What?????????????
I'm sorry I have no clue what the heck you are saying.
Religuous organizations take donations all the time..we usually offer a receipt for tax purposes to the gifter ( I know I usually got hand cramps from signing them)...but in this case, to the IRS that would be seen as payment..and therefore that could be illegal, since accepting payment for homebrew is against the law..also the person is a friend of the OP's so what the f is wrong with giving his friend some meade???
And everyone seems to want some exchange for giving the mead..except, what's wrong with doing it outta friendship or the kindness of his heart???
No need to be sorry, It was a poor post at best. I didn't take enough time to post, and should have opted to post it later instead of posting that strange, half-written post.
The long post would have read something like:
There is nothing wrong with giving away the mead. If everyone is favorable, then that's the way that it should be.
Many times religious organizations (and other organizations specifically labeling themselves non-religious for personal moral or mental reasons) desire to give back to those who give to them. Whether it be in recognition of service or a gift of some kind, they desire to show their appreciation of the gift they receive. Other organizations can feel like they are imposing or being rude by not giving something back.
Now, your example of giving receipts for tax purposes gives another example of that very thing.
Perhaps I'm looking at the responses to this thread in a different light than you are. On other forums that I'm on, people respond with ideas even if the issue is solved because it creates a larger search database. Say the OP of this thread has already resolved the issue, and decided to give the mead freely. That's great, and that is what many of us would do. Say however that someone else happens to run across and read this thread from a search and is in a similar situation. In this hypothetical case, the receiving party is either unwilling or unable by moral dilemma to be able to accept the gift without reciprocation. In this case, the extra ideas in the thread will be useful.
I actually had a friend a few years ago who was a Celtic Priest of some order or other. His sect followed a doctrine that did not allow them to accept gifts without equal reciprocal gift. I still have his card somewhere, and in quotation marks it says "...repay gift for gift and favor in kind." So while ideal for many, the option of giving it away isn't acceptable to everyone.
Perhaps I'm being overly optimistic about how many people will use the search function. It does seem that quite a few people on the internet just jump out with a question that has been answered many, many times. It would be nice to be able to track those who do use the search function to answer their own questions, but they seem to not post their questions after they have found the answers!
The question of why you happen to be the only one saying "GIVE IT TO HER" is answered in two parts:
1. You were the second post, and seem to have explained the suggestion well enough that no other poster felt that it needed embellishment or clarification.
2. You weren't; ruger12pk posted "Why not just give it as an offering?"