This paper analyzes the arguments used to justify the existence of non-profit organizations financed exclusively by donations from a position of economics and finance. The concept of donation capital cost is used to provide an economic interpretation of charity, establishing its limits. The concept of charity is analyzed from an economic point of view, concluding with a more general overview of charity, always dependant on the level of donations received by the non-profit organization. This paper presents a taxonomy of charity organizations that can be useful for establishing policies to encourage donations: Total Charity Organizations and Mixed Charity Organizations. The work ends with a case study in which the concepts presented herein are applied numerically. © EuroJournals Publishing, Inc. 2010.