It’s true that in some cases, efforts to correct a misconception result in the opposite e.g. this study showing how trying to correct unsubstantiated beliefs about politics had a “backfire effect” in some instances: https://www.dartmouth.edu/~nyhan/nyhan-reifler.pdf. So it might not always happen and it might not happen to everyone but the risk is there.

The other thing I noticed after visiting your website is that you dedicate significant real estate to correcting the misconception e.g. https://peconiclandtrust.org/our-work/conservation/community-preservation-fund and https://peconiclandtrust.org/assets/images/CPF_Flyer_2017_Feb.pdf. Plus this message at the bottom of the homepage (and as you said a similar one is added everywhere):

Please note: The Peconic Land Trust does not collect or distribute the funds from the 2% real estate transfer tax. The Peconic Land Trust raises its operating budget through charitable gifts and payment for professional services. The 2% real estate transfer fee paid by buyers for the Peconic Bay Region Community Preservation Fund goes directly to the Town in which the property purchased is located.

All this is based on the assumption that the more detail we provide, the more convincing we are. But this might also backfire. Shakespeare put it best: “the lady doth protest too much, methinks“. The phrase has been used as a figure of speech to indicate that a person’s overly frequent or vehement attempts to convince others of something have ironically helped to convince others that the opposite is true, by making the person look insincere and defensive.

So what could you do? Three things:

1. Emphasize the right message. Focus more on the message that you rely on charitable gifts and payment for services – larger font, in bold, show it more frequently and everywhere.
2. Use a positive frame for the issue. Instead of “we don’t receive the 2% tax”, you can simply say “your 2% tax goes to your town government”. The latter doesn’t include you in the equation at all, hence we avoid any associations.
3. Don’t overdo it. There’s no need to have additional resources explaining where the tax goes and how. You could ask people to find out more about this by asking their accountant or by directing them to a tax authority. This also proves that you have nothing to do with this and you’re not the ones to ask about it.