A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. A donation may take various forms, including money, alms, services, or goods such as clothing, toys, food, or vehicles. A donation may satisfy medical needs such as blood or organs for transplant.
Internet fraud is a type of cybercrime fraud or deception which makes use of the Internet and could involve hiding of information or providing incorrect information for the purpose of tricking victims out of money, property, and inheritance. Internet fraud is not considered a single, distinctive crime but covers a range of illegal and illicit actions that are committed in cyberspace. It is, however, differentiated from theft since, in this case, the victim voluntarily and knowingly provides the information, money or property to the perpetrator. It is also distinguished by the way it involves temporally and spatially separated offenders.
Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gather money for non-profit organizations, it is sometimes used to refer to the identification and solicitation of investors or other sources of capital for for-profit enterprises.
Street fundraising consists of various ways of asking for donations on behalf of a charity. Those asking for donations may be paid employees of the charity, or they may be volunteers.
A clothing bin is a container in which clothing is placed to be donated to charity organizations or for recycling in other ways. They can be provided by local authorities or the charities themselves but sometimes only bear the name of a charity through a licensing or revenue sharing agreement. The majority of clothing bins in Chicago, for instance, are for-profit. In 2015, a collection company in Yonkers was fined $700,000 for not disclosing the for-profit nature of their bin.
Tvind is the informal name of a confederation of private schools, humanitarian organizations, and businesses, founded as an alternative education school in Denmark circa 1970. The organization is controversial in Denmark, where it runs a number of schools primarily for troubled youth. Some former students and employees have described the organization and its controlling body, the Teachers Group, as a political cult. Investigations by journalists and law-enforcement agencies have suggested the presence of an extensive money-laundering network within the group's commercial and non-profit ventures, wherein charitable funds are diverted to private businesses and individuals, including several of the group's leaders. In 2013, several of Tvind's senior members were sentenced in absentia to prison in Denmark for suspected tax evasion and embezzlement, after an earlier acquittal. As of August 2016, the defendants, who are wanted by Interpol, are believed to be hiding in Mexico.
Charity fraud is the act of using deception to obtain money from people who believe they are donating to a charity. Often, individuals or groups will present false information claiming to be a charity or associated with one, and then ask potential donors for contributions to this non-existent charity. Charity fraud encompasses not only fictitious charities but also deceptive business practices. These deceitful acts by businesses may involve accepting donations without using the funds for their intended purposes or soliciting funds under false pretenses of need.
In charitable organizations, a drive is a collection of items for people who need them, such as clothing, used items, books, canned food, cars, etc. Some drives ask that people go through their inventory, bag the items up, and put them in a giveaway bin, or charitable organizations such as Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Salvation Army come to the house and pick them up. They then put the items in their thrift stores or, if they don't have any, sell them to thrift stores to raise money for their organization.
Planet Aid is a non-profit organization headquartered in Elkridge, Maryland. Its primary activity is the collection of clothing and other household items for resale and recycling. Founded in 1997 in Massachusetts, the organization has expanded down the East Coast of the United States and operates in 23 states, where it collects items through donation bins placed on sidewalks, parking lots, and other public areas.
The Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes, commonly known by its abbreviated form Winterhilfswerk (WHW), was an annual donation drive by the National Socialist People's Welfare to help finance charitable work. Initially an emergency measure to support people during the Great Depression, it went on to become a major source of funding for the activities of the NSV and a major component of Germany's welfare state. Donations to the WHW, which were voluntary in name but de facto required of German citizens, supplanted tax-funded welfare institutions and freed up money for rearmament. Furthermore, it had the propagandistic role of publicly staging the solidarity of the Volksgemeinschaft.
Virgin Unite is the working name of The Virgin Foundation, the independent charitable arm of the Virgin Group. Created by Richard Branson and Virgin employees in September 2004, Virgin Unite pools volunteering efforts from across the Virgin Group and its hundreds of subsidiaries and associated companies to grow the efforts of smaller grassroots charitable organizations. Partnered with more than a dozen charities worldwide the company also provides a resource through the Internet by serving as an online donation centre for those wanting to contribute.
The practice of charity, which is the voluntary provision of assistance to those in need, serves as a humanitarian act, and is unmotivated by self-interest. Various philosophies about charity exist, with frequent associations with religion.
King Charles III Charitable Fund is a charity that seeks to improve communities in the UK and throughout the world through grant giving and occasionally launched activities. It awards approximately £3 million to a range of charitable causes annually and was founded by King Charles III, then Prince of Wales, in 1979.
Harvard E. "Pete" Palmer Jr. is a prominent national authority on promotion and operation of car donation programs for charitable causes. He is "arguably one of the individuals with the broadest knowledge of the far-flung vehicle donation industry." He is a spokesperson for the Vehicle Donation Coalition. His writing includes an op-ed piece in The San Francisco Examiner about how to choose a worthy cause for donating a car, citing California's State Registrar of Charitable Trusts as a source for checking the records of particular charities soliciting in that state.
The global trade of secondhand clothing is a long-standing industry, which has been facilitated by the abundance of donated clothing in wealthy countries. This trade accounts for approximately 0.5% of the total value of clothing traded worldwide, while by weight it accounts for 10%. However, in some countries, imported used clothing constitutes the majority of clothing purchased and used.
Timeshare donation is a consumer relief strategy that allows timeshare owners a legitimate way out of their timeshare ownership. The concept of timeshare donation is less than ten years old, but gains popularity each year as the timeshare resale market continues to falter. In recent years, due to a severely depressed timeshare resale market owners looking to sell their timeshare have little success. Timeshare owners also face a myriad of unscrupulous timeshare listing companies looking for large up-front fees with the promise that their timeshare will soon be out of their name. Typically the listing company cannot sell their timeshare, nor do they have an incentive because they can collect another listing fee after the original listing contract expires. For many timeshare owners, trying to sell their timeshare becomes a vicious cycle of broken promises, high fees, and little to no interest from buyers. According to the Florida Attorney General’s Office, timeshare owners are also especially vulnerable to timeshare resale scams. Ultimately, many owners look to simply give-away, or donate their timeshare to a willing party because their timeshare investment has become a liability.
BeGood Clothing is a retailer of clothing and accessories, selling its products online and focused on socially responsible clothing. The company is based in San Francisco, California. BeGood Clothing advances its mission as a socially responsible brand mainly through two initiatives: (i) the company features sustainable fashion and gifts that are eco-friendly, and (ii) the company gives back to an environmental or humanitarian cause for each item purchased. The company supports local San Francisco nonprofits, participates in charitable events, and donates customers’ gently used clothing to Goodwill Industries monthly.
Gaia-Movement Living Earth Green World Action USA, Gaia Movement USA, or simply Gaia, is a charitable organization based in Chicago, Illinois which collects used clothing for resale ("recycling") in the United States and developing countries.
BT MyDonate was a not-for-profit online fundraising service provided by United Kingdom telecommunications company BT Group for charities in the UK, and was launched on 6 April 2011 as part of BT's investment to the community. It closed on 30 June 2019 so BT can focus its support in other areas including how they'll continue to support charities, and due to the many alternative fundraising platforms available, including several fee-free offers, to the UK.
