Yes, in the eyes of the IRS it's perfectly legit to donate to another 501c3. The only sticking point would be if the donation is consistent with your group's mission or bylaws.
We use the 501c3 donation route to donate to a charity in our district that provides emergency assistance to student families. That way, we can avoid the potentially touchy issue of the PTO giving $ directly to a family who had a fire, for instance. Since our PTO donates to this other charity, we're indirectly supporting such circumstances already.
I'm a new to the high school PTO and the board is currently working on "guidelines for giving." The way money was given out was "tribal knowledge" (to whom, how much, when, for how long, etc.) so they thought it time to write it down for the future. Good first step.
My question. Can our group as a 501(C)(3) legally donate money to another 501(c) (3) (e.g., our District's Education Foundation to sponsor a table at an academic banquet or to a group raising money to support a student with cancer)? Both are great causes, just want to make sure we're "legal." Thanks!
