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Donation



 
 
A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable
Charitable organization

The definition of charitable organization, and of charity, varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates....
 purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash
Cash

Cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, "cash" refers to current assets comprised of currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately ....
, services, new or used goods including but not limited to clothing
Clothing

A feature of all human societies, except perhaps the most primitive, is the wearing of clothing or clothes, especially in public. The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the weather....
, toys
Toys

Toys is a 1992 in film surreal comedy film directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Joan Cusack, and Robin Wright-Penn....
, food
Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
, vehicles, it also may consist of emergency, relief or humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarianism purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crisis. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity....
 items, development aid support, and can also relate to medical care needs as i.e. blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
 or organs for transplant
Organ transplant

Organ transplant is the moving of an organ from one body to another , for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor site....
. Charitable gifts of goods or services are also called gifts in kind
Gifts in kind

Gifts in kind is a kind of alms in which, instead of giving money to buy needed goods and services, the goods and services themselves are given....
.

tions are gifts given without return consideration.






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Encyclopedia


A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable
Charitable organization

The definition of charitable organization, and of charity, varies according to the country and in some instances the region of the country in which the charitable organization operates....
 purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash
Cash

Cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, "cash" refers to current assets comprised of currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately ....
, services, new or used goods including but not limited to clothing
Clothing

A feature of all human societies, except perhaps the most primitive, is the wearing of clothing or clothes, especially in public. The primary purpose of clothing is functional, as a protection from the weather....
, toys
Toys

Toys is a 1992 in film surreal comedy film directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robin Williams, Michael Gambon, Joan Cusack, and Robin Wright-Penn....
, food
Food

Food is any substance, usually composed of carbohydrates, fats, proteins and water, that can be Eating or Drinking by an animal or human for nutrition or pleasure....
, vehicles, it also may consist of emergency, relief or humanitarian aid
Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarianism purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crisis. The primary objective of humanitarian aid is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity....
 items, development aid support, and can also relate to medical care needs as i.e. blood
Blood

Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's Cell s ? such as nutrients and oxygen ? and transports waste products away from those same cells....
 or organs for transplant
Organ transplant

Organ transplant is the moving of an organ from one body to another , for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or failing organ with a working one from the donor site....
. Charitable gifts of goods or services are also called gifts in kind
Gifts in kind

Gifts in kind is a kind of alms in which, instead of giving money to buy needed goods and services, the goods and services themselves are given....
.

Legal aspects

Donations are gifts given without return consideration. This lack of return consideration
Consideration

Consideration is the central concept in the common law of contracts and is required, in most cases, for a contract to be enforceable. Consideration is the price one pays for another's promise....
 means that, in common law
Common law

Common law refers to law and the corresponding Legal systems of the world developed through legal opinion of courts and similar tribunals , rather than through statute law or Executive ....
, an agreement to make a donation is an "imperfect contract void for want of consideration." Only when the donation is actually made does it acquire legal status as a transfer or property. In civil law
Civil law (legal system)

Civil law is a most prevalent legal system in the modern world and the oldest in human history. It is based on a code, or "a systematic collection of interrelated articles written in a terse, staccato style." The two other major legal systems in the world are common law and Islamic law....
 jurisdictions, on the contrary, donations are valid contracts, though they may require some extra formalities, such as being done in writing.

In politics, the law of some countries may prohibit or restrict the extent to which politicians may accept gifts or donations of large sums of money, especially from business or special interest group
Interest group

An interest group is an organized collection of people who seek to influence political decisions. It is a private organization that tries to persuade public officials to act or vote according to group members? interests....
s (see campaign finance
Campaign finance

Campaign finance refers to the means by which money is raised for political campaigns. As campaigns have many expenditures, ranging from the cost of travel for the candidate and others to the purchasing of air time for Campaign advertising, candidates often devote substantial time and effort raising money to finance campaigns....
).

In countries where there are limits imposed on the freedom of disposition of the testator
Testator

A testator is a person who has written and executed a Will that is in effect at the time of his/her death. It is any "person who makes a will."...
, there are usually similar limits on donations.

The person or institution giving a gift is called the donor, and the person or institution getting the gift is called the donee.

Donating in the name of others


It is possible to donate in the name of a third party, making a gift in honor or in memory of someone or something. Gifts in honor or memory of a third party are made for various reasons, such as holiday gifts, wedding gifts, in memory of somebody who has died, in memory of pets or in the name of groups or associations no longer existing. Memorial gifts are sometimes requested by the survivors (e.g. "in lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to ABC Charity"), usually directing donations to a charitable organization for which the deceased was a donor or volunteer, or for a cause befitting the deceased's priorities in life or manner of death. Memorial donations are also sometimes given by people if they cannot go to the ceremonies.

See also

  • Charitable contribution
    Charitable contribution

    Charitable contribution deductions for United States Income tax in the United States purposes are defined in section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code as contributions to or for the use of certain nonprofit enterprises....
  • Fundraising
    Fundraising

    Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering money or other gifts in kind, by requesting donations from individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies....
  • Donation (in canon law)
    Donation (in canon law)

    A Donation, when referred to in canon law in the Roman Catholic Church, is defined as the gratuitous transfer to another of some right or thing....