Should I be donating to a friend's organization?
I made a very large donation to an organization that a dear friend is involved with. They haven’t said anything to me about it. Do I tell them I donated? I see nothing wrong with telling them you donated to their organization. I know they will appreciate that very much and they never have to know just how much you really care.
I can tell you from first hand experience the donations and followup paperwork can be months late. If it is a small organization they might wait until they have a few checks and thank you letters to write and then do them all at the same time. They might have one paid bookkeeper who comes in just once per month to take care of this type of paperwork. It is very possible your friend does not know about it yet. For sure they will hear about it eventually.
Thank you for your generosity. I’m sure it is appreciated. IMHO, you shouldn’t have donated just because your friend is involved. Find a charity that does work you feel strongly about AND is rated high for transparency and the amount of money spent on their mission rather than overhead. You can find that info on CharityNavigator and some other sites.
BUT, that ship has sailed. Unless your friend it part of their accounting team and handled your donation personally, they likely have no idea you donated. So…do you tell them? Well, did you donate to virtue signal to them and get a pat on the back, or did you donate because you believe in the charity? If your whole point was to donate because of your relationship, then you probably should tell them because otherwise it defeats the point. But beware – if i were this friend, I would look askance at someone bragging about their charitable donation because it seems like an attempt to curry favor. Maybe your friend would view it differently. That all sounds very cynical and harsh to me. Why not simply say, « I’m impressed with your work for Z charity and I made a donation to them.” No need to mention an amount. Yes. You need an acknowledgement that it was a donation to a charity so you can write it off any time soon. Is your friend involved in the fund raising aspect of the organization? They may not know. I think it’s ok to mention you liked the organization enough to donate.
I can tell you from first hand experience the donations and followup paperwork can be months late. If it is a small organization they might wait until they have a few checks and thank you letters to write and then do them all at the same time. They might have one paid bookkeeper who comes in just once per month to take care of this type of paperwork. It is very possible your friend does not know about it yet. For sure they will hear about it eventually.
Thank you for your generosity. I’m sure it is appreciated. IMHO, you shouldn’t have donated just because your friend is involved. Find a charity that does work you feel strongly about AND is rated high for transparency and the amount of money spent on their mission rather than overhead. You can find that info on CharityNavigator and some other sites.
BUT, that ship has sailed. Unless your friend it part of their accounting team and handled your donation personally, they likely have no idea you donated. So…do you tell them? Well, did you donate to virtue signal to them and get a pat on the back, or did you donate because you believe in the charity? If your whole point was to donate because of your relationship, then you probably should tell them because otherwise it defeats the point. But beware – if i were this friend, I would look askance at someone bragging about their charitable donation because it seems like an attempt to curry favor. Maybe your friend would view it differently. That all sounds very cynical and harsh to me. Why not simply say, « I’m impressed with your work for Z charity and I made a donation to them.” No need to mention an amount. Yes. You need an acknowledgement that it was a donation to a charity so you can write it off any time soon. Is your friend involved in the fund raising aspect of the organization? They may not know. I think it’s ok to mention you liked the organization enough to donate.
