05 November 2022

What is the difference between charity and donation?

It feels amazing to be able to help someone! Whenever we think of helping others, donation and charity come into picture.

In the present use of words, these two terms are like the two ‘best friends’ who can interchange or replace each other’s role in a phrase easily. However, there are some other reasonable differences that we will learn in this article! 

What are they? Let’s find out!

  • Charity is a bit older word than Donation!

Etymologically, Charity and Donation are the words that seem to have been existing for a long time.

Charity word is said to have originated in around the 12th century from ‘charis’ which in christianity was used to express affection for their fellow christian members. On the other hand, the Donation term is said to have been in use since the 15th century referring to an act of gratitude by gifting presents. 

  • What do they mean?

When learning the difference between any two words, their meaning becomes something to be looked into!

Charity is often seen as an act of giving or helping someone in need. In today’s use, however, it also means the organisation that revolves around regulating contributions from others to help the needy. 

Donation also means helping someone by contributing, but not necessarily to the needy. It is made to institutions as well such as a political party, a hospital, a school, an NGO, and so on. It can be done online via online donations platforms or offline by personally contacting them. However, unlike charity, it does not refer to an organisation specifically.

Contextual differences

Charity, being referred to as an organisation or group, makes it a noun, whereas donation is seen as a verb due to its action of contributing. 

Moreover, charity can also act as a verb because it implies the act of giving something, whereas donation implies an object that is being given or donated, in this case, donation becomes a noun. 

The above mentioned points do make these two words seem different from each other, but they root for only one thing that is ‘helping’. The word may seem simple, but its effect is bringing a smile to millions of people in India. Such an effort is done by an NGO called Narayan Seva Sansthan. 

The NGO established in 1985 in Udaipur, Rajasthan is one of the most sought offline and online donation institutes in India that is extending its hands to help the underprivileged and differently abled. The major efforts of the Sansthan  are directed towards corrective surgery of differently abled, distribution of artificial limbs, distribution of aids and equipment, mass marriage and skill development for specially-abled. Their commendable campaigns also involve providing free meals, blankets, and other necessities to the needy.

The Sanstha accepts donations online, hence, you can donate online from any part of the world. To donate online, you can visit the HERE!

Another notable point is donation deductions. Ever thought of saving some taxes by doing charity? Well, donation deductions can help you help the needy as well as save some taxes! According to the Tax exemption act, your donations will have up to 50% tax exemption.
Hence, donations are indeed profitable.