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

Charitable organization

A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization . It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A charitable organization is a type of non-profit organization (NPO). It differs from other types of NPOs in that it centers on philanthropic goals A...

 purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash

Cash

In common language cash refers to money in the physical form of currency, such as banknotes and coins.In bookkeeping and finance, cash refers to current assets comprising currency or currency equivalents that can be accessed immediately or near-immediately...

, services, new or used goods including clothing

Clothing

Clothing refers to any covering for the human body that is worn. The wearing of clothing is exclusively a human characteristic and is a feature of nearly all human societies...

, toy

Toy

A toy is any object that can be used for play. Toys are associated commonly with children and pets. Playing with toys is often thought to be an enjoyable means of training the young for life in human society. Different materials are used to make toys enjoyable and cuddly to both young and old...

s, food

Food

Food is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...

, and vehicles. It also may consist of emergency, relief or humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid

Humanitarian aid is material or logistical assistance provided for humanitarian purposes, typically in response to humanitarian crises including natural disaster and man-made disaster. 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 in animals that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the cells and transports metabolic waste products away from those same cells....

 or organs for transplant

Organ transplant

Organ transplantation is the moving of an organ from one body to another or from a donor site on the patient's own body, for the purpose of replacing the recipient's damaged or absent organ. The emerging field of regenerative medicine is allowing scientists and engineers to create organs to be...

. Charitable gifts of goods or services are also called gifts in kind

Gifts in kind

Gifts in kind is a kind of charitable giving in which, instead of giving money to buy needed goods and services, the goods and services themselves are given. The motivations for GIK vary, but include:...

. The largest form of gifts in kind is created in many nations by the donation of aging automobiles with the item donated being picked up, sold and the proceeds given to the charity or non-profit (type or named) which was the target of the donor's generosity. One standard way of obtaining donations is the use of raffles for the accumulation of funds.

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. It can take a number of forms: money, property, a promise, the doing of an act, or even refraining from...

 means that, in common law

Common law

Common law is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive branch action...

, 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 legal system inspired by Roman law and whose primary feature is that laws are codified into collections, as compared to common law systems that gives great precedential weight to common law on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different...

 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 lobby groups (see campaign finance

Campaign finance

Campaign finance refers to all funds that are raised and spent in order to promote candidates, parties or policies in some sort of electoral contest. In modern democracies such funds are not necessarily devoted to election campaigns. Issue campaigns in referendums, party activities and party...

). Donations to charities are also usually tax deductible

Tax deduction

Income tax systems generally allow a tax deduction, i.e., a reduction of the income subject to tax, for various items, especially expenses incurred to produce income. Often these deductions are subject to limitations or conditions...

. Because this reduces the state's tax income, calls have been raised that the state (and the public in general) should pay more attention towards ensuring that charities actually use this 'tax money' in suitable ways.

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 last will and testament that is in effect at the time of his/her death. It is any "person who makes a will."-Related terms:...

, 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 their 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

• Micro-donations
  Micro-donations
  Micro-donations are a form of charitable donations that are small in the donated amount. In the past, they have been used most effectively by companies collecting spare change at registers and checkouts...
  
  
• Accountable Fundraising
  Accountable Fundraising
  Accountable Fundraising is the term used to describe a Non-profit organization holding its members "accountable" for their donations by showing them the direct impact of their fundraising efforts...
  
  
• Charitable contribution
  Charitable contribution
  Charitable contribution deductions for United States Federal Income Tax purposes are defined in section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code as contributions to or for the use of certain nonprofit enterprises. See...
  
  
• Fundraising
  Fundraising
  Fundraising or fund raising is the process of soliciting and gathering voluntary contributions as money or other resources, 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. When it consists in placing in the hands of the donee some movable object it is known as a gift of hand...
  
  
• Money-free economy
  Calculation in kind
  Calculation in kind is a type of accounting based on physical magnitudes and physical quantities rather than a common unit of accounting for economic calculation. Calculation in kind, or valueless calculation, is often described as the form of calculation that would supersede monetary calculation...
  
  
• Gift economy
  Gift economy
  In the social sciences, a gift economy is a society where valuable goods and services are regularly given without any explicit agreement for immediate or future rewards . Ideally, simultaneous or recurring giving serves to circulate and redistribute valuables within the community...