People’s Choice Voting & Donation Policy
One successful $1 USD vote payment creates one verified People’s Choice vote, with local-currency checkout where Stripe makes it available. Celluloid uses paid verification to reduce bot voting, then donates the net proceeds from vote payments to World Animal Rescue Network (WARN).
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WARN does not receive the full gross $1 because Stripe and other required transaction costs apply. Celluloid donates the remaining net proceeds after payment processing and direct program costs.
How votes count
A People’s Choice vote counts only after Stripe confirms a successful $1 payment. Client-side button clicks
never create votes. Celluloid records a vote only when Stripe sends a signature-verified
checkout.session.completed or checkout.session.async_payment_succeeded event for
the expected $1 USD vote product.
Each completed Checkout Session can create only one vote. Duplicate webhook deliveries are treated as idempotent retries, not additional votes. Editorial seed values, page views, and unpaid checkout attempts do not affect the leaderboard.
Local currency and payment methods
The base vote price is $1 USD. Where Stripe Adaptive Pricing is eligible, Checkout can present that price in the visitor’s local currency on mobile or desktop. Stripe calculates the local amount, shows the exchange rate, and discloses any conversion fee before the visitor pays.
Stripe Checkout also dynamically presents eligible payment methods using the visitor’s location, presented currency, device, payment-method rules, and the methods enabled in Celluloid’s Stripe account. Depending on eligibility, that can include cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Link, bank-based options, or local methods that require local-currency presentment.
Availability varies by country, device, currency, and Stripe account configuration. Some delayed local methods confirm after checkout; those votes appear only after Stripe sends the asynchronous payment-success webhook.
Refunds and chargebacks
Refunded or disputed payments stay in the transaction ledger for audit purposes, but the affected vote is removed from the active leaderboard. If a dispute is closed as won, the corresponding vote is restored; lost disputes remain removed. For local-currency payments, Stripe processes refunds back to the currency used at checkout according to the original transaction’s exchange-rate rules.
What “net proceeds” means
Net proceeds means the amount Celluloid actually receives from vote receipts after third-party payment-processing fees, refunds or chargebacks, applicable taxes, currency-conversion or settlement costs borne by Celluloid, and direct costs required to administer, reconcile, and distribute the voting donation program.
If Stripe presents a local currency, Stripe shows any customer-facing conversion fee before payment. That optional local-currency price does not change the underlying $1 USD verified vote. Because costs can vary, Celluloid does not claim that WARN receives the full $1 from any individual payment; the commitment is to donate the net proceeds from successful People’s Choice vote payments.
How donations are reconciled
Celluloid keeps a transaction ledger containing the Stripe session, payment amount, selected artist, payment status, and completion time. Vote proceeds are reconciled after Stripe settlement and donated to WARN periodically rather than being paid by voters directly to WARN at checkout.
WARN is a registered global not-for-profit animal welfare organisation.
Tax and donor status
Vote payments are made to Celluloid, not directly to WARN. No tax deduction, Gift Aid eligibility, or charitable receipt is promised for a People’s Choice vote. Supporters who want to give directly should use WARN’s donation page.
Artist affiliation disclaimer
Artists appearing on the leaderboard do not sponsor, endorse, administer, or benefit from People’s Choice vote payments. Public animal references on selected profiles are based on public reporting and do not imply that an artist is affiliated with WARN, Celluloid, or the leaderboard.
Questions or reconciliation requests
Email [email protected] with “People’s Choice donation” in the subject line for questions about vote payments, refunds, or donation reconciliation.