Banks charge-off debt that can provide a substantial donation to a banking trade association or a non-profit organization. The largest category of charge-off debt is usually consumer or commercial loans followed by credit cards. U.S. banks charged off a record $83.3 billion in credit-card losses in 2009. The donation process for these charge-offs takes little time and effort for bank personnel. Yet the bank will receive positive public recognition for a cash donation that can make a big difference in the community.

Banks often write off commercial and consumer loans as well as auto deficiency balances. With individual medium or smaller banks, this category is generally smaller than credit cards but with a banking network making the donation, the resulting cash donation can be surprisingly large.