Seat Calculation & Donation Transparency

Effective date: October 2025

At MILESTONE®, we convert a portion of every purchase into measurable support for children through The Childhood Table Collective™ (CTC). This page explains—clearly and in plain language—how we calculate monthly “seats,” how we publish donations, and how we keep everything consistent and auditable.

TL;DR

  • We donate 5% of your final order subtotal (after coupons/discounts; excluding shipping, duties, and taxes).
  • Each month we total donations in EUR, divide by our published Seat Cost (€2.00 per child per month), and carry forward any remainder (“bank”).
  • We finalize the prior month between the 1st–5th business days and publish the numbers.
  • Donations are posted for public audit via Open Collective Europe (link provided on our Childhood Table page).

Definitions

  • Donation base — The final order subtotal after coupons. Excludes shipping, duties, taxes, tips, and fees.
  • Donation rate — Fixed at 5% of the donation base.
  • Seat Cost (standard) — €2.00 per child per month, reviewed periodically.
  • Bank / Carryover — Any unspent EUR remainder after issuing seats in a month; it rolls forward.
  • Lock window — We close the prior month’s figures between the 1st–5th business days.
  • Source of truth — Our internal monthly ledger and transactions posted to Open Collective Europe.

Method: How We Calculate Seats

  1. Aggregate the month’s donation base (final subtotals after coupons; shipping/duties/taxes excluded).
  2. Apply 5% to obtain the monthly donation (EUR).
  3. Add to bank: bank_total = bank_previous + monthly_donation.
  4. Seats this month: seats = floor(bank_total ÷ SeatCost).
  5. Bank remainder: bank_total − (seats × SeatCost) (carried forward).
  6. Publish seats for the month, lifetime seats, and the carried-forward bank remainder.

Note: We deliberately use floor (round down) so we never overstate seats. Any leftover cents/euros accumulate until they fund whole seats.

Cost Schedule

Effective from
Seat Cost (per child per month)
Notes

Sep 2025
€2.00
Standard cost used across partners; conservative and simple for auditing.

Governance: We review seat cost periodically (e.g., semi-annually) against partner budgets and operational realities (FX, fees). Any change is announced here and takes effect prospectively.

Examples (Illustrative)

  • September 2025 — Donation €92.00; SeatCost €2.00 → 46 seats, €0.00 banked.
  • October 2025 — Donation €71.40; Bank €0.00 → 35 seats, €1.40 banked.
  • November 2025 — Donation €83.20; Bank €1.40 → 42 seats, €0.60 banked.

What’s Included vs. Excluded

Included in donation base

  • Final order subtotal after coupons/discount codes.

Excluded from donation base

  • Shipping, duties, taxes (e.g., VAT), tips, and fees.
  • Gift cards: not applicable—we do not sell or accept gift cards. This policy covers coupons only.

Coupons, Refunds & Adjustments

  • Coupons/discounts reduce the donation base; we donate 5% of the final subtotal after coupons.
  • Free-shipping codes do not change the donation (shipping is excluded either way).
  • Refunds/returns (full or partial) reduce the donation in the month they are processed.
  • Post-lock corrections: if a refund or order change occurs after month-end lock, we apply the adjustment in the next month and note it.
  • Order edits/partial refunds: the donation is recalculated from the final charged amount.

Currency & Conversion

  • Seats are calculated in EUR. Sales in other currencies convert to EUR at settlement and/or standard rates from our payment processor.
  • Minor FX differences can occur. If a variance is material, we adjust in the next month and disclose it.

Publication & Audit

  • Timing: We close the prior month between the 1st–5th business days, then publish seats for the month, lifetime seats, and the bank remainder.
  • Verification: Donations are posted to Open Collective Europe. Our site mirrors those totals.
  • Automation: On-site numbers are generated from our ledger using the method above (with carryover).

Governance & Changes

  • Policy owner: MILESTONE® (The Childhood Table Collective™ team).
  • Change management: Any change to the donation rate, Seat Cost, definitions, or method will be versioned with an effective date.
  • Top-ups: If we round up a month with a discretionary company top-up, we label it “Top-up by MILESTONE®.”

Privacy

  • We publish aggregated donation and seat data only. We do not share customer-identifying information.

Contact

Questions about seats or donations? info@ofdreamsandknowledge.com