What is the Reserved Funds policy?
We created the Reserved Funds policy to make processing refunds easier for both campaign owners and backers. Refunds are a reality of every campaign (and most online experiences too!). Sometimes backers make mistakes on their contribution or they simply change their minds. While Indiegogo has a Refund Policy that applies, in limited circumstances, to all campaigns on our platform, many campaign owners want to be able to offer refunds after their campaign ends or when our Refund Policy does not apply.
The Reserved Funds policy reserves a small percentage of a campaign’s funds raised (the “Reserved Funds”) to help facilitate refunds for that campaign, so that campaign owners can process refund requests quickly and easily on our platform. These Reserved Funds aren’t shared with other campaigns or with Indiegogo, and remain solely tied to each specific campaign. Reserved Funds will also be used to cover any lost chargebacks filed by your backers.
Read on below for more information on how the Reserved Funds policy works!
What amount will be reserved and when will the Reserved Funds be disbursed?
Amount that will be reserved
Once your campaign raises 1000 in your currency, 5% of those funds raised will automatically be held in reserve. The amount of Reserved Funds will increase as you keep raising funds so the Reserved Funds are kept at 5% of the current total of funds raised. We may also adjust this percentage of Reserved Funds in our sole discretion, you can see more about this below.
Disbursing Reserved Funds
If your campaign is not in InDemand, we will hold the Reserved Funds for you for at least 6 months after your campaign ends and disburse the rest of your funds raised from the campaign in accordance with our other policies on fees and disbursing funds. If your campaign is in InDemand, the reserved funds will be held for at least 6 months on a rolling basis based on the date of contribution.
At the end of the initial 6 month period, we will evaluate your campaign according to the below factors to determine whether we will disburse the entire reserved funds amount to you or continue to hold any funds remaining in the reserve for you to address a continued need for refunds or any other liabilities associated with refunds and chargebacks. If we do not disburse all of the Reserved Funds at the end of this period, we will periodically re-evaluate your campaign for disbursement of the remaining Reserved Funds. This evaluation and related decisions regarding the Reserved Funds policy including when to disburse the Reserved Funds after the initial period are solely within Indiegogo’s discretion. In accordance with our Terms of Use, by using our Site and Services as a campaign owner, you are also agreeing to this Reserved Funds policy.
Evaluation Factors
These are some, but not all of the evaluation factors we will use to determine when and how much of the Reserved Funds to release:
- Estimated shipping timeline of perks and if applicable, fulfillment progress for perks
- Whether the campaign team is regularly responsive to comments and post substantive updates on current and if applicable, all previous campaigns
- Refund request rates and chargeback rates
Where can I see the Reserved Funds amount?
You can view your Reserved Funds on the Finances dashboard for your campaign. Navigate there by doing the following:
- Log in to your Indiegogo account
- Click on your name in the top right corner and select 'My Campaigns'
- Open your campaign page
- On the left-hand toolbar, click on the Finances dashboard
- View your Reserved Funds in the Financial Overview section
What else do I need to know?
Since at least 5% of your funds will be automatically reserved for at least 6 months after your campaign ends, you should take this into consideration when deciding on your goal amount. If you need to raise a specific amount, you may want to increase your goal to make sure your disbursement amount will be what you need to move your project forward. To read more about goal amounts, please see this article.