Not really an OzBargain topic but I am in the process of designing a birthday invite for my daughter and have been struggling with wording to say “No Gifts / Gifts Card” (but want our guests to donate to a specific charity.
Luckily we have everything we need and wish all the gifts or donations go to www.bearcottage.com (This is a centre which provides support, respite and end-of-life care for children with life-limiting conditions.
Can any one here help with wording ?
That’s very kind and thoughtful of you to donate to a charity instead of accepting gifts.
A lot of people do this to appear benevolent but actually do it so they can claim a tax break.
You do realise the tax break only gives you a fraction of your money back?
I do, why do you think I would think otherwise?
@Ghost47: Maybe I don't get what you are saying. You mean people give money to charity for the purpose of claiming a tax break, even though they are losing money out of it?
You mean people give money to charity for the purpose of claiming a tax break
No I mean there are people out there who give money to a charity for the purpose of appearing benevolent, but in reality do it to claim a tax break.
I'm not saying that people donate (i.e. "give away") $5000 with the objective to get $1000 back in their pocket (for example), because as you've alluded to, it's not exactly an efficient way of growing one's wealth.
No I mean there are people out there who give money to a charity for the purpose of appearing benevolent, but in reality do it to claim a tax break.
Does that affect anyone though, 'people thinking what they want to think for their own reasons'? The charity gets the money it wanted to spend, right?
But the person throwing the party is not the one getting the tax deduction.
It will be the guests who get to claim the deduction.
So, I don't understand your point.
I guess when people ask for "donations in her name"?
@AustriaBargain: I can donate in Bill Gates' name, he still ain't getting the deduction. It's who spends the money.
Your presence at <daughter's name> birthday is the greatest gift of all;
However if you must, a gift or donation to bear cottage is appreciated no matter how big or small.
"In lieu of presents please consider donating to a charity close to our hearts www.bearcottage.com instead. Thank you"
IMHO this is the best version - concise and clear.
This
"We're celebrating [Daughter's Name]'s 2nd birthday! While we're grateful for your love and support, we kindly request that you do not bring any gifts or gift cards. Instead, we invite you to join us in supporting a wonderful cause that's close to our hearts. Please consider making a donation to Bear Cottage, a centre that provides support, respite and end-of-life care for children with life-limiting conditions. Your generosity will help make a difference in the lives of these brave children and their families. Thank you for your understanding and for helping us make this birthday a meaningful one!"
- Chat GPT
Happy birthday to your daughter!
Chatgtp did well.
Here's a slightly modified ChatGPT response that has an alternate gift card option removed (since OP only chose the one charity)
Dear friends and family,
We are thrilled to invite you to celebrate our daughter's birthday with us! In lieu of gifts, we kindly ask that you consider making a donation to support Bear Cottage, a wonderful charity that provides care and support to children with life-limiting illnesses and their families.
You can make a donation directly to Bear Cottage through their website at www.bearcottage.com.
Your generosity will help make a real difference in the lives of children and families who are facing difficult times. Thank you for helping us make this a birthday to remember!
Best regards,
[Your Name]
Lol, we all just plugged OPs question into ChatGPT. I guess that's how it is from now on, the genie is out of the bottle for humanity not being able to think for ourselves..
And it is actually one of the better ones
We need to stop valuing and striving for perfection, and instead value individual creativity, effort, variety and quality in imperfection. That's the problem with chatgtp. It gives us what we think we need -an easy and closer to perfect/correct result.
and wait for the hue and cry when the attendees don't get a gift bag when they are
leaving.
Alternatively you could add
… If your child cannot attend, we will donate the amount it would cost us to provide refreshments for them to Bear Cottage through their website at www.bearcottage.com.
or even better
Dear friends and family,
We are thrilled to celebrate our daughter's birthday with us! In lieu of gifts and parties, we kindly ask that you consider, like we have, instead of promoting indulgence and waste on junk food and energy, a donation to support Bear Cottage, a wonderful charity that provides care and support to children with life-limiting illnesses and their families.
You can make a donation directly to Bear Cottage through their website at www.bearcottage.com.
Our combined generosity will help make a real difference in the lives of children and families who are facing difficult times. As well our children will be saved from disease from the sweets candies and cakes that are so addictive and detrimental. Thank you for helping us make this a birthday to remember!
With Charity
Nissh…
🤡
(apologies to chat GPT for ripping off much of their creative thoughts in the text)
I'd remove reference to gift cards. Unless you live somewhere I'm not familiar with, and in our area, many (incl us previously) have asked for no gifts, no one is going to give a 2 year old a GC (unless it's a cultural thing). It might make you sound like a w*nker.
Is that a correct link?
Charities generally don’t use a .com address and a google search found the address for Bear Cottage to be:
https://bearcottage.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/home.php#/life-is…
We did this for your Daughters birthday (no gifts). None of the guests followed it except for a very few.
Be prepared for dissapointment as well!
Yes, absolutely. A lot of people won’t donate and that’s fair enough to be honest.
Oh… can you set up a donation portal in the name of your daughter and then put that as a QR code on the invites?
I never like to tell others where their donations should go.
This is such a great idea, sort of tempted to introduce this for Birthday and Christmases - my girls get way too much as it is without a bunch of throw away presents from friends and family.
Ask them to include the receipt for warranty purposes, then return it for cash
Presents for under 3 year olds are a stupid idea anyway. I gave my niece some dry rice in a plastic bottle with a balloon on top. She played with it more than the other presents she got, to the great annoyance of my sister.
I usually end up getting gifts suitable for ages a little older (5 and above) so it stretches a bit longer and (hopefully) still useful/relevant when the kid grows older. But your story is gold!
That’s very kind and thoughtful of you to donate to a charity instead of accepting gifts. Here are some possible ways to word your invitation:
We are so grateful for your presence at our daughter’s birthday party. In lieu of gifts or gift cards, we would appreciate it if you could make a donation to www.bearcottage.com, a wonderful organization that helps children with life-limiting conditions and their families.
Your presence is the best present for our daughter’s birthday. If you wish to give something more, please consider donating to www.bearcottage.com, a charity that provides support, respite and end-of-life care for children with life-limiting conditions.
Thank you for joining us to celebrate our daughter’s birthday. We have everything we need and more, so we kindly ask you to refrain from bringing gifts or gift cards. Instead, we would love it if you could support www.bearcottage.com, a centre that cares for children with life-limiting conditions and their families.