Totally right on, and it happens freaking all the time.

Actually they are required to as a non-profit, and donors also report donations on thier tax filings as deductions.

They all make up shit so people give them money - its thier fucking business model.

@1of5 The IRS website says, " In addition, churches and certain church-affiliated organizations are excepted from filing."

@greyeyed123 [google.com]

Tax law is complex, so they get around it somehow if they can

@1of5 "Every organization exempt from federal income tax under Internal Revenue Code section 501 ( a ) must file an annual information return except:

1. A church, an interchurch organization of local units of a church, a convention or association of churches,
2. An integrated auxiliary of a church,
3. A church-affiliated organization that is exclusively engaged in managing funds or maintaining retirement programs,
4. A school below college level affiliated with a church or operated by a religious order,
5. Church-affiliated mission societies if more than half of their activities are conducted in, or are directed at persons in, foreign countries,
6. An exclusively religious activity of any religious order,"

[irs.gov]

@greyeyed123 from the document posted:

The IRS imposes recordkeeping and substantiation rules on donors of charitable
contributions and disclosure rules on charities that receive certain quid pro quo
contributions.
Donors must have a bank record or written communication from a charity for any
monetary contribution before the donors can claim a charitable contribution on their federal
income tax returns.
Donors are responsible for obtaining a written acknowledgment from a charity for any
single contribution of $250 or more before the donors can claim a charitable contribution on
their federal income tax returns.
Charitable organizations are required to provide a written disclosure to a donor who
receives goods or services in exchange for a single payment in excess of $75.

So it does get reported.

@1of5 Those are only for donors who want to write it off their taxes.

"Charitable organizations are required to provide a written disclosure to a donor who
receives goods or services in exchange for a single payment in excess of $75."

This means that if a donor wants a receipt from a charitable organization, they can get one. I get one every year from my college for my donations. I never bother to write it off my taxes.

Moreover, a few lines down, "No disclosure statement is required when: [...] There is only an intangible religious benefit provided to the donor. The intangible religious benefit must be provided to the donor by an organization organized exclusively for religious purposes, and must be of a type that generally is not sold in a commercial transaction outside the donative context."

You never know, but almost certainly some of that spare money that went into the collecting boxes, will now be going to charities.