The mega corporation did not receive any tax benefit from collecting donations. They are able to write off the amount of donations from their income, so that they aren’t paying tax on the money they collected specifically to be donated.
Company collects $1 donation from customer
Company has $1 extra income
Company donates $1 to charity
Company writes that dollar off of their income.
Company reports the exact same profit/loss as if they had not collected donations.
The kickback is also in saying that they donated the money to charity … which was collected from other people
It’s like I asked you to donate money to a charity and I said I had to be the one to collect it … then I take your money and donate it in my name … basically, I took your generosity and claimed it as my own.
In many cases company’s also understand that they can’t openly do this because it would be too obvious … instead they just ride the generosity gravy train … they encourage people to donate to charities through their store/company/business … then the company may or may not give their own contributions but they get to attach their name to the donated amounts.
It’s like a billionaire selling you a can a beans and then asking you to donate a penny to a charity … I always say no because the idiot billionaire could spare 1% of their wealth and give millions of dollars to charities everywhere, why the hell are you asking me?
I never give to charities through a store/company or business … I give directly to charities on my own.
It’s a marketing thing. Stuff like this creates the illusion that they’re good corporate citizens.
Of course, they could donate a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of their own profits and make a much bigger impact, but that would set a bad precedent! Giving away your money is only for the working class!
Also the political/social influence is real. Why bribe the government when you can outsource it to you and say it’s for a good cause. But the reality of the situation is they are giving a politician what they want and if the politician do something they don’t like they can move that “donation” to someone else.
They do get a whole lot of advertising, social capital, and influnce over which causes get proped up, on the back of donating customers, while you’re out a few bucks that you could have pooled for a single charity and gotten a tax receipt of your own for.
They do get a whole lot of advertising, social capital, and influnce over which causes get proped up, on the back of donating customers
Sure, but that’s not a tax write-off as originally said. Stick to the things that are actually things.
while you’re out a few bucks that you could have pooled for a single charity and gotten a tax receipt of your own for
If your donations for the year exceed the standard deduction (hint: the standard deduction is about $15k. Most people take that instead of itemizing). Doesn’t have to be one single donation, and if your receipt shows the donation (it should) and it’s for a legitimate charity I don’t see why you couldn’t use that to deduct that donation if you itemize.
Couldn’t the CEO of the nonprofit be the spouse of the CEO and make a huge percentage of what they donate?
Not saying donating through a mega corporation is always bad, but I’d prefer to look into who I’m donating to rather than a split second thought at the end of a transaction.
this! the megacorporation receives 500k donations, which they transfer to CEO’s son’s “charity” that spends 99% of it on the said son’s salary. he buys another ferrari and the charity sends some flowers to a children cancer hospital.
Yeah obviously they have employees who get paid, but if a large portion of new donations just paid a CEO pay, that’s not exactly discreet fraud when the IRS comes around looking.
Frequently yes it is. Look into celebrity charities. Frequently they have a family member running it and most of the employees are family or friends. Most of the money goes to family with at most 50% going to the actual cause.
I hate how charities are run by rich assholes who pay themselves or their family and friends 6 to 7 figures while doing very little to actually help people
If they match donations, they are entitled to a tax break on their own donations.
The only issue with matching is that you don’t have a say in the charity. Do your homework. If it’s a legitimate charity, then it’s better to donate through a company that matches donations.
Ah, this again.
The mega corporation did not receive any tax benefit from collecting donations. They are able to write off the amount of donations from their income, so that they aren’t paying tax on the money they collected specifically to be donated.
I assumed this was true also, but I also believe the company is receiving some sort of kick back from this otherwise they wouldn’t be doing it.
The “kick back” is good PR.
And, if it’s a big enough portion of the charity’s funding, influence over the charity. But not tax breaks.
The kickback is also in saying that they donated the money to charity … which was collected from other people
It’s like I asked you to donate money to a charity and I said I had to be the one to collect it … then I take your money and donate it in my name … basically, I took your generosity and claimed it as my own.
In many cases company’s also understand that they can’t openly do this because it would be too obvious … instead they just ride the generosity gravy train … they encourage people to donate to charities through their store/company/business … then the company may or may not give their own contributions but they get to attach their name to the donated amounts.
It’s like a billionaire selling you a can a beans and then asking you to donate a penny to a charity … I always say no because the idiot billionaire could spare 1% of their wealth and give millions of dollars to charities everywhere, why the hell are you asking me?
I never give to charities through a store/company or business … I give directly to charities on my own.
It’s a marketing thing. Stuff like this creates the illusion that they’re good corporate citizens.
Of course, they could donate a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of a percent of their own profits and make a much bigger impact, but that would set a bad precedent! Giving away your money is only for the working class!
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Also the political/social influence is real. Why bribe the government when you can outsource it to you and say it’s for a good cause. But the reality of the situation is they are giving a politician what they want and if the politician do something they don’t like they can move that “donation” to someone else.
They do get a whole lot of advertising, social capital, and influnce over which causes get proped up, on the back of donating customers, while you’re out a few bucks that you could have pooled for a single charity and gotten a tax receipt of your own for.
Sure, but that’s not a tax write-off as originally said. Stick to the things that are actually things.
If your donations for the year exceed the standard deduction (hint: the standard deduction is about $15k. Most people take that instead of itemizing). Doesn’t have to be one single donation, and if your receipt shows the donation (it should) and it’s for a legitimate charity I don’t see why you couldn’t use that to deduct that donation if you itemize.
They don’t even report it as income, because it’s not income. It’s your donation, not the company’s donation.
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Couldn’t the CEO of the nonprofit be the spouse of the CEO and make a huge percentage of what they donate?
Not saying donating through a mega corporation is always bad, but I’d prefer to look into who I’m donating to rather than a split second thought at the end of a transaction.
this! the megacorporation receives 500k donations, which they transfer to CEO’s son’s “charity” that spends 99% of it on the said son’s salary. he buys another ferrari and the charity sends some flowers to a children cancer hospital.
Reminds me of something a criminal would pull.
Then it’s not a non-profit now is it?
Non profits can still have employees that get paid, they are just required to report who gets paid and how much (at least in my state).
Yeah obviously they have employees who get paid, but if a large portion of new donations just paid a CEO pay, that’s not exactly discreet fraud when the IRS comes around looking.
Frequently yes it is. Look into celebrity charities. Frequently they have a family member running it and most of the employees are family or friends. Most of the money goes to family with at most 50% going to the actual cause.
Yeah, because corporate charity is super regulated and never ever misused.
I hate how charities are run by rich assholes who pay themselves or their family and friends 6 to 7 figures while doing very little to actually help people
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If they match donations, they are entitled to a tax break on their own donations.
The only issue with matching is that you don’t have a say in the charity. Do your homework. If it’s a legitimate charity, then it’s better to donate through a company that matches donations.