gaming server donations questions

[quinnamacc]

i'm making a gaming server and i have question on what i need to do and what i'm allowed to do for donations question to help keep teh server running

1. do i need an business account in order to do this

2. i already have a personal account am i allowed to make a business account then

3. if i'm going to pay for the server with this account will i have to link my bank account

4. if 1 and 3 are true can i link my bank account to that business account if it is already linked to my personal account

5. i'm offering perks for donators is that legal for example reserved slots

6. is it legal for them to donate to help keep the server running

7. does this count as non profit

it's a gmod server if you need to know to help with an answer

[snowshoe]

In the past this was not an issue as probably 1000's of people currently have donation buttons on their web sites and blogs and they are not nonprofits or registered 501(c)(3) organizations, just individuals.

If using the online button creator to generate the Donation item button code, you will see the following notice:

"This button is intended for fundraising.   If you are not raising money for a cause, please choose another option.   Nonprofits and or must verify their status to withdraw donations they receive.   Users that are not verified nonprofits must demonstrate how their donations will be used, once they raise more than $10,000."

Policies have changed and there's new regulations to deal with, such as accounts must be verified, tax reporting, etc.   For example, financial institutions such as banks, credit card issues and 3rd party transaction processors such as PayPal are required by law to reasonably verify the identity of the person behind any and all Accounts into which money is collected.   This stems from the Patriot Act, Title III, Anti-money laundering to prevent terrorism where as institutions put into place reasonable steps to identify beneficial owners of bank accounts and those who are authorized to use or route funds through payable-through accounts.

Having said all of that, if you are not a Nonprofit or 501(c)(3) Organization, it appears you can still use the Donation item button code as long as don't think you will ever raise $10,000 or more.

Should you simply want to avoid all of this, one easy option is to use a Buy Now item button.   You can code it so an amount can be entered right on the PayPal Screen.   You can also use the the Shipping Override Variables so as not to charge any shipping if you have a shipping method setup for other purposes.   Using a Buy Now type button allows people to give you funds without having a PayPal Account.   Note, you would still pay the standard transaction processing fees, same as selling an item and you must have either a Premier or Business Account, a Personal Account won't work.

Another easy option would be to have people use the send money feature.   Of course they would have to have a PayPal Account and if they send the funds as a gift assuming they don't use a credit card, there would be no fees unless the funds are being sent out of the country.

[quinnamacc]

thank you for the answer but it only answers question 1,5 & 6

[snowshoe · Accepted solution]

2. YES, you can have two accounts - one Personal and one Premier or Business.  Note, you will need a new email address and bank account for the new account.

3. YES, linking a bank account is part of the "verification" process, else, a non-verified account won't be of much use.

4. NO, you can only have a bank account linked to one PayPal Account, if it's currenly linked to an account, it would have to removed and relinked to the new account.   Note, you can't do that yourself, you would have to contact customer support for assistance.

7. NO - in order to be a non-profit, you have to register for 501(c)(3) status.  (As a not non-profit you are still subject to the standard transaction processing fees and responsible for reporting your income.)

[quinnamacc]

thank you