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To make a donation in someone’s name as a gift, choose a cause they care about, add a dedication, and arrange a card or personal message.
Charities such as Save the Children offer a dedication option within their donation forms.
The steps below cover choosing the cause, making the donation, and arranging what the person receives. The tax guidance refers to U.S. federal rules.
In this guide
Start with what the person has told you or shown you. A charity they have requested, an organization they volunteer with, or a cause they regularly support gives you something specific to work with.
For someone who volunteers at an animal shelter, a contribution to that shelter could acknowledge the time they already give. Knowing only that a friend likes animals is a starting point, but it does not tell you which organization they would choose.
If you are unsure whether they would welcome a donation to a particular charity, ask. This is especially worth considering when the cause involves religion, politics, illness, or bereavement.
A donation is not always the right gift. Someone who has requested a specific item or needs practical help may prefer that. And “no gifts” should not automatically be interpreted as “please donate in my name.”
Read about the charity’s work, then check whether your contribution supports the organization generally or can be directed to a particular project.
Feeding America, for example, says donations through its honorary-giving route support its overall mission and cannot be designated for a specific program, location, or food bank. Giving in someone’s honor does not change that restriction.
That distinction also affects what you write in the card. “I made a donation to support their work” is different from saying your contribution paid for a particular animal’s treatment or a local project.
For U.S. organizations, the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search can help you check eligibility to receive tax-deductible contributions. Treat this as a tax-status check, not an assessment of whether the charity is effective or right for your recipient.
The main decision is whether you will choose the charity or give the recipient that choice. A card announcing a donation is not the same as a redeemable charity gift card.
You choose the charity before donating, then use its dedication and notification options. Save the Children, for example, provides fields for the honoree’s name and an optional message.
You select from the service’s available charities. GivingPals pairs a donation in someone’s honor with a personalized digital card containing your message and the selected charity’s name.
The recipient chooses from the provider’s eligible options. With GlobalGiving’s gift cards, the recipient enters a code, selects a project, and completes checkout to redeem the card.
If the person has already named a charity, start with that charity’s website. A separate gifting service is optional.
For a redeemable charity gift card, check its expiration rules and what happens to unused funds before buying.
When giving directly to a charity, look for wording such as “dedicate my donation,” “in honor of,” or “tribute gift.” For a birthday, thank-you, or other celebration, use the “in honor of” option where offered. “In memory of” is used to remember someone who has died. Save the Children’s instructions explain these dedication options.
Keep the donor, honoree, and card recipient separate as you complete the form:
For a birthday gift, the honoree and card recipient will generally be the same person. For a memorial gift, you might name the person who died in the dedication and send the card to a family member.
If a family has requested a donation instead of flowers, follow their stated wishes. Our guide to what “in lieu of flowers” means explains that situation separately.
Contact the charity to ask whether it can record a tribute or send an acknowledgment.
You can also make a standard donation and write your own card explaining that you chose to give in the person’s honor. A personal message can explain the gift even if the charity has not recorded an official tribute. Confirm whether the charity will send an acknowledgment before telling the recipient to expect one.
Before paying, look at a card preview or ask the provider to confirm what it includes. Check whether it shows your name, the charity, your message, and the donation amount. Also find out whether the recipient must open a link, log in, or take any further action.
Providers handle amount visibility differently. Feeding America says its honorary-gift notification does not show the amount unless you include it in your message. The amount appears on the receipt emailed to the donor.
Name the charity, explain why you chose it for them, and add your birthday wishes or thanks.
For someone who volunteers at an animal shelter, a message could read:
Happy birthday. I made a donation to [shelter] in your honor. I wanted to support the place where you give your time.
For a thank-you gift, adapt this structure:
Thank you for [the specific help they gave you]. I made a donation to [charity] in your honor because [a reason connected to their interests or work].
Use details that are true of the person and the occasion. You do not need to describe the donation as extraordinary or predict how much they will love it.
Describe the work you supported rather than a specific outcome the charity has not confirmed. You can leave the amount out of your own message, but check whether the provider displays it elsewhere on the card.
Choose an amount that fits your budget, then inspect the final breakdown. Separate the donation amount from additional charges or optional platform support. Check whether any fees are deducted before the money reaches the selected charity.
The FTC recommends checking who initially receives a platform donation, what fees apply, how long distribution takes, and what happens if the funds cannot be sent to the chosen charity. It also advises reviewing how personal information is shared. If those details are unclear, donating directly to the charity is an alternative.
GivingPals’ donation-processing FAQ says its nonprofit partner, Make My Donation, Inc., handles contributions and subsequent distributions to selected charities through a donor-advised-fund arrangement. In a donor-advised fund, the sponsoring charitable organization controls the contributed funds, while the donor has advisory privileges over their distribution, as explained in the IRS overview of donor-advised funds.
Card delivery and charitable distribution are separate events. Receiving the card does not confirm that the selected charity has received the funds. Check the distribution timetable separately from the card’s delivery date.
Before submitting payment, also confirm that you have selected a one-time contribution rather than recurring support, unless recurring giving is what you intended.
When you make an eligible donation with your own money, any available charitable deduction belongs to you, not to the person honored. St. Jude’s honorary-donation guidance makes this distinction. A receipt documents the contribution; it does not, by itself, establish that you qualify for a deduction.
Keep a bank record or written communication showing the organization, date, and amount. When claiming a deduction for a contribution of $250 or more, the IRS requires a contemporaneous written acknowledgment containing additional information, including whether goods or services were provided in return.
The donation method matters, too. Beginning with tax year 2026, certain cash contributions qualify for a federal deduction for people who do not itemize. Contributions to donor-advised funds are excluded from that particular deduction. This does not make all donor-advised-fund contributions non-deductible; different eligibility rules apply. See the IRS guidance and Vanguard Charitable’s explanation of the donor-advised-fund exclusion. Confirm the treatment of your contribution with a qualified tax professional.
Review the recipient’s name and contact details before paying. If scheduling is available, check the delivery date and time zone. For a mailed card, allow for the provider’s processing time as well as postal delivery.
Feeding America, for example, states that physical cards are mailed within four to six weeks of the donation and warns that postal delays are possible. Do not assume a mailed acknowledgment will arrive in time for an approaching birthday.
Save your confirmation and donation receipt separately from the recipient’s card. Check whether the confirmation includes a way to view or share the card again.
If an emailed card does not arrive, check the recipient’s address and ask them to check their spam folder. Feeding America specifically notes that its e-cards can be filtered into junk or spam. Contact the provider about correcting or resending the notification before making another payment.
GivingPals pairs a charitable donation with a personalized digital card. Start by choosing an occasion, select and personalize your card, then choose the charity and complete your gift. You do not need to create an account to give.
Start with GivingPals’ occasions and choose the moment you want to recognize, such as a birthday, appreciation, a celebration, sympathy and support, or a memorial. Your choice opens cards for that occasion.
On the “Select a card” screen, pick a design for your recipient. You can also select “All Cards” to browse other designs.
Personalize the card on the “Make it yours” screen. Edit the headline, enter the recipient’s name, and fill in “Gift From” with the name you want them to see. This can be your name, a family name, or a group name. You will provide your formal name for the donation receipt at checkout.
Add an optional personal message explaining why you are giving in their honor. You can write your own or use “Use suggested message” as a starting point. Check the card preview, then select “Continue to Donation.”
On the “Find your Charity” screen, search for an organization or browse the featured charities and cause categories. Check the charity’s name, location, and EIN, its federal tax identification number, especially when organizations have similar names.
Select “Continue” beside the charity you want to support. If you need help finding an organization, contact GivingPals through the contact page.
On “Complete your gift,” enter your full name and email for the receipt. Your phone number is optional. Confirm the recipient’s name and enter their delivery contact details. Follow the required fields shown at checkout; the current form marks recipient email as required and recipient phone as optional.
Choose “Send now” or “Schedule for later.” If scheduling, check the delivery date and any displayed time-zone information.
Select a donation amount or enter your own. Choose whether to show the donation amount on the digital card. Hiding it changes what the recipient sees, not what you contribute.
Review the optional “Platform Support for GivingPals” amount and adjust it as you wish. Keep this separate from the charitable donation when checking the total.
Check the selected charity, Gift From name, recipient, card message, delivery details, donation amount, optional platform support, and total charge before paying. Use the back controls if you need to correct the card or charity.
Review the checkout terms and privacy policy. The marketing-email checkbox is optional. Once all details are correct and you are ready to pay, select “Complete Gift” and follow the payment steps.
Check everything carefully before completing payment. See the GivingPals FAQ for its editing policy and help with scheduled gifts.
Save your confirmation and donation receipt separately from the recipient’s card. The recipient receives the personalized card through the delivery details you supplied. The card acknowledges the donation you selected; it is not a gift-card balance for them to spend.
Card delivery and charitable distribution remain separate events. Keep your confirmation in case you need help with delivery or your donation.
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