The report that "the Internet has now become the first-response channel of choice for donors during disasters and other emergency events." A donation is a gift for charity, humanitarian aid, or to benefit a cause. Reports that, in the US, online giving in 2012 grew 11% on a year-over-year basis. Donations made on the international online giving day were up 52% from the previous year. The majority of donations were from individuals 73%, then from bequests about 12%, foundations 2% and less than 1% from corporations. The percentage of total fundraising that comes from online giving was about 7% in 2012. This was an increase from 6% in 2011 and is nearing the record level of 8% from 2010 when online giving spiked in response to Haitian earthquake relief efforts.
Donations are given without return consideration. Only when the donation is actually made does it acquire legal status as a transfer or property. the law of some countries may prohibit or restrict the extent to which politicians may accept gifts or donations of large sums of money, especially from business or lobby groups see campaign finance. This lack of return consideration means that, in common law, an agreement to make a donation is an "imperfect contract void for want of consideration." Donations of money or property to qualifying charitable organizations are also usually tax deductible. Because this reduces the state's tax income, calls have been raised that the state should pay more attention towards ensuring that charities actually use this 'tax money' in suitable ways. Properly speaking, however, it is a voluntary contract, verbal or written, by which the donor expressly agrees to give, without consideration, something to the donee, and the latter in an equally express manner accepts the gift.
The person or institution giving a gift is called the donor, and the person or institution getting the gift is called the done. Memorial donations are also sometimes given by people if they are unable to attend the ceremony. There have been discussions on whether also a donation of time should be tax deductible. Memorial gifts are sometimes requested by their survivors, usually directing donations to a charitable organization for which the deceased was a donor or volunteer, or for a cause befitting the deceased's priorities in life or manner of death. A Donation, when referred to in canon law in the Roman Catholic Church, is defined as the gratuitous transfer to another of some right or thing.
Gifts in honor or memory of a third party are made for various reasons, such as holiday gifts, wedding gifts, in memory of somebody who has died, in memory of pets or in the name of groups or associations no longer existing. A donation is called remunerative when inspired by a sentiment of gratitude for services rendered by the done. When it consists in placing in the hands of the done some movable object it is known as a gift of hand donum manual, an offering or oblatio, an alms. Such codes distinguish between conventional or imperfect and perfect donation, i.e. the actual transfer of the thing or right. In Roman law and in some modern codes this contract carries with it only the obligation of transferring the ownership of the thing in question; actual ownership is obtained only by the real traditio or handing over of the thing itself, or by the observation of certain juridically prescribed formalities.