Legal Question in Constitutional Law in Oklahoma

Re: Donations for sale--Is it legal?

I don't understand how you think this arrangement penalizes you at all, let alone why you believe the penalty is imposed because of your disability. If you can't afford to make a donation then you are one of many people in the same position, and chances are that most of them don't share your disability. It is lack of funds rather than your disability which makes you unable to support these organizations.

There is nothing wrong with offering premiums in exchange for donations at a certain level. Public television and radio stations do this all the time, as do hospitals, colleges, museums and many other organizations. The fair market value of the premium is deducted from the donation for tax purposes (for example, someone who donates $300 and gets a $25 DVD in return can only take a $275 tax deduction), but as long as the donor properly accounts for the premium she has broken no laws. The organization also does nothing wrong when it accepts such donations.

Often the same items are available for sale -- though not necessarily from the same organization -- at a price much lower than the requested gift. If you want the DVD but can't afford the donation, you should look to see whether you can find it for sale someplace else.

Some premiums are not available by other means. Peter Paul and Mary may have licensed this particular DVD exclusively to the charity in order to help it raise money. If you can't afford to make the requested donation then you can't get the DVD, but this still is not discriminatory. Aside from Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, we all have limits on what we can afford. The fact that something you want is not within your financial means is not the result of illegal discrimination