---
title: "Donate"
description: "Support this project — donate, help us become a foundation, and full transparency about costs and income."
url: https://attentionmachine.org/en/share/donate/
lang: en
updated: 2026-10-25
license: "CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/)"
---

# Donate

This site is non-commercial, carries no advertising, and has no investors. Reader donations are what will keep it running.

My name is Codrin Kruijne. I built this site on my own initiative because I believe the public deserves a clear, evidence-based explanation of how attention-optimising platforms work and what they do to us. To scale this professionally — with translations, accessibility audits, and long-term maintenance — I am seeking funds to register a Dutch foundation (_stichting_) and run it through its first year. Your support helps make that happen.

[🤲 Support this project 🚀](https://ko-fi.com/codrin/goal?g=0)

## Help us become a foundation

This site is being organised as a Dutch foundation — a _stichting_ — which separates the organisation's assets from personal liability[^src-kvk-b] and enables transparent governance. Registration is in progress.

Once registered, ANBI (public benefit organisation) status will be applied for — which makes donations from Dutch residents tax-deductible, within the rules: one-off gifts count only above a threshold of 1% of income[^src-belastingdienst], and the deduction is capped at the basic rate (about 37%)[^src-belastingdienst-2026], not the top rate. A periodic gift committed for at least five years is deductible in full, without a threshold.[^src-belastingdienst-b]

Registration also makes the foundation eligible to apply for Google Ad Grants (up to $10,000/month in free search advertising)[^src-google] and TechSoup[^src-techsoup-donated] technology discounts, each of which checks an applicant's non-profit status before accepting it, and strengthens a Cloudflare Project Galileo[^src-cloudflare] application. If we ever use the Google grant, we will say so here — a site that describes search as an advertising platform owes its readers that disclosure.

### What the first year costs

| Cost | Amount |
| - | - |
| Notary fees (deed of incorporation and statutes) | \~€1,200 |
| KvK registration[^src-kvk] | €85 |
| Tax advice on receiving donations | \~€600 |
| AI credits, one year | \~€1,200 |
| Bank account and administration, one year | \~€2,400 |
| Phone and internet subscriptions, first year | \~€1,200 |
| Domain and analytics server, one year (see Running costs) | €50–100 |
| **Total** | **\~€6,800** |

These are our own estimates for the foundation's first year, not published prices; the KvK fee[^src-kvk] is the one published figure. A foundation must be set up by notarial deed[^src-kvk-b], so the notary's fee is unavoidable. The AI credits pay for the AI assistance that the notice at the foot of every page discloses.

## Transparency

### No advertising

This site carries no advertising and never will. Advertising creates an incentive to maximise engagement regardless of user wellbeing — which is what this site documents. Accepting advertising would be inconsistent with the argument.

### No investors or commercial backers

This site has no investors, no commercial backers, and no editorial obligations to any funder. Nobody pays to have their product, organisation, or position represented here.

### What funds it

**Reader donations:** readers who find this site useful can donate above. No subscription, no pressure, no recurring commitment required unless you choose one. This is the only income the site will take.

**Affiliate commissions:** none at present. We have considered affiliate links for the books on the reading list, but have not adopted any; if that changes, the links will be disclosed on the Things Worth Paying For page and the income reported here.

### Running costs

Hosting: Cloudflare, on the free plan[^src-cloudflare-b] — the site is a Worker, and the free plan covers its traffic. Analytics: a self-hosted, cookieless Plausible instance[^src-plausible] on a small rented server (see the [privacy page](https://attentionmachine.org/en/about/privacy/)) — the software is free and open source, so the cost is the server, and it is the one technical cost besides the domain. Newsletter: not yet launched. Domain: €15/year. Approximate annual total, domain and analytics server together: €50–100. Those two are our own invoices rather than a published price list; the quarterly figures we will publish here, once the foundation is registered, will report what was actually paid.

### What we will publish

When registration is complete: the date of incorporation, KvK number, full statutes (public documents), and an account of how contributions were spent. Every quarter after that: income, costs, and balance. This is the transparency the site argues for. We apply it to ourselves.

### Common questions

**Is my donation tax-deductible?** Not yet — ANBI status requires registration first, and then an application on which the Belastingdienst says it decides within eight weeks[^src-belastingdienst-c]. We will announce clearly when it is granted.

**What if you raise more than the first year needs (about €6,800)?** Surplus goes to operating costs, published openly.

**Can organisations donate?** Yes — [contact us](https://attentionmachine.org/en/contact/?reason=care-donation) for an invoice or documentation. Bank transfer becomes available once the foundation's account is open.

## Sources

[^src-belastingdienst]: Belastingdienst, [_Voorwaarden voor het aftrekken van gewone giften_](https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/prive/inkomstenbelasting/aftrekposten/persoonsgebonden-aftrek/giften_aan_goede_doelen/periodieke_en_gewone_giften/voorwaarden_aftrek_gewone_giften/voorwaarden_aftrekken_gewone_giften) — the threshold for one-off gifts: 1% of threshold income, minimum €60, with a maximum of 10%.

[^src-belastingdienst-b]: Belastingdienst, [_Voorwaarden voor het aftrekken van periodieke giften_](https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/prive/inkomstenbelasting/aftrekposten/persoonsgebonden-aftrek/giften_aan_goede_doelen/periodieke_en_gewone_giften/voorwaarden_aftrek_periodieke_giften/voorwaarden_periodieke_giften) — a gift recorded in a deed or written agreement and paid for at least five consecutive years, with no threshold.

[^src-belastingdienst-2026]: Belastingdienst, [_Tariefsaanpassing aftrekposten als u hoog inkomen hebt_](https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/nl/aftrek-en-kortingen/content/afbouw-tarief-aftrekposten-bij-hoog-inkomen) — deductions in the top bracket are worth at most 37.56% in 2026.

[^src-belastingdienst-c]: Belastingdienst, [_U hebt de aanvraag verstuurd. En dan?_](https://www.belastingdienst.nl/wps/wcm/connect/bldcontentnl/belastingdienst/zakelijk/bijzondere_regelingen/goede_doelen/algemeen_nut_beogende_instellingen/u_hebt_de_aanvraag_opgestuurd_en_dan) — "binnen 8 weken een brief met onze beslissing" on an ANBI application.

[^src-google]: Google, [_Google Ad Grants_](https://www.google.com/grants/) — "up to $10,000 per month in search ads" for qualifying non-profits. Vendor page.

[^src-techsoup-donated]: [TechSoup](https://www.techsoup.org/) — donated and discounted software and services for non-profits. Vendor page.

[^src-cloudflare]: Cloudflare, [_Project Galileo_](https://www.cloudflare.com/galileo/) — free protection for public-interest sites in human rights, civil society, journalism and democracy. Vendor page.

[^src-kvk]: KVK, [_Inschrijfvergoeding_](https://www.kvk.nl/inschrijven/inschrijfvergoeding/) — the one-off registration fee, €85.15, adjusted annually.

[^src-kvk-b]: KVK, [_De stichting_](https://www.kvk.nl/starten/de-stichting/) — a foundation is established by notarial deed, and the notary usually files the registration.

[^src-cloudflare-b]: Cloudflare, [_Workers pricing_](https://developers.cloudflare.com/workers/platform/pricing/) — what the free plan includes. Vendor page.

[^src-plausible]: Plausible, [_Self-hosted web analytics_](https://plausible.io/self-hosted-web-analytics) — the community edition is free and open source; the cost of running it is the server. Vendor page.

[^src-ko-fi]: Ko-fi, [_Pricing_](https://ko-fi.com/pricing) — the platform the button above uses: its free plan takes no service fee on one-off tips, its Standard plan (the default for new accounts) takes 5%, and the payment processor's own fee applies on either. Vendor page.

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