I believe you committed fraud - getting money by saying the money was for charity and then keeping it. Why wouldn't every bank robber, petty thief, and con artist use the same excuse: I was investing the money and then giving most of the profits to charity? If that's what you wanted to do - then you should have documented that investing the proceeds was the plan you had BEFORE the bake sale. Now it's TOO LATE.

That is what every non-profit does and then pays out around 33% as that is the max you take as pay, then they donate about 3-8% and then they reinvest the remaining 60%

Read up on different non profit business to get a better feel of what is right and wrong.

Given you will have done very little work and are taking money that would otherwise go to charity, I'd say so. Also worth considering - any investments that could double the money could just as easily go **** up - will you be on the hook for any losses that are incurred?

Are you on drugs? Wtf would you do with 50 bucks? This is the most outragous scheme I've heard. It is unethical if you didn't state your intentions to the people who have donated.

Yes, give the money to the charity immediatly.

Its not yours to gamble with.

It is very unethical but what difference does that make.

My friends and I had a bake sale for charity and only made a few hundred dollars. Instead of immediately donating it, I wanted to invest it in my brokerage account to donate later. If I double the money, would it be bad if I took like 50 bucks for myself off the stock profit?

Is this bad or unethical? Is it illegal?