Conscience Fund
Encyclopedia
The Conscience Fund is one of three gift funds maintained by the United States Department of the Treasury
and is used for voluntary contributions from people who have stolen from or defrauded the United States Government. The fund was created in 1811 and received US$5 during its first year and over US$5.7million during its first 175 years. The fund's name comes from a letter sent with a US$1500 check for previously misappropriated funds saying, "Suppose we call this a contribution to the conscience fund and get it announced in the newspapers, and perhaps we will get some more".
Donations given to the Conscience Fund vary in size and reason. A 9 cent
donation was made by a person from Massachusetts
who had reused a 3 cent postage stamp
, while a person from Jersey City sent US$40,000 in several installments for US$8,000 he had previously taken.
Another donor sent handmade quilts in an effort to settle her tax bill.
Most gifts to the Conscience Fund are from anonymous donors. Others are forwarded by clergy who have received deathbed confessions
. The sincerity of some donors' repentance can be uncertain, as demonstrated by a received letter reading,
"Dear Internal Revenue Service, I have not been able to sleep at night because I cheated on last year's income tax. Enclosed find a cashier's check for $1,000. If I still can't sleep, I'll send you the balance."
Due to the fund's association with ill-gotten monies, some people object to having the funds they return associated with the fund. An example of this is when then-President Herbert Hoover
and his Cabinet
volunteered to reduce their pay in 1932 and instructed the Treasury to place the returned salary in the General Fund instead of the Conscience Fund.
Donations to the Conscience Fund are not tax deductible, although gifts to the U.S. Treasury through the U.S. Fund are.
United States Department of the Treasury
The Department of the Treasury is an executive department and the treasury of the United States federal government. It was established by an Act of Congress in 1789 to manage government revenue...
and is used for voluntary contributions from people who have stolen from or defrauded the United States Government. The fund was created in 1811 and received US$5 during its first year and over US$5.7million during its first 175 years. The fund's name comes from a letter sent with a US$1500 check for previously misappropriated funds saying, "Suppose we call this a contribution to the conscience fund and get it announced in the newspapers, and perhaps we will get some more".
Donations given to the Conscience Fund vary in size and reason. A 9 cent
Cent (United States coin)
The United States one-cent coin, commonly known as a penny, is a unit of currency equaling one one-hundredth of a United States dollar. The cent's symbol is ¢. Its obverse has featured the profile of President Abraham Lincoln since 1909, the centennial of his birth. From 1959 to 2008, the reverse...
donation was made by a person from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
who had reused a 3 cent postage stamp
Postage stamp
A postage stamp is a small piece of paper that is purchased and displayed on an item of mail as evidence of payment of postage. Typically, stamps are made from special paper, with a national designation and denomination on the face, and a gum adhesive on the reverse side...
, while a person from Jersey City sent US$40,000 in several installments for US$8,000 he had previously taken.
Another donor sent handmade quilts in an effort to settle her tax bill.
Most gifts to the Conscience Fund are from anonymous donors. Others are forwarded by clergy who have received deathbed confessions
Deathbed conversion
A deathbed conversion is the adoption of a particular religious faith shortly before dying. Making a conversion on one's deathbed may reflect an immediate change of belief, a desire to formalize longer-term beliefs, a desire to complete a process of conversion already underway, or a subconscious...
. The sincerity of some donors' repentance can be uncertain, as demonstrated by a received letter reading,
"Dear Internal Revenue Service, I have not been able to sleep at night because I cheated on last year's income tax. Enclosed find a cashier's check for $1,000. If I still can't sleep, I'll send you the balance."
Due to the fund's association with ill-gotten monies, some people object to having the funds they return associated with the fund. An example of this is when then-President Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
and his Cabinet
United States Cabinet
The Cabinet of the United States is composed of the most senior appointed officers of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States, which are generally the heads of the federal executive departments...
volunteered to reduce their pay in 1932 and instructed the Treasury to place the returned salary in the General Fund instead of the Conscience Fund.
Donations to the Conscience Fund are not tax deductible, although gifts to the U.S. Treasury through the U.S. Fund are.