Credit Rules

Credits are a record of contribution within a community. They have no cash value.

When you help another member, you earn credits. When someone helps you, you spend them. Credits let a small charity get an hour of expert help today and give back later, in whatever way it can.

These rules apply to every member. You will be asked to accept them when you join, and the site records which version you accepted.

What credits are, and are not

Credits are a way of keeping score fairly, so that giving and receiving stay in balance across the community.

Credits are not:

• money, or anything that can be swapped for money
• payment for services
• wages or pay of any kind
• a donation
• tax-deductible

Credits cannot be bought, sold, transferred for money, or converted into money, goods or anything else outside Golden Hint.

Earning and spending through exchanges

An exchange is when one member helps another through the Expertise Exchange.

• One hour of expert help is worth 1 credit. This is the same for every skill. An hour of legal guidance and an hour of design help count the same.
• Fixed-scope tasks can be priced at an agreed number of credits instead of by the hour. A fixed-scope task is a piece of work with a clear finish line, such as reviewing a budget. The price must be between 0.5 and 20 credits, and both members must agree it before work starts.

Starting balances

So that new members can get help straight away:

• A verified charity receives a welcome grant of 5 credits. "Verified" means we have matched the organization to the IRS list of tax-exempt organizations using its EIN (Employer Identification Number).
• A member in the founder tier receives a starter grant of 10 credits. The founder tier is for people whose charity is still forming. It is clearly labeled and has limited permissions.
• A balance may go down to −5 credits. This lets new members receive help before they have had the chance to give any. You cannot spend below −5.

How an exchange moves credits

1. The two members agree what will be done and how many credits it is worth.
2. When the exchange is agreed, the credits are held. This means they are set aside from the balance of the member getting help and marked as pending. They have not moved yet.
3. When the work is done, both members confirm completion. Only then do the credits move to the member who gave the help.
4. If the exchange is cancelled before work starts, the held credits go back to the member who would have spent them.

If there is a disagreement

If the two members disagree about whether the work was done, or how many credits it was worth, either one can raise a dispute.

• The credits stay held while the Golden Hint team reviews what happened.
• We aim to decide within 14 days.
• We will look at what was agreed, the messages in the exchange, and what each member tells us.
• We then decide where the held credits go, and tell both members why.

Other ways to earn credits

You can also earn credits by helping the wider community.

Workshop and mentoring credits come from the community pool, not from the people you help. The host says which organizations attended, from those that signed up; the mentee confirms each mentoring session. Both are recorded once and can't be paid twice.

Gifting credits

You may gift up to 20 credits a month to another verified member. Gifts are a way of saying thank you or helping someone get started. They cannot be exchanged for money or anything else.

Sponsored pools

Funders may sponsor pools of credits for a cause area or a state, for example to help new food banks get legal advice. A sponsored pool is a grant of credits, not money: no money moves through Golden Hint. Our staff set up each pool from a written agreement with the funder, with its size, who can claim, and the most one organization can claim.

• Eligible verified organizations claim credits from the pool, up to its limit. Some pools ask our staff to approve each claim first.
• Each pool has its own account in the ledger, so every credit stays accounted for. When a pool closes, unclaimed credits return to the community pool.
• Credits from a pool follow these same rules.

Company programs

Companies can join as a company program, verified by our staff like charities. A company's people offer help and host workshops; a company can't receive help, gifts or pool credits.

• Credits a company earns go into its own company pool, not a wallet.
• The company grants credits from that pool to charities it chooses, up to 20 credits per charity a month.

Expiry

• Credits do not expire while you are active on Golden Hint.
• If your account has no activity for 24 months, your balance returns to the community pool, which is used to help other members.
• We will give you 60 days' notice before this happens, so you have time to use your credits or simply log in.
• "Activity" means anyone from your organization signing in or using the site, or any credit movement on your organization's account. Only credits available to spend return; credits held for an agreed exchange stay, and a balance below zero isn't affected.

Tiers and badges

Organizations earn recognition tiers from the hours of help they give and receive (completed exchanges, confirmed mentoring sessions and workshops): Seedling (from the start), Spark (5 hours), Lantern (25 hours) and Beacon (100 hours). Badges mark milestones such as a first exchange, ten hours given, mentoring, hosting a workshop, joining a peer circle, five accepted answers, or moving from the founder tier to a registered charity.

Tiers and badges are recognition only. They can never be bought, credits cannot be spent on them, and they don't change your credits.

Keeping it fair

Credits only mean something if everyone plays fair. So:

• No exchanges between organizations under common control. If two organizations share the same leaders or are run by the same people, they cannot trade credits with each other.
• No circular trades. You may not trade credits back and forth, or around a group, to inflate balances.
• Reviews must be honest. No trading or pressuring for good reviews.
• The team can reverse credits earned by abuse. If credits were earned by breaking these rules or the Community Guidelines, the Golden Hint team can take them back.

A record you can trust

• Every credit movement is recorded in a ledger, which is a running list of every transaction.
• The ledger is append-only. That means entries are never edited or deleted. If something needs fixing, a new entry is added to correct it, so the full history is always visible.
• Every adjustment made by the Golden Hint team is logged with who made it and why.
• Credits belong to your organization, not to one person. Grants and earnings come from the community pool, so every credit in the ledger is matched by an entry on the other side.
• Held credits. When an exchange is agreed, the receiving organization's credits for it are held: they still count in your balance but you can't spend them elsewhere. When both sides confirm the work was done, they move to the provider. If the exchange is cancelled, the hold is released. During a dispute, the hold stays until the team decides.
• If a member deletes their account, the ledger entries stay (they belong to the organization's record) with the member's name removed.

Changes to these rules

The numbers in these rules (for example, grant sizes, limits and earning rates) may change as we learn what works. The Foundation will give members 30 days' notice before any change to them takes effect.

Questions and answers

Can I buy credits if I need help quickly?

No. Credits cannot be bought. If you are new, your welcome or starter grant and the ability to go down to −5 credits are there so you can get help straight away.

Can I pay someone in cash instead, or as well?

Not through Golden Hint. The Exchange is for giving and getting help, not for selling services. See the Community Guidelines.

Can I claim a tax deduction for the help I give?

No. Credits are not a donation and are not tax-deductible. If you have questions about your own tax situation, please ask a qualified tax professional.

Are credits a form of payment or wages?

No. Credits are a record of contribution. They are not payment for services and not wages.

What happens if the other member does not confirm completion?

The credits stay held. Send them a friendly reminder first. If that does not work, raise a dispute and the Golden Hint team will review it, aiming to decide within 14 days.

Is a 3-hour task worth 3 credits?

If you agree to work by the hour, yes. You can also agree a fixed price for the whole task, anywhere from 0.5 to 20 credits, as long as you both agree before work starts.

What happens to my credits if I leave?

Credits cannot be cashed out or transferred for money. Before you go, you can gift up to 20 credits a month to another verified member, if you would like your balance to keep helping someone.

Who decides disputes?

The Golden Hint team. Every decision that changes a balance is logged with who made it and why.