How is my donation used?

Every dollar goes directly to project costs: PACER access fees ($0.10 per page for thousands of federal court docket pages), domain registration (~$10/domain/year for 210+ domains), and research infrastructure including databases and APIs. All labor is volunteer - zero dollars go to salaries or overhead.

Is the Open Bankruptcy Project a registered nonprofit?

Yes. The Open Bankruptcy Project is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 41-5159631), recognized by the IRS in Letter 947 dated April 6, 2026. Donations on the donate page are processed securely by Stripe (card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay), and no donor account is required. The 501(c)(3) status and EIN are also listed on the About page.

Can I donate without giving my contact information?

Card payments are processed by Stripe, which collects only the payment details needed to complete the transaction. The Open Bankruptcy Project does not require you to create an account, does not add you to any marketing list, and does not sell, rent, or share donor information. Donors who prefer to give offline can mail a check or money order to Open Bankruptcy Project (email info@openbankruptcyproject.org for mailing details). See the privacy policy for full data-handling commitments.

What happens to my donation specifically?

Donations fund three primary cost centers: PACER fees for data acquisition (the largest line item), infrastructure to maintain the website and data pipelines, and content authoring for the educational explainer pages. No donor funds are used for political campaign contributions, lobbying as a primary activity, or excess executive compensation. Most engineering and content work is volunteer or contracted at below-market rates.

Are donations tax-deductible in my country?

U.S. donors to a registered 501(c)(3) can deduct contributions to the extent allowed under IRS rules and their personal tax situation. Donors outside the United States should consult local tax advice - some countries recognize foreign charitable donations via tax treaty or domestic equivalence-determination procedures, others do not. The Open Bankruptcy Project provides a receipt for every donation that contains the information needed for a deduction claim. Consult a tax professional for individualized advice.

Donate to Open Bankruptcy Project (501(c)(3) Public Charity)

Yes. The Open Bankruptcy Project is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 41-5159631) recognized by the IRS in Letter 947 dated April 6, 2026, with effective date March 27, 2026. Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Why Donate

The Open Bankruptcy Project is a nonprofit building free tools that help people understand the federal bankruptcy system. We run no ads. We accept no attorney referral fees. We collect no user data. Every tool, every dataset, and every page of content is free to everyone - forever.

Every dollar donated goes directly to keeping this infrastructure running: PACER access fees, domain renewals, and the research databases that power our screening tools. Everything else is volunteer labor.

Impact

Cases Screened

210+

Free Domains

49,000+

Pages of Content

Districts Covered

Cost to Every User

100%

Volunteer-Built

Where Your Money Goes

We have no employees, no office, and no overhead. Here is exactly what your donation funds:

$ PACER access fees - Federal court records cost $0.10 per page. Screening thousands of docket pages across 94 districts adds up fast.
@ Domain registration - We maintain 210+ educational domains at roughly $10/domain/year for free public access.
> Research infrastructure - Databases, APIs, and data processing tools that power our case screening and analysis.
0 Everything else is volunteer labor - Code, content, research, design, outreach - all donated time. Zero dollars go to salaries or overhead.

Make a One-Time Gift

Your donation funds public access to federal court data that should have been free all along. Pick an amount to give securely in about 30 seconds.

Secure checkout by Stripe. Card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. No account or login required.

EIN 41-5159631 | 501(c)(3) public charity

Donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law. IRS recognition Letter 947, dated April 6, 2026, effective March 27, 2026. You will receive an emailed receipt from Stripe; for gifts of $250 or more we mail a written acknowledgment.

Other Ways to Help

Share Our Tools

Know someone facing bankruptcy? Share our free screening tools and educational resources. Every share helps someone make a more informed decision.

Use the 1328(f) Screener

Our flagship tool at 1328f.com screens cases for discharge bar violations. More users means more awareness of the problem.

Star Our Repos on GitHub

Visit github.com/ilikemath9999 and star our repositories. It helps others discover the project.

Install RECAP

The RECAP browser extension automatically frees PACER documents you access. It costs nothing and helps open the court system for everyone.

Donate by Mail

Prefer a check? Mail a check or money order payable to Open Bankruptcy Project (email [email protected] for mailing details). Include a return address or email if you would like a written acknowledgment for your taxes.

Support the Open Bankruptcy Project

Why Donate

Impact

Where Your Money Goes

Make a One-Time Gift

Other Ways to Help