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jukka · Mar 17, 2014, 08:37 AM

If I would make a donation site where you can donate money to me for getting something, would you more likely donate if all the money donated would go to me and all over my goal would go to charity? Or that all the donations would go 50/50 so 50% would go to my cause and the another 50% would go to charity?

ebaines · Mar 17, 2014, 08:45 AM

If I was inclined to give money to you for a specific purpose I would want all of my gift to be used for that purpose, and not watered down 50% for some charity. After all, if I wanted to donate money to whatever the charity is I could do it directly and then get a tax deduction for it, whereas if I give you money and you give 1/2 to charity I lose the deduction.

talaniman · Mar 17, 2014, 09:08 AM

Neither is a good option unless I knew the cause, AND the charity. Why should one trust you when you can donate straight to the cause, or charity?

I know many that claim to be non profits and fundraise and take donations for charities and causes, but pay administrative salaries of 6 figures. No thanks.

smoothy · Mar 17, 2014, 09:22 AM

Great deal for you... you get somethig for nothing... anyone that gives you anything gets screwed.

You are better off getting a real job... a job is where you earn some money in exchange for actually doing something someone else needs done and is willing to exchange money for it. That's how the rest of us get by every month.

joypulv · Mar 17, 2014, 09:57 AM

Why are you asking us? No one is going to send you money either way.
Create your 'donation site' and offer both ways.
Plan on getting nothing but grief and spam, unless you are lucky enough to get a scammer who wipes you out.

odinn7 · Mar 17, 2014, 10:07 AM

So you want us to donate to you? For what cause? I would say that any of us here could use donations as well so what makes you think you stand out from the rest and deserve donations for yourself?

ebaines · Mar 17, 2014, 10:18 AM

Way too much piling-on going on here. The OP may be asking a legitimate question for a legitimate purpose, but his English language skills aren't the best. Of course no one's going to give money without knowing what the cause is and being convinced that it's a good cause. If instead he had asked: "I want to set up a web site to collect donations for a scholarship fund for the children of a policman who was killed while on duty - is it better to tell prospective donors that 1/2 their donation will go to a charity or should it all go to the scholarship fund?" - how would you answer that?

smoothy · Mar 17, 2014, 10:20 AM

I'd answer it tHe same... they should give most of it to that cause... a website isn't that dificult or expensive to set up that it requires a 50% overhead to run.

I check out any charity before I donate anything... I avoid any that keep large portions for themselves.

And this is over and about the OP actually applying for and being granted a legal status to operate as a charity.

joypulv · Mar 17, 2014, 10:55 AM

His English is too good to be uncertain. He not only thinks that people will send a total stranger money, but he also thinks that people will believe that he will give away any amount over what he needs.

Try kickstarter.com if your 'need' is a business with a product. People want something. I sent Spike Lee $10 for a 40 Acres and a Mule patch to raise 2 million for his next movie (and he raised it)!

ebaines · Mar 17, 2014, 11:26 AM

Originally Posted by smoothy

And this is over and about the OP actually applying for and being granted a legal status to operate as a charity

As I read the OP's post he is NOT talking about setting up a charity at all, just as the example I gave of a scholarship fund for a policman's child is not a true charity (meaning it does not qualify to be a 501(c)(3) organization). Donations would not be tax deductible in either case. Anyone who donates money to the cause is making a personal gift, not a charitable donation. Of course it may be a difficult sell, but perhaps the OP has reason to believe his cause might be compelling enough to make it work. Who knows - maybe he'll come back and tell us what his cause is.

Fr_Chuck · Mar 26, 2014, 02:05 AM

If people give you money, it is not a donation, they are giving you money. You will have to claim all of that money as income.
It can happen, people have posted for money for a car, money of school and it does happen.

But I do not know anyone that will give you money

ebaines · Mar 26, 2014, 06:02 AM

Originally Posted by Fr_Chuck

... they are giving you money. You will have to claim all of that money as income.

Not true - gifts are not taxable. However if the OP did a fund raiser such as a bake sale or a car wash then he'd actually be running a business and I would agree that some (and maybe all) of the income after expenses woud be taxable.