Dear Urban Diplomat: do I still have to donate to my ex-fiancée’s charity challenge?

Dear Urban Diplomat: do I still have to donate to my ex-fiancée’s charity challenge?

Charitable donations box
(Image: Don DeBold/Flickr)

Dear Urban Diplomat,

My fiancée’s brother hit me up for his half-marathon charity challenge, and I agreed to donate a couple of hundred bucks. Then, just before the race, she dumped me. The last thing I want to do now is help her brother out. He did the run, and, yes, I signed the donation form, but what happens if I just don’t hand over the money? Will the charity police come after me?

—Welchers Without Borders, Oakridge

All the charities we spoke to had the same answer: give because you want to help, not because you feel obligated. And no, they won’t send any heavies to shake you down if you don’t pay. But you did make a promise and your name is on your almost-brother-in-law’s donor list, so he could still come a-knockin’ to collect. Don’t want to deal with an awkward meeting to hand him the cash? Fine—skip the middleman. Send a cheque for the pledged amount directly to the ­charity, and you’ll still get to bask in the glow of all that warm, fuzzy karma.

Send your questions to the Urban Diplomat at [email protected]