Imagine hearing one of your coworkers admit that she’s having a hard time paying her rent. Would you want to help, or would you mind your own business?

In this story, several coworkers are in this situation, and they decide to pool their money together to help out the coworker. But now, the person in charge of the donation isn’t so sure it’s a good idea to give her the money after all.

Keep reading to find out why.

AITA for refusing to hand over money raised for a coworker after learning something that changed my mind?

I’M 26F and work in a small office where everyone tends to chip in when someone is going through a hard time.

Recently, one of my coworkers told us she was struggling financially due to a sudden medical issue and might not be able to cover rent that month.

A few of us felt really bad and decided to organize a small fundraiser. I ended up taking the lead since I’m usually the one coordinating group things.

I reached out to everyone, collected contributions, and even added some of my own money. Altogether, it came out to a decent amount that could genuinely help her get through the month.

But the coworker was acting kind of odd.

Before handing it over, I asked her if she was okay with me giving it to her directly or if she preferred another method.

She seemed a bit hesitant and said she will get back to me, which I thought was odd but didn’t push.

A day later, another coworker pulled me aside and told me that the other coworker we contributed for had apparently been talking about planning a trip out of town around the same time she claimed she couldn’t pay rent.

I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, so I casually asked her again about her situation, and her answers felt vague and didn’t really line up with what she had originally told us.

She feels hesitant.

At that point, I got uncomfortable.

I didn’t accuse her of anything, but I decided to hold onto the money and told the contributors I wanted to clarify a few things before passing it along.

Now she is upset and says I embarrassed her and made it seem like I don’t trust her.

She’s not sure what to do.

A couple of coworkers think I should’ve just given her the money no questions asked since it was already collected for her.

Others are saying it’s better to be cautious.

For now, I’ve kept the money aside and haven’t used it for anything else. I’m trying to figure out the best way to handle it without making things worse.

AITA?

Maybe let everyone who contributed vote on whether they want to give her the money or not.

Let’s see how Reddit responded to this story.

There are really only two options.

This person suggests giving the money back.

Here’s a similar thought.

Here’s a vote for not organizing anymore fundraisers.

She brought this stress on herself.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this story about a man who had to stop giving rides to a coworker because of the way he treated his car.