Donation

Donation
Donation box in Trinity Church, Copenhagen.
A Freebox in Berlin, Germany 2005, serving as a distribution center for free donated materials

A donation is a gift given by physical or legal persons, typically for charitable purposes and/or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including cash, services, new or used goods including clothing, toys, food, and vehicles. It also may consist of emergency, relief or humanitarian aid items, development aid support, and can also relate to medical care needs as i.e. blood or organs for transplant. Charitable gifts of goods or services are also called gifts in kind. 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.

Contents

Legal aspects

Donations are gifts given without return consideration. This lack of return consideration means that, in common law, an agreement to make a donation is an "imperfect contract void for want of consideration."[1] Only when the donation is actually made does it acquire legal status as a transfer or property.[2] In civil law jurisdictions, on the contrary, donations are valid contracts, though they may require some extra formalities, such as being done in writing.[citation needed]

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). Donations to charities are also usually tax deductible. 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, there are usually similar limits on donations.[citation needed]

The person or institution giving a gift is called the donor, and the person or institution getting the gift is called the donee.[2]

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

References


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  • DONATION — DONATI Libéralité entre vifs, à caractère irrévocable et portant sur des biens actuels, la donation est une translation de biens qu’un donateur opère sans contrepartie; comme d’autres droits (italien, espagnol, suisse, etc.), le Code civil… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Donation — La donation est un contrat par lequel une personne, le donateur, se dépouille irrévocablement, de son vivant, sans contre partie et dans une intention libérale, d un bien, en faveur d une autre personne, le donataire, qui y consent. Il ne faut… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • donation — do·na·tion n 1: the making of an esp. charitable gift 2 in the civil law of Louisiana: a voluntary transfer of ownership of property from one person to another compare sale dis·guised donation: a transfer of property (as a sale) that does not… …   Law dictionary

  • donation — DONATION. s. f. Don qui se fait par quelque acte public. Donation entrevifs. Donation à cause de mort. Donation pure et simple. Donation conditionnelle. Donation irrévocable. Faire une donation. Révoquer une donation. Casser une donation.… …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie Française 1798

  • donation — Donation. s.f. v. Don qui se fait par quelque acte public. Donation entre vifs, pour cause de mort. donation pure & simple donation conditionnelle. faire une donation. revoquer une donation. casser une donation …   Dictionnaire de l'Académie française

  • Donation — Do*na tion, n. [L. donatio; cf. F. donation.] 1. The act of giving or bestowing; a grant. [1913 Webster] After donation there is an absolute change and alienation of the property of the thing given. South. [1913 Webster] 2. That which is given as …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • donation — donation, benefaction, contribution, alms are comparable when they denote a gift of money or its equivalent for a charitable, philanthropic, or humanitarian object. Donation is freely used for such a gift {blood donations} {seeking small… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • donation — • donation, gåva, legat, fond, skänk • gåva, present, skänk, donation …   Svensk synonymlexikon

  • donation — (n.) early 15c., from O.Fr. donacion (13c.), from L. donationem (nom. donatio) a presenting, giving, noun of action from pp. stem of donare give as a gift, from donum gift, from PIE *donum gift (Cf. Skt. danam offering, present, O.C.S. dani… …   Etymology dictionary

  • donation — [n] gift a hand*, aid, allowance, alms, appropriation, assistance, benefaction, beneficence, bequest, boon, charity, contribution, dole, do one’s part*, endowment, gifting, grant, gratuity, handout, help, helping hand* largess, lump, offering,… …   New thesaurus

  • donation — Donation, Condonatio …   Thresor de la langue françoyse

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