Hello,
Recently, the Scratch Team made a publication (in Announcements, link to the page : https://scratch.mit.edu/membership) about Scratch Membership. It is a cool idea to sustain economically Scratch. But I also found Scratch Members having “cat hats” over their PFP icon, and a “Member” tag next to their username. I think that it is somehow the same as paying in any game for skins, as in donations, you are not supposed to gain something back, right ? I think that this may make conflicts between “poor” and “rich” people on Scratch, too. And then, it is not really non-profit, if it is a subscription of 35$/year ? It is litteraly the same as in games or other softwares where you buy subsriptions for extra features, but the games and other softwares are allowed to do that because they are not non-profit like Scratch.

Yes, Scratch is still a non-profit because the donation membership is not made to gain extra profit, it's used to directly support the site.

blessingj100 wrote:

Yes, Scratch is still a non-profit because the donation membership is not made to gain extra profit, it's used to directly support the site.

Yes, but what is the difference between donating for skin and paying for skin then ? There's no difference.

The Scratch Team made Scratch Membership to help keep Scratch running, like paying for computers and workers. When someone becomes a member, they get small fun things, like a cat hat on their picture and a “Member” label. These do not help them code better or give them special powers — they are just decorations.

This is not like games where you pay to win or get extra abilities. Everyone on Scratch can still do the same things for free. The money is more like a way to say “thank you” and help Scratch stay free for everyone.

Scratch is still non-profit because the money goes back into Scratch, not to make people rich. The Scratch Team also tries to make sure no one is treated differently if they cannot pay, so Scratch stays fair and friendly for all kids.

SCLF-Xingshu wrote:

blessingj100 wrote:

Yes, Scratch is still a non-profit because the donation membership is not made to gain extra profit, it's used to directly support the site.

Yes, but what is the difference between donating for skin and paying for skin then ? There's no difference.

My understanding is that the phrase “non-profit” doesn't really have anything to do with the difference between “paying” and “donating.” It is purely about where the money goes. To explain it further, suppose I run a business selling cool T-shirts and my revenue from selling cool T-shirts is $100,000 in 2025. If I use that $100,000 entirely for things related to that business (paying workers, setting up new locations, designing and printing more T-shirts, etc.), then my business could be considered a non-profit. But if I only use $60,000 for that stuff, and then I put the remaining $40,000 into my personal bank account, then my business could not be considered a non-profit (because $40,000 of the dollars were not used directly toward my cool T-shirt business).

Za-Chary wrote:

SCLF-Xingshu wrote:

blessingj100 wrote:

Yes, Scratch is still a non-profit because the donation membership is not made to gain extra profit, it's used to directly support the site.

Yes, but what is the difference between donating for skin and paying for skin then ? There's no difference.

My understanding is that the phrase “non-profit” doesn't really have anything to do with the difference between “paying” and “donating.” It is purely about where the money goes. To explain it further, suppose I run a business selling cool T-shirts and my revenue from selling cool T-shirts is $100,000 in 2025. If I use that $100,000 entirely for things related to that business (paying workers, setting up new locations, designing and printing more T-shirts, etc.), then my business could be considered a non-profit. But if I only use $60,000 for that stuff, and then I put the remaining $40,000 into my personal bank account, then my business could not be considered a non-profit (because $40,000 of the dollars were not used directly toward my cool T-shirt business).

Thank you; but how do you verify that the money actually goes to servers and salaries ?

Za-Chary wrote:

SCLF-Xingshu wrote:

blessingj100 wrote:

Yes, Scratch is still a non-profit because the donation membership is not made to gain extra profit, it's used to directly support the site.

Yes, but what is the difference between donating for skin and paying for skin then ? There's no difference.

My understanding is that the phrase “non-profit” doesn't really have anything to do with the difference between “paying” and “donating.” It is purely about where the money goes. To explain it further, suppose I run a business selling cool T-shirts and my revenue from selling cool T-shirts is $100,000 in 2025. If I use that $100,000 entirely for things related to that business (paying workers, setting up new locations, designing and printing more T-shirts, etc.), then my business could be considered a non-profit. But if I only use $60,000 for that stuff, and then I put the remaining $40,000 into my personal bank account, then my business could not be considered a non-profit (because $40,000 of the dollars were not used directly toward my cool T-shirt business).

By the way, I know that Scratch is not having a lot of money, and the membership is justified to make Scratch run properly. It's just that it is giving stuff in return, which is super similar with buying something.

Yes, Scratch Membrship is a donation

cookedasparagus8 wrote:

Yes, Scratch Membrship is a donation

Ok. Thank you

SCLF-Xingshu wrote:

Thank you; but how do you verify that the money actually goes to servers and salaries ?

From quick Googling, the Scratch Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and this means that they are recognized by the US government as a nonprofit. Presumably the US government would not recognize this if the Scratch Foundation was not actually a nonprofit organization.

Za-Chary wrote:

SCLF-Xingshu wrote:

Thank you; but how do you verify that the money actually goes to servers and salaries ?

From quick Googling, the Scratch Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and this means that they are recognized by the US government as a nonprofit. Presumably the US government would not recognize this if the Scratch Foundation was not actually a nonprofit organization.

Okay. Thanks for the info !