Gaitán's Solidarity Scheme: Buy My Product to Donate Profits

Ángel Gaitán’s modus operandi: donate only if you buy on his website

Solidarity comes at a price, and in the case of Ángel Gaitán, that price is paid through his own online store. The pattern repeats itself: a tragedy, a video, a product. This time, it involves Adrián Santiago, a minor from Granada suffering from Infantile Neuroaxonal Dystrophy, whose experimental treatment in the United States costs $300,000. The Fundación Alma de Luna has an open account with IBAN ES14 3023 0119 5069 1971 0902. Simply sharing this would suffice. Instead, the message is different: visit my website, buy the AG-10 liquid container, and I will donate the profits. Nothing else. Zero.

The calculation of mediated solidarity

What is presented as an altruistic gesture is actually a multi-layered commercial operation. Money that buyers believe goes to the child first passes through the company’s cash register: production costs are deducted, 21% VAT is applied, and corporate tax is settled. Only then is the remainder donated. The Foundation receives less than it would have via direct transfer. Meanwhile, Gaitán retains traffic, customer data, and cross-selling opportunities for other items unrelated to Adrián.

The precedent of the DANA (Spanish flash floods) proves the method works. In a channel video, Gaitán admitted announcing €1,200,000 raised, while the actual amount donated was €1,106,793.87. The difference, over €93,000, came from people who also bought other products, such as rain gear. The strategy wasn’t bad: nearly €100,000 in additional sales within days.

Why doesn’t Gaitán provide the IBAN directly?

Because an IBAN doesn’t generate traffic. The Fundación Alma de Luna account exists and is published in the Granada Digital article, but the message reaching the audience is about his own website. It’s the difference between a clean donation and one used for brand positioning. SEO benefits from direct visits: a site receiving traffic spikes due to catastrophes and charitable causes improves organic ranking for months. The business isn’t the product; it’s the audience.

Some argue that aid still reaches beneficiaries despite intermediation. Others counter that the real beneficiary is the company. The comparison with José Andrés, mentioned in discussions, fails: his NGO doesn’t require buying a tasting menu to donate. The difference isn’t one of degree, but of nature.

The repeating pattern

This isn’t an isolated case; it’s a method. First, choose an emotionally charged cause, then record a video, and finally activate the store. Donors think they’re giving, but they’re buying. Profits are calculated after taxes and costs. The final narrative is that of a hero complaining about paying taxes on donations he manages. Solidarity as a sales funnel.

In any case, the result is that the Foundation receives less than via direct transfer. And the brand gets exactly what it sought: attention. Analysis stalls here, at the boundary between gesture and operation.