# DunceLab Funding Policy

*Plain-language summary first; the full terms follow. DunceLab is a product of **Swrl LLC**.*

*Last updated: 2026-06-24*

> **Before this is shown publicly, have counsel review it.** It is written to be accurate and
> non-deceptive, but a for-profit soliciting public support has state-by-state consumer-protection and
> charitable-solicitation considerations that are a legal question, not an engineering one. See
> `docs/FUNDING-POOL-PLAN.md` §8/§11.

## In one paragraph
When you back DunceLab's funding pool, you are **supporting the work of Swrl LLC** — the for-profit
company that builds DunceLab — and specifically the creation of new interactive simulations. You are
**not** buying a product, a guaranteed feature, equity, or a tax-deductible charitable gift. Your
support fuels and steers the work on a best-effort basis. Everything we publish stays **free and open
to everyone.**

## 1. Support, not a tax-deductible donation
Swrl LLC is a **for-profit company.** Contributions are **support (a tip / sponsorship)**, not
charitable donations, and are **not tax-deductible.** We are not a 501(c)(3); we do not issue donation
receipts or tax documents. For tax advice about a payment to a business, consult your own professional.

Contributions and recurring subscriptions are available only to signed-in DunceLab account holders
whose stored age band is **18+**.

## 2. What your support funds
Most of your contribution funds the **creation of new simulations** — the computing cost of generating
and verifying each new interactive concept. The remainder covers the **payment processing** and the
**hosting, infrastructure, and operations** that keep DunceLab running and free. We retain **up to 15%
for maintenance and operations.** We publish the pool's progress and the running costs openly; we do
not itemize internal allocations beyond this. We make **no representation** that any fixed percentage
reaches any single line item, and nothing here should be read as a promise that "100%" of a
contribution goes to any one purpose.

## 3. Support buys momentum, not features or exclusivity
Backing the pool **helps build the next simulations sooner.** It does **not** guarantee that any
specific concept will be built or built by any date; buy a private, exclusive, or paywalled feature;
grant ownership, naming rights, or control over what gets built; or grant equity, revenue share, a
security, or any financial return. Every simulation we publish remains **free to use** in DunceLab.
The most we offer a supporter is an optional, visible **"backer" credit** (see §7).

## 4. Best-effort, no guaranteed deliverable
DunceLab grows through an **automated generation system** that can only build concepts it can verify.
We make **no promise that any specific concept will be built, and no promise of a timeline.** A
contribution **fuels and steers** the work; it does not order a product.

## 5. Milestones and goals
The pool runs as a series of **milestones** with a visible goal and a time window (currently 30 days).
When a milestone ends it does **not** reset — a new, larger goal opens and the lifetime total keeps
climbing. Goal figures are targets, not commitments, and surplus carries forward into the next
milestone.

## 6. Ways to support, and the "simulations funded" figure

### One-time support
A one-time contribution is a single charge in the amount you choose, processed by **Stripe.** It does
not repeat.

### Monthly support (recurring)
If you choose monthly support, you start a **recurring subscription.** You will be **charged the amount
you chose every month, automatically, until you cancel,** through Stripe. By starting monthly support
you authorize these recurring charges.

You can **cancel anytime** — there is no cancellation fee — from **Profile → Manage subscription**,
which opens the Stripe billing portal where the subscription was set up. **Cancellation takes effect at
the end of the current paid month;** your supporter status (and any "backer" credit tied to it)
continues until then, and you are not charged again afterward. We don't pause or pro-rate the current
month on cancellation except where the law requires (see §8).

The price, the monthly billing interval, and the fact that it renews automatically until you cancel are
shown again on Stripe's secure checkout page before you confirm. If we ever change the amount of a
monthly subscription, we'll tell you first and the change will apply only to future charges.

### About any "simulations funded" figure
Where the pool page shows a number of **simulations your support helped build,** we show the **real
count** of simulations actually generated and verified whenever that count is available. If we instead
show an **estimate** — for example before any builds have been reported — we **label it as an estimate
(shown with "≈").** An estimate is **calculated from the total support directed to new-simulation
generation, divided by our average cost to generate and verify one simulation.** It is **not** a count
of simulations actually delivered, and the underlying per-simulation cost is an internal assumption
that can change. Once real builds are reported, we show the actual count instead.

## 7. Your privacy as a backer
- **An adult account is required.** You may still choose to appear publicly as anonymous; we display
  your name only if you opt in.
- **Public credit is opt-in.** We will not publish your name unless you explicitly choose to show it.
- **Payments are processed by Stripe.** Your card details go to Stripe, not us; DunceLab never sees or
  stores your full payment information. Stripe shares limited details (the email/name on the payment)
  so we can match your contribution and, if you ask, credit you.
- We use backer information only to operate the pool, prevent abuse, meet legal obligations, and (if
  you opted in) display your credit. **We do not sell your data.**

## 8. Refunds and your withdrawal rights
Because contributions are general support of our work (not the purchase of a deliverable), they are
**non-refundable except where required by law** or at our discretion. If you believe a contribution was
made in error, contact us and we'll review it in good faith. For a monthly subscription, cancelling
stops future charges; it does not refund a month already started except where the law requires.

**EU/UK consumers — 14-day right to withdraw.** If you are a consumer in the European Union or the
United Kingdom, you generally have a **14-day right to withdraw** from a paid subscription or other paid
distance contract, and to receive a refund. If you ask us to **begin your support immediately** (for
example, to start a monthly subscription or to apply a one-time contribution right away), then:

- you agree it begins right away; and
- you acknowledge that, **once a one-time contribution has been fully performed at your request, you
  lose the 14-day withdrawal right** for it; and
- for a **monthly subscription,** if you withdraw within the 14 days, we will refund the portion of the
  period **not yet performed,** keeping only the pro-rata amount for the part you have already received.

Outside these rights, contributions are non-refundable except where the law requires. Nothing in this
policy takes away any mandatory consumer right you have under the law of where you live.

## 9. Changes and contact
We may update this policy; material changes apply to **future** contributions only. Questions about a
contribution, a credit, a cancellation, or anything you see on the pool page: **Contact@SwrlSite.com**.

*"DunceLab" and "Swrl" are brands of Swrl LLC. Project software, content, and brand assets may not be
reused without written authorization.*