges a dispute fee. That fee is never taken from your team.
If the dispute is decided in your favour and the money comes back, you'll see Chargeback reversed, and both the credit and the fee share are restored.
If the money was already spent
Refunds and chargebacks post even when your balance can't cover them, so your balance can drop below zero. The Available balance on the Account page shows in red when that happens. Email the Foundation if it does.
What the donor is told
The donor gets an email saying the gift was returned. For a full return, it tells them their tax receipt no longer applies. For a partial one, it tells them which amount is still deductible.