First of all, let me say this article is not intended to insult anyone who has made any kind of donation to any charity whether you got a tax deduction or not. I think making donations is a very honorable thing to do, so long as you are not looking to gain financially from it.

Thanks to some very interesting comments made on Boudica's article God doesn't need your money (worth a read, including the comments), this article was suggested to be created. Comments about charity and donations made to churches (and other institutions) brought out a question I have always wondered but never really bothered to ask.

Giving donations to some kind of charity or institution such as United Way, Red Cross, Boys and Girls Club, etc is always a great thing to do, especially when it comes from the heart (meaning you donated because you believe in the cause and wanna contribute from your earnings). What I question is that tax deductible incentive that exist. Now, I understand the purpose of this tax deduction. Apart from those who donate because they want to, this tax incentive brings in those who would more than likely not have donated anything or very little by allowing them to give more while expecting something in return. And this is where I have the issue.

Sure, it's great that the tax deduction brings in more many than if just expecting people to simply give "out of the kindness of their hearts", but, is that the point of charity? I mean, whats the point of having all these institutions take random amounts of money from people who care (or at least care a little) only to have the Gov't give some of that money back to them while the Tax Payers get to fork that amount from money forcefully taken from them by law? How is that charity? As I asked on the other article:

Can a person who donates X amount of money truly claim to have donated that amount if they claimed the tax deduction and got some of the money back? Are we as people that obsessed with money, that selfish with who we share our money with, that ignorant as to how some people truly need some help that we will only give so long as we get something in return? What ever happened to doing the right thing? What ever happened to honor, the American way (though some would argue this "is" the American way), selflessness and the preservation of our own people? Have we forgotten about that old saying "it's better to give than to receive"?

This is what our society has come to this day in age. Nothing is free, charity (even opening the door for someone, jumpstarting the battery of a stranger in need, saving someones life or working twice as hard) is given with the expectancy of something in return. What a sad society we have created.