At The Arty-Crafty Crescent Club Community Interest Company , our workshops and events aim to bring people together for learning, creativity, and community support. For many of our events, we offer both free ticket options and donation-based tickets through Eventbrite. These donations play a crucial role in keeping our initiatives alive, covering basic costs, and allowing us to continue serving the community.
Why We Use Donation-Based Tickets
When setting up ticket options, we like to provide the opportunity for anyone to join without financial commitment. That’s why we offer free tickets alongside donation options. Donations, regardless of amount, go directly toward the resources we use in workshops, supplies, and making sure we can bring more events to the community in the future. When attendees choose to donate, they’re directly contributing to the sustainability of our community programs as we don’t have any external fundings.
Our Refund Policy for Donations
Because of processing fees and administrative considerations, we’ve established a policy where only donations over £5 are eligible for a refund. Smaller amounts simply don’t cover the costs of processing a refund, especially with the fees deducted from each transaction. This approach helps us stay focused on using every donation effectively rather than redirecting limited resources toward administrative tasks.
Real-Life Example: Today’s Refund Request
Today, I received a message from an attendee who had reserved a ticket with a £1 donation for an upcoming workshop. They’d made the generous choice to donate and even taken the day off work to join. However, due to an unexpected cancellation, they reached out to request a refund for the £1. Although I sympathized with their situation, processing a £1 refund would actually cost more than the donation itself after fees.
I explained the donation-based nature of the tickets and that there was an option to reserve a free ticket instead. As the event wasn’t a paid service or product, attendance was entirely voluntary, including any choice to take personal time off work.
The Reason Behind Our Policy
The decision to have a minimum threshold for refunds isn’t to be dismissive or ungrateful. Every donation, big or small, is incredibly valuable to us, and we deeply appreciate the support. However, refunding small amounts simply isn’t feasible and would detract from our ability to host future events.
We always aim to be transparent with our community about these policies, and I hope this post helps provide some insight into why we manage donations and refunds in this way.
Thank you for your understanding, support, and for being part of our mission to build a connected, thriving community!
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