Charity Policy

Last updated: November 1, 2026

Merlin Classics is a for‑profit brand of original art for the places, pastimes and people you love. As part of our mission, we periodically support hunger‑relief efforts serving communities we celebrate. This page explains our discretionary, corporate‑giving approach in plain language.

1) How Our Giving Works

Merlin Classics is an early-stage, for-profit brand. We are not yet operating at a profit. When we make charitable contributions, we make them because we choose to — not because a sale, a product, or a formula requires it.

The brand runs on an unusual model: there are no paid wages, no salaries, and no overhead charged to the business. All operations — design, technology, hosting, and day-to-day work — are contributed voluntarily by supporting members. Our only real costs are making the product itself and arms-length third-party charges when we use them (such as production, shipping, advertising, payment processing, and platform fees).

Because no one draws a wage and no profit is taken out, money the brand generates can be directed toward the causes we care about. We give as a matter of principle and choice, on our own timing and at our own discretion. There is no per-sale promise, no percentage of sales, and no guaranteed amount or schedule.

• What we give to: local or regional food pantries, food banks, soup kitchens, and hunger-relief meal programs that serve the communities we celebrate. (A food bank is a warehouse that collects and distributes food to front-line programs; a food pantry hands food directly to neighbors. We may support either.)
• How we give: voluntary cash contributions, made at our discretion. We do not count in-kind product toward any contribution.
• When we share it: any announcements about contributions are typically made after the fact.

2) Community Focus

• Our aim is to support hunger‑relief efforts that serve the broader regions including the communities we feature.
• If a specific town lacks a suitable organization, we may consider a nearby or regional program that serves residents of that town.
• Where multiple towns are served by the same program, we may combine or allocate support at our discretion.

3) Selecting Organizations

• Recipients are chosen at management's discretion using a clear, good-faith screen designed to ensure that contributions support legitimate, verifiable hunger-relief efforts.
• Eligible recipients fall into one of three categories:
• Recognized tax-exempt charitable organizations: Must be a current U.S. nonprofit recognized under Internal Revenue Code §501(c)(3) (or comparable federal provision), in good standing with the IRS and applicable state regulators. We confirm status through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (by name or EIN), and the most recent IRS Form 990 (or 990-EZ / 990-PF) should be publicly available via Candid (formerly GuideStar), the organization's website, or another verifiable source. Charity ratings and watchdog sites may inform the screen but do not replace it.
• Municipal, town, or city-operated food-security programs: Programs or departments administered by a city, town, county, or regional government that directly run food-security initiatives (for example, community food pantries, senior-meal services, or emergency food-distribution efforts).
• Inter-municipal or regional partnerships: Joint programs coordinated between multiple towns, cities, or counties that pool resources to provide hunger-relief coverage across several communities.
• All organizations or governmental programs must further demonstrate:
• Active operations serving the relevant community or surrounding region.
• Transparency and accountability through accessible program information or public reporting.
• No conflicts of interest with management or supporting members of Merlin Classics.
• This screen is also how we avoid fake or look-alike charities: a familiar-sounding name is not enough on its own.
• Nominations: Email merlinclassicsstore@gmail.com (subject line "Organization for Consideration") including the organization's or municipality's name, city/state, website or contact page, and charitable status or government affiliation.
• We may decline, defer, split, or substitute potential support if an organization does not meet these criteria, becomes ineligible, cannot be reached, or cannot lawfully or practically accept a contribution.

4) Commercial Nature of Purchases

• Purchases are commercial transactions for goods. They are not charitable donations.
• We do not provide charitable receipts and purchases are not tax‑deductible.
• Any references to organizations are informational and do not imply endorsement unless explicitly stated.
• We do not run cause-marketing or charitable sales promotions (commercial co-venture arrangements) in which a purchase triggers a donation, and we do not offer checkout round-ups.
• "Proceeds" and "profits" are not the same thing. We never describe purchases as proceeds to charity; our giving comes from the business as a whole, at our discretion.

5) Communications & Accuracy

• We strive for clear, accurate language about our discretionary giving.
• If any wording could be read as implying a per‑sale promise, percentage of sales, or guaranteed cadence, we interpret and correct it to reflect discretion and independence.

6) Transparency

• From time to time, we may publish post‑hoc summaries about contributions or organizations supported.
• Summaries may be aggregated across communities served by a regional program to protect privacy and simplify operations.

7) Governance, Conflicts & Changes

• Conflicts: we aim to avoid conflicts; potential conflicts are disclosed internally and may prompt selecting an alternate organization.
• Changes: this policy may be updated for clarity or operational needs; the "Last updated" date will reflect revisions.
• Governing law: this policy is governed by U.S. law and the law of our principal place of business.

Merlin Classics is a for-profit company and is not a 501(c)(3). We may make contributions at our sole discretion as part of our corporate-giving program. This section is informational only and not a charitable solicitation. 2026 is our first year and we are still in startup mode, so these are just our first few contributions — made early and by choice, ahead of profits rather than after them. In the first half of 2026 they went to the Kauai Independent Food Bank (Kauaʻi, Hawaiʻi) and the Mat-Su Food Bank (Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Alaska). In the second half of 2026 they went to Homes with Hope (Westport, Connecticut) and WHEAT (West Haven, Connecticut). All are hunger-relief organizations serving regions that include communities we celebrate. As always, our giving is discretionary and not tied to any purchase.

This page is a plain‑language explanation of our discretionary corporate‑giving approach. It is not legal or tax advice.