If you've ever wondered how this works, what's actually legal, or where your money really goes — start here.
Donate ATC is a free, independent website that helps people make tax-deductible donations to aviation-related 501(c)(3) charities — in honor of the air traffic controllers or flight crew on a flight that mattered to them.
You pick a facility or an airline, write a short dedication, and we route you directly to the relevant charity's own donation page. We never collect or hold your money.
Because tipping a federal employee is actually illegal. Air traffic controllers are FAA employees, and under federal ethics rules (5 C.F.R. § 2635), they cannot accept gifts or gratuities from members of the public in connection with their work.
So instead of a tip, this is a charitable donation made in honor of the controllers or pilots you want to thank. The donation goes to their union's charitable foundation — which does real work supporting their community — and you get a tax receipt.
It depends on what you select:
The charity you donate to issues your receipt. Donate ATC never sees or touches the money.
Yes, donations to the listed 501(c)(3) organizations are generally tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers to the extent permitted by law. The receiving charity will issue your receipt.
We don't provide tax advice — consult a qualified professional for your specific situation, especially for larger gifts or if you live outside the U.S.
The NATCA Charitable Foundation operates as 100% volunteers with operating expenses below 5% — meaning roughly 95 cents of every dollar reaches the people it's intended to help. ALPA Pilots for Pilots states that every penny donated goes to an ALPA member in need.
Donate ATC takes nothing. We're a referral site, not a fundraiser.
No money or transferable benefit goes to any individual. The "in honor of" dedication is informational — it lets the charity know your donation was inspired by their work. Whether and how the named honoree learns about your dedication is up to the charity.
Functionally, your donation supports their broader community: disaster relief, scholarships for their kids, family assistance programs, and the philanthropy their union runs across the country.
You'll see a confirmation screen with:
You then complete the donation on the charity's own site — they collect your payment, send your receipt, and process the gift.
Choose "Other facility (specify below)" at the bottom of the list and type the facility's name and code. The dropdown covers all 22 U.S. ARTCCs, 17 major TRACONs, and 35 major airport towers — but there are hundreds of smaller FAA facilities not yet listed by name.
If you'd like a specific facility added permanently, email us — we'll add verified facilities as we expand the list.
Because Donate ATC never collects the money, we can't process refunds. To dispute or cancel a donation, contact the receiving charity directly through their published contact information.
No. Donate ATC is an independent charitable referral service operated by Donate ATC LLC, a private company. It is not endorsed by, sponsored by, or affiliated with the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, the NATCA Charitable Foundation, the Air Line Pilots Association, the Allied Pilots Association, the Delta Pilots' Charitable Fund, any airline, or any government agency.
We direct donations to two unaffiliated 501(c)(3) charitable foundations — the NATCA Charitable Foundation and ALPA Pilots for Pilots — on a referral basis only. Donors complete their gift on the receiving charity's own donation page. We do not act on behalf of these organizations, do not represent them, and do not receive compensation from them.
References to the FAA, NATCA, ALPA, airline names, charity names, or facility names on this site are for identification purposes only and do not imply any endorsement or affiliation.
Yes. Encouraging people to make charitable donations to registered 501(c)(3) organizations is legal, common, and protected speech. The key things that keep it legal:
See our Donation Disclosure and Terms of Use for the full picture.
This is a fair question and one we take seriously. The short answer is no — because no money or gift actually changes hands with the controller. Federal ethics rules prohibit accepting gifts; they don't prohibit a third party from donating to a charity that does work the controller would presumably support.
That said, if you're a controller or pilot reading this and have concerns about being named in a dedication, please contact us and we can adjust how we handle facility-level dedications going forward.
Right now, we don't. Donate ATC is currently a self-funded charitable referral project. The operators (a retired air traffic controller and his family) cover hosting, domain registration, and other small costs out of pocket.
In the future, we may introduce clearly-labeled advertising from aviation businesses to cover ongoing costs, but we're prioritizing trust and a clean launch over revenue. Any future advertising will never affect which charities are featured or how the donation flow works.
Yes. If you'd prefer your name, facility, or airline not appear in our system, email us and we'll handle it. We default to facility/airline-level dedications (not individual names) precisely because we don't want to create awkwardness for people who haven't asked to be on a public site.
We're not actively taking on sponsors at the moment — we want the project to find its footing as a clean charitable referral site first. If you're an aviation business interested in supporting us once we open advertising in the future, drop a note to hello@donateatc.com and we'll be in touch when the time is right.
Please do — we're building this in public. Email us with your suggestion and a short explanation. We especially welcome ideas from controllers, pilots, and other aviation professionals.
Email us at hello@donateatc.com. We're a small operation, but we read everything.
Takes about 30 seconds. Goes to a 501(c)(3). Tax-deductible.
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