Refunds of Charitable Contributions

A church member donates $2,000 to her church during the first six months of the year. She then becomes upset with the pastor and begins attending another church. She contacts the business administrator of her former church and demands a refund of all the contributions she made earlier in the year. How should the administrator respond?

Start by testing your knowledge. Then read on for a summary of this topic.

1. Donors generally have the right to demand a refund of contributions they make to a church, if they do so within the same year as the contribution.
   True or False
2. While a church may not be legally required to refund donors' contributions in most cases, it is a good practice to do so.
   True or False
3. A donor makes undesignated contributions to the church throughout the year amounting to $5,000. She becomes upset with the church leadership, and begins attending another church. She asks to have her contributions for that year refunded so she can donate them to the church she presently is attending. The church is not legally required to comply with this request.
   True or False