Money Moral Dilemma: Should I donate my cashback to charity?

JayD

Don't be a Scrooge!
You bought for the charity, so let them have ALL the benefits from your purchase!

janE1956

wouldn't be aable to use a loyalty card if buying for charity from a shop as you would gain points for you to spend the same applies to cash back. Donate it it isn't yours

happyinflorida

I am really surprised you are even asking this.

If you support the charity that much, that you are even volunteering for it, of course you should donate the money to the charity as it is their money that is paying for the goods, I feel that is the honest thing to do and as it is a charity that is involved, you should be honest and give them the money they are owed.

scottiemac

I would say keep it. You are giving the most important thing and the is your time.

davep99

In these circumstances I ask, "If the money came from the till would what I am doing feel right?".

In this instance I take £100 from the till to pay for goods costing £100. I spend my time and expertise negotiating a 5% discount. Do I put the fiver in my pocket or in the till?

An ex-colleague worked really hard, spent lots of time and raised lots of money for the charity were we volunteered. Over time they persuaded themselves that they should be reimbursed for their out of pocket expenses. This developed into dipping the till to reimburse themselves. A slippery slope. They weren't prosecuted but lost their reputation and a large chunk of their social life.

Just ask the question then do what feels right for you.

laurenh1

I think you should donate the cash back to the charity but I'm not sure I agree with the harsher replies. I used to volunteer at oxfam at least a few full days a week and I used to walk there (it was quite a few miles) very very occasionally I got the bus and claimed my money back I was out of work snd couldn't afford not to, simple as that. But I know that the couple of quid they lost in covering my costs was better than shutting up shop with no staff

kgwc2005

Yes... if it wasn't for the charity, and buying on their behalf, you wouldn't have the cash back.

An important point to bear in mind is that if you incur any expenses as a part of your charity work you should reclaim them. Then the charity knows the true 'cost' of their work, and can factor this in to future plans. If you're in a financial position that enables you to 'write off' those expenses - don't. Reclaim them, then donate them back to the charity. The charity can then usually claim Gift Aid on your donation, worth an additional 25% to them.

Example: spend £100 on expenses, reclaim expenses, donate £100, charity benefits to the tune of £25.

Medway_Gal

"If you're in a financial position that enables you to 'write off' those expenses - don't. Reclaim them, then donate them back to the charity. The charity can then usually claim Gift Aid on your donation, worth an additional 25% to them."


I'd never have thought of that, they not only get a true record of the cost of projects, but they also get the tax bonus.


In response to the original question, if the charity pays for the original purchase, they should get the cashback, if your paying and donating the goods, you keep the cashback.

adrienne1945

Imo the Charity is benefitting greatly from you kindly donating your time & effort to them & if you yourself could do with a little extra money then surely there's nothing wrong with you keeping cashback for the extra time & effort you do shopping around for best deals for them imo. I'm sure if you didn't need it you wouldn't even have thought of keeping it.

Frogletina

kgwc2005 wrote: »

An important point to bear in mind is that if you incur any expenses as a part of your charity work you should reclaim them. Then the charity knows the true 'cost' of their work, and can factor this in to future plans. If you're in a financial position that enables you to 'write off' those expenses - don't. Reclaim them, then donate them back to the charity.

I was the treasurer of a charity for many years (decades!) and I always asked people to submit their expenses for two reasons.

The first was the one above - I wanted to show the true cost to the charity including expenses to run it. I also asked people to donate the money back if they said they didn't want to claim it.

Secondly, it encouraged people to volunteer if they could claim expenses back as some people do not have enough money to work without some reimbursement.

I personally claimed for postage and stationery. At the time I began I was a young mother with 3 children who didn't work and only had a small allowance. This volunteer post enabled me to gain some experience without excess costs and was a great help at my interview when I was ready to work at a full time job.

frogletina