Making a donation in someone's name

[MojoMan]

My fiance and I are very fortunate and we do not "need" gifts, nor do we need gifts to be reciprocated. I am lucky enough to be able to give in the true spirit of giving (who gives a sh!t what, if anything, I get in return).

 

That being said, here's something that yanks my chain. Some people give some money to THEIR favorite charity who sends you an acknowledgement, saying that they gave in mojoman's name.

 

What the heck?

 

I certainly get the fact that a charity can do better with the gift than me. However, when the giver gives to the charity of his/her choice and reaps the tax benefits, how is this a gift to me? I think that, if this is a gift to me, the "giver" should, at a minimum, give me the choice of which charity I wish the gift to be donated. I also think, that if this is a gift for me, I should reap the tax benefit, not the "giver" but I'll let that go.

 

Am I an @$$?

[isleseeya]

My fiance and I are very fortunate and we do not "need" gifts, nor do we need gifts to be reciprocated. I am lucky enough to be able to give in the true spirit of giving (who gives a sh!t what, if anything, I get in return).

 

That being said, here's something that yanks my chain. Some people give some money to THEIR favorite charity who sends you an acknowledgement, saying that they gave in mojoman's name.

 

What the heck?

 

I certainly get the fact that a charity can do better with the gift than me. However, when the giver gives to the charity of his/her choice and reaps the tax benefits, how is this a gift to me? I think that, if this is a gift to me, the "giver" should, at a minimum, give me the choice of which charity I wish the gift to be donated. I also think, that if this is a gift for me, I should reap the tax benefit, not the "giver" but I'll let that go.

 

Am I an @$$?

 

I dont think you are an ass but i think you are wrong on this one

 

Most important item i believe in all of this is that some charity ( and someone less fortunate ) is getting a gift or help that he or she can use

 

I dont think who gets the tax benefit ( if someone actually is getting it because in past i donated and did not even claim it ) matters one bit ...actually any thought about that may actually take away from whole concept of giving to those less fortunate ...giving freely while not expecting or even worrying about getting anything in return is the end goal imho

 

just my opinion

Edited December 29, 2009 by isleseeya

['canes2004]

George:

 

 

 

[rocknrobn26]

If I give a gift in someone's name, I do NOT take the deduction. I'll wait for the legal eagles here, but I think that is the IRS rule.

[Skippy]

If I give a gift in someone's name, I do NOT take the deduction. I'll wait for the legal eagles here, but I think that is the IRS rule.

I sort of thought this was the only way that it could be done.

 

After all, you are giving in the other persons name so really does not that mean that the other person made the donation?

[Scooby]

I thought the "gift" always follows the source of $$ from which it's paid, so if you make a charitable contribution to a group on behalf of someone else, you get the deduction and not the person who recieved the memorial.

[Grimm74]

I do not know the IRS rules, but who cares if the individual giving the gift writes it off....seriously???

 

How do you know they are not giving an amount in consideration of the tax benefits...meaning maybe they are giving more then normal since they are getting the break.

 

I do not give "donations as gifts. In memory, yes, but not gifts. ......not that I am opposed...it just isn't my thing.

[wiegie]

I think that, if this is a gift to me, the "giver" should, at a minimum, give me the choice of which charity I wish the gift to be donated.

I would hope that the "givers" at least made an attempt to contribute to a charity that might have some personal meaning for you.

 

I'll admit that at first blush, as long as they didn't contribute to a charity that they think you are opposed to, I thought you were somewhat overreacting--but if you think these people are "double-dipping" in the sense that are making contributions that they would have already been making (and also taking the tax credit for) and also trying to use the donation to cover any sort of obligation they might have felt they had to you to give them a gift, I can see why you would think that is weasily.

[rocknrobn26]

No offense to anyone, but if I give a gift to a charity, I take the deduct.

If I give a gift to a charity in someone's name, it's their deduct. Dead people have taxes also.

It's just the way I feel about it. Think of it this way....You give a gift to someone. They decide to give it to a charity. Who should get the deduction? It's their money to give, not yours. And 2 parties can't use the same deduction!

Point is you could prolly deduct it and not get caught assuming the IRS has a rule on this, and I'm sure they do.

Again this is what I do! Not pushing anything on anyone.

Tax people where are ya???

[Scooby]

maybe for a funeral, when someone asks for charitable donation in lieu of flowers, the family gets the recognition, but you get the write off?

[rocknrobn26]

maybe for a funeral, when someone asks for charitable donation in lieu of flowers, the family gets the recognition, but you get the write off?

 

Not in my thinking. Read above...

[isleseeya]

No offense to anyone, but if I give a gift to a charity, I take the deduct.

If I give a gift to a charity in someone's name, it's their deduct.

 

i dont see anything wrong with this either RR ...

 

main thing in all of this i believe is that if donation was made to a reputable charity , that is what i believe is the most important aspect

 

and if someone does it in your name , then i dont think worrying about the party getting tax deduction should matter at all ... who cares especially again if someone else did it for you and someone who needs it benefits from it

 

and just to comment on weigie post , if they are double dipping but still actually making real donations to a good and reputable cause , what difference does it make ?

 

you did nothing wrong in this case and someone who needs the help and money is helped..... if there intention was weasily , thats on them but not something that should be an issue for you if in the end a noble cause / organization that needs the money benefits from it

 

just my 2 cents

Edited December 29, 2009 by isleseeya

[Chavez]

I would hope that the "givers" at least made an attempt to contribute to a charity that might have some personal meaning for you.

 

I'll admit that at first blush, as long as they didn't contribute to a charity that they think you are opposed to, I thought you were somewhat overreacting--but if you think these people are "double-dipping" in the sense that are making contributions that they would have already been making (and also taking the tax credit for) and also trying to use the donation to cover any sort of obligation they might have felt they had to you to give them a gift, I can see why you would think that is weasily.

+1.

 

I have given out lists of charities that are acceptable to donate to in my name; people doing so have called up and asked "well, what about this?" and I've never had issue with it.

 

Which would be interesting if I had to give a "HELL NO!" to someone. Wonder how that would go over....

[Scooby]

very interesting, I would do like RR if I gave a gift on behalf of someone, but was wondering if they could legally take the deduct since I paid for it? Next stop, my MIL CPA for an answer...

[Jackass]

George:

 

 

 

 

 

That is perfect for this thread. Nicely done.

[Jackass]

No offense to anyone, but if I give a gift to a charity, I take the deduct.

If I give a gift to a charity in someone's name, it's their deduct. Dead people have taxes also.

It's just the way I feel about it. Think of it this way....You give a gift to someone. They decide to give it to a charity. Who should get the deduction? It's their money to give, not yours. And 2 parties can't use the same deduction!

Point is you could prolly deduct it and not get caught assuming the IRS has a rule on this, and I'm sure they do.

Again this is what I do! Not pushing anything on anyone.

Tax people where are ya???

 

Or you could agree to give the deduction to charity also.

 

But then you'd have to decide who gets the deduction on the deduction

[wiegie]

and just to comment on weigie post , if they are double dipping but still actually making real donations to a good and reputable cause , what difference does it make ?

If the people are making an additional donation above and beyond what they would normally have made, then it doesn't really make a difference. But if they are just assigning somebody's name to a donation they would have made anyway, I think that is not right.

 

(But, for the record, when I dropped off some old clothes at Goodwill the other day, I said that they were in your name.) Merry Christmas to you!

[isleseeya]

If the people are making an additional donation above and beyond what they would normally have made, then it doesn't really make a difference. But if they are just assigning somebody's name to a donation they would have made anyway, I think that is not right.

 

(But, for the record, when I dropped off some old clothes at Goodwill the other day, I said that they were in your name.) Merry Christmas to you!

 

Thanks ..i appreciate that

 

I will do same soon

Edited December 29, 2009 by isleseeya

[rocknrobn26]

If the people are making an additional donation above and beyond what they would normally have made, then it doesn't really make a difference. But if they are just assigning somebody's name to a donation they would have made anyway, I think that is not right.

 

(But, for the record, when I dropped off some old clothes at Goodwill the other day, I said that they were in your name.) Merry Christmas to you!

 

Streaked underwear is NOT deductible!

[MojoMan]

You guys are more focused on the deduction than I am. What peeves me is that the "giver" chooses the charity. I think that if the donation is being given in lieu of a gift for me, I should have some say about where the donation goes.

[isleseeya]

You guys are more focused on the deduction than I am. What peeves me is that the "giver" chooses the charity. I think that if the donation is being given in lieu of a gift for me, I should have some say about where the donation goes.

 

if the charity they give to in your name is a sound reputable Charity / great cause does it still bother you ?

 

if it does then i still think you are looking at it wrong ( again my opinion only )

 

If its going to a good charity that can benefit from it and help someone , why would that bother you ? if you like another charity more than the one they picked then you could choose that one for yourself

 

a good deed , is a good deed that should not be examined or magnified for faults imho

Edited December 29, 2009 by isleseeya

[BeeR]

My fiance and I are very fortunate and we do not "need" gifts, nor do we need gifts to be reciprocated. I am lucky enough to be able to give in the true spirit of giving (who gives a sh!t what, if anything, I get in return).

 

That being said, here's something that yanks my chain. Some people give some money to THEIR favorite charity who sends you an acknowledgement, saying that they gave in mojoman's name.

 

What the heck?

 

I certainly get the fact that a charity can do better with the gift than me. However, when the giver gives to the charity of his/her choice and reaps the tax benefits, how is this a gift to me? I think that, if this is a gift to me, the "giver" should, at a minimum, give me the choice of which charity I wish the gift to be donated. I also think, that if this is a gift for me, I should reap the tax benefit, not the "giver" but I'll let that go.

 

Am I an @$?

 

No and you're correct that they should ask what charity you want, but still it is a gift and I'd try to keep that in mind and just roll w/it. Kinda weak on their part though - ie the point is giving you something you want. It would be better if it was a charitible cause they knew you believed in, but still -

[Atlanta Cracker]

You guys are more focused on the deduction than I am. What peeves me is that the "giver" chooses the charity. I think that if the donation is being given in lieu of a gift for me, I should have some say about where the donation goes.

 

 

If they had sent you a plaid tie instead of making the donation would you have had any say in that?

 

Why not just send them a thank you note along with some suggestions for other charities that you feel are worthwhile that they may want to consider in the future?

[MojoMan]

If they had sent you a plaid tie instead of making the donation would you have had any say in that?

 

Why not just send them a thank you note along with some suggestions for other charities that you feel are worthwhile that they may want to consider in the future?

 

That is a fair point. Another thing that irritates me is people who "buy for themselves" instead of buying for the recipient. For example, I don't like it if someone gives me a DVD of their favorite movie if they know I don't have the same taste in movies.

 

I still think the donation in the recipient's name is one of the worst gifts possible. If I get a DVD that I don't want, I can always give it away. There's nothing I can do with a donation in my name, especially if I don't favor the charity. It is disingenuous to "give" to the charity of the giver's choice. If you want to give to your favored charity, knock yourself out but leave me out of it.

[westvirginia]

That is a fair point. Another thing that irritates me is people who "buy for themselves" instead of buying for the recipient. For example, I don't like it if someone gives me a DVD of their favorite movie if they know I don't have the same taste in movies.

 

I still think the donation in the recipient's name is one of the worst gifts possible. If I get a DVD that I don't want, I can always give it away. There's nothing I can do with a donation in my name, especially if I don't favor the charity. It is disingenuous to "give" to the charity of the giver's choice. If you want to give to your favored charity, knock yourself out but leave me out of it.

 

Is there something else at work here? Like, you know this person is a cheapskate, wanted a tax deduction, and just decided to give the contribution in your name to avoid the Christmas gift purchase? From what I've seen of you on this site you don't seem to get worked up over much, but this has you incensed, it seems.