FAQ
We are happy to answer all your questions about Pulse of Europe. If you can't find what you're looking for in the FAQ, feel free to contact us: info@pulseofeurope.eu
Donations
We finance our work largely through donations from many citizens. We want to be independent of a few large donors.
Why does PoE need donations?
We are a grassroots movement, an association of citizens that organizes itself and is not tied to the public sector. We can only implement our work, campaigns and projects through funding and donations. For certain projects we receive grants - sometimes over several years, as in the case of the European HomeParliaments, sometimes selectively and project-related.
Overall, it is enormously important to us that we are and remain independent. That is why we do not tie ourselves to larger donors as a matter of principle, but finance our work to a large extent through the support of many citizens.
Can I deduct my donation from my taxes?
Pulse of Europe is a non-profit association. Donations and membership fees to us are tax deductible.
Compliance with the statutory requirements according to §§ 51, 59, 60 and 61 AO was separately determined by the tax office Frankfurt / M. V-Höchst, StNr. 47 / 250 / 16081 with notice dated 07.02.2020 according to § 60a AO. According to our statutes, we promote education, national and professional training, as well as the democratic state.
When are the donation receipts sent out?
Unless otherwise requested, we will send donation receipts collectively in February of the following year.
We send donation receipts for all donations for which we have the name and address of the donor - even for donations of less than 200 euros. For such amounts, the tax office actually only needs the bank statement as proof. However, we have noticed in the past that many donors would still like to receive a receipt. The effort required to filter out the relevant data before sending it out and to reprocess individual cases afterwards was greater than simply sending out all receipts in full.
Anyone who does not want a donation receipt or needs it sooner than February of the following year is welcome to contact: info@pulseofeurope.eu
Why haven't I received a donation receipt for last year?
Not yet shipped
Donation receipts are sent out by approximately mid-February of the following year. For organizational reasons, we do not send the receipts immediately after receiving a donation, but collectively for the entire previous year. If you need a receipt before then, please contact us: info@pulseofeurope.eu.
Address is not available
We often receive donations from people we do not (yet) know. With a bank transfer we only get the amount and the name of the account holder - but no address. If you would like a donation receipt, it is best to include your address in the subject line of the transfer.
If you donated but did not include your address, just let us know: info@pulseofeurope.eu
Who can I contact if I have questions about my data?
In our office, our volunteer Viviana Rohde is available to answer your questions: info@pulseofeurope.eu
Why are administrative costs necessary?
Many people volunteer for our citizens' movement - in addition to their jobs. But coordinating all the city teams and our projects and networks requires a full-time position. And that can only be taken on by someone who is paid for it 😉 .
Our volunteers are also unable to take care of the support of our donors and the administration of donations and membership fees entirely on their own. For this purpose, we have hired an agency that works for us on an hourly basis - that is, only when there is really something to do.
Since we have no commercial operations and also do not want to depend on a few large donors, we can only accomplish all these important tasks with the help of many citizens. Donations for our administrative work also further our purposes - because without them PoE could not exist at all.
Participate
Get involved in city teams, participate in rallies, help with translations, become a host at HomeParliaments: There are many ways to get involved with PoE.
What data does PoE store from me and for what purpose?
It all depends 😉
We store the address and donation data of donors in order to process the donations (e.g. to collect a donation after issuing a SEPA direct debit mandate), to send donation receipts and to send regular project information upon request. In some cases, we are legally obligated to do this, especially with regard to incoming donations, which we disclose to the tax office, for example.
We only store data that we really need to process the donations (collection, creation of donation receipts, ...) and to maintain the relationship with our supporters (thank you letters, information on the use of donations, ...).
Voting members of our association also receive regular invitations (e.g. to general meetings) or similar information from us. We may be legally obligated to do so.
Why do you send thank you letters? Isn't that expensive?
Sending thank-you letters costs time, paper and postage. However, we think it is polite to say thank you - no matter what the donation amount. We do not want to make a thank you dependent on a donation amount. And we do not have e-mail addresses of all people.
Our actions are only possible thanks to the support of many citizens. We do not want to upset anyone due to lack of thanks and thus lack of appreciation.
Don't worry: Overall, we make sure that our income and expenses are in a healthy ratio. For example, donors only receive one thank-you letter, even if they donate several times in a quarter. Even people who have given us a direct debit mandate for a monthly donation, for example, only receive a one-off thank-you letter for their regular support.
Our thank-you communication is intended to help us maintain good contact with our supporters over the long term and to keep them regularly informed about their donations.
However, if you do not want to receive any more thank you letters from us, please feel free to let us know and we will take it into consideration: info@pulseofeurope.eu
What can I do if I don't want to receive any or less mail from PoE?
We will be happy to orient our communication to you. It is no problem to send you regular project updates but no thank you letters. Or vice versa. Feel free to ask us how often and in which cases you would like to hear from us. We will try to implement your wishes as good as possible.
What can I do if I no longer want to receive thank you letters from PoE?
We will be happy to orient our communication to you. It is no problem to send you regular project updates but no thank you letters. Or vice versa. Feel free to ask us how often and in which cases you would like to hear from us. We will try to implement your wishes as good as possible.