What to do with donations to individuals in the church.

by Alex
(Ohio)

I understand from other posts on your site that donations given to specific individuals are not tax-deductible. What is the best practice in that regard?

Does the church accept the donation and distribute, or should the donation be returned to the individual?

I recently had to explain to someone that their designated gift was non-tax deductible. They were ok with that, but were highly upset that the church would not do this for them. I explained that the church did not want to be put in that position, but they remained upset. Any advice?