What Does "Charity" Really Mean?

Recently I had coffee with the Executive Director of the mission agency. In the course of our conversation my friend told me about a phone call he received from a potential donor.

“My wife and I just returned from a vacation in Honduras. While we were there we came across a situation in which a small group of believers was desperately in need of a church building. Five thousand dollars is all they need and I know your organization works in Honduras. So we would like to donate that sum to your ministry so you can send it to Honduras for their church building”.

It is not my intention in this blog to get involved in the legalities (or illegalities) of doing such a thing. Nor is my intention to elaborate on the subject of designated gifts. But let's just think about the whole idea of charity.

The term "charity" seems to have lost its true meaning. Under the Income Tax Act, a charitable gift is defined as a voluntary transfer of property without valuable consideration.  The donor must be transferring the gift to the charitable organization without expecting anything in return. Long before the complications of register charities, that was the intent of a charitable gift.

Somewhere along the way that notion has become blurred by the concept of “it's my money and when I give it I want to control where it goes and how it is spent." That perspective is very common and for the most part, legitimate. Could the potential donor unilaterally decide whether he wants to give $5000 toward a church building in Honduras? Of course, it's his money. But once he decides he is going to give a charitable donation, the playing field changes from "it's my money" to money which he has voluntarily transferred to a charitable organization.

So you can decide. If it is your money, control it as you please. If you want to donate to a charity then charity is…well…charity.