Is it permissible to pay the expiatory fast (kaffarat al-siyam) in cash to facilitate it for the payer, and is it permissible to combine expiatory funds to prepare communal iftar meals?

It is permissible to take money to buy food and give it to those deserving on behalf of the one atoning. However, directly giving the value [of the food] to the deserving is a matter of dispute among scholars. The more prudent approach is to provide food to avoid this disagreement. It is permissible to collect money to break the fast of fasting individuals if those invited are deserving of expiation. However, if someone who is not deserving attends, the expiation should not be applied to them. It is preferable to give ownership of the food directly to the poor. Many scholars have held that feeding them by way of lunch or dinner is not sufficient; rather, the required amount must be given into their ownership. Ownership is required by the Shafi'is and Hanbalis, while the Hanafis and Malikis permitted both ownership and mere permissibility [to consume]. Avoiding disagreement is more prudent.