We've made a donation in your name to X. I kinda don't get it.

In My Humble Opinion
1

To put in in context, I was watching Undercover Boss Australia on Netflix, and at the end they typically give out things like paid vacations, trips, all sorts of extravagant things. One guy had a donation made in his name to an organization he cared about, and that was it.

I get that he would be excited about money going toward something he believes in, but it’s the whole “in your name” thing I don’t really grok.

I doubt he’s looking for credit for it, after all it wasn’t he that actually donated, it was made on his behalf. If he was seeking recognition, how would anyone even know? Are there lists of donors, and then people that check to see who donated, and would they have a clue as to who he is? If they knew who he was and asked about the generous donation, he’d have to say it wasn’t out of his pocket right? Doesn’t that make it a bit more hollow? It wasn’t like they gave him a check to spend how he pleased and he then donated it all to this cause.

If someone told me they donated a large sum (it was $10,000 in this case) to let’s say the ASPCA, I’d be happy. If it was a foundation closer to my personal situation, I’d be even happier.

Assuming he isn’t after any recognition (which I doubt), how is the donation being made in his name affect anything at all? Couldn’t they just donate the money, and he’s happy all the same?

Part of me not getting it is the fact that this was the only thing given to him, as opposed to the other more material, and very personalized things, given to others.

Besides my opinion that he kinda got the short end of the stick in terms of personal benefit, it still seems to me that what he was given was kind of a gesture. A gesture that would have had the exact same impact had they just made an anonymous donation, without his name attached.

Am I missing something here?

2

For really big contributions, it could lead to a conference room named after the donor, which is a nice honor. Also, I imagine the donation could be written off of the taxes of the named donor.

3

I had not thought of that.

4

Absolutely not. A memorial or honor gift simply gets the named person the recognition. We put notice of all our honor/memorials gifts in the newsletter and annual report, and notice of very large gifts may even be sent to the media (who rarely run with it). As for why? Well, why do we hand out plaques to people who do something noteworthy? Trophies? Write about them in the paper? Making an honor or memorial gift not gives that person the recognition they supposedly deserve, but it also allows them to leverage that attention for a cause they believe in. We’ll typically get a handful of follow-up donations from that person’s family or friends as well.

5

Normally, when a donation is made in someone’s name, the individual is notified of the donation. That way they know that the donation was actually made.

In the US, only the payer can deduct for taxes the donation, not the person it made in honor of.

6

I’d do it to annoy someone I didn’t like. If I knew they were anti-abortion, I’d go donate to Marie Stopes or similar in their name, to make sure they knew about it.

I’m not very mature sometimes, though :wink:

7

I wonder if this could result in being sued, actually. If the person in whose name you donate doesn’t authorize you to act on their behalf and is actually upset that you did so, I wonder if they would have any sort of case. Surely not one that would result in significant damages, but could it be seen as a form of libel/slander or some other applicable complaint, I wonder?

8

You could give to any cause; you are simply recognizing that x’s story inspired you to donate for this particular cause. It is much like being mentioned in the foreward of a book.

“To dnooman, for inspiring this post.”

9

If someone is passionate about a cause, it is not about credit but the idea that you thought enough about them to be empethetic to their views. I don’t think that’s for everyone though. Mrs. Cad loves it when I contribute to wolf sanctuaries in her name but then again, she thinks that a single in-line water pump was the most romantic gift I ever got her. I would be thrilled if someone contributed to the International Rett’s Syndrome Foundation but when my daughter died my principal donated to the Jewish Scholarship Fund - a charity HE was passionate about - in her name and my reaction was what’s the point of doing it in her name?