One way to ensure that the church maintains control is to have a written policy regarding designated contributions.  This policy should state that the church (or established team such as a finance committee or board) has exclusive control and discretion as to the use of all contributions and the church is not bound to honor the recommendations of the donors nor will donors be able to recover a contribution because the church failed to honor the donor’s designation. Honoring a donor’s designation encourages future giving and generates goodwill.  It is in the best interest of churches to honor such designations whenever the designation is in line with the church’s ministry purpose.