Corie:
I wasn't having much luck either, with the download search or even the list
search, but I finally tracked a thread in which his thoughts were reflected
so I'm simply copying and pasting here:
*Annual Date Of Gift Message*
>
>
> In the United States, the IRS does not require any date of gift on
> acknowledgments/receipts. In Canada two dates are required: the date you
> received the gift and the date you printed the receipt. NOWHERE IS A "DATE
> OF GIFT" REQUIRED IN EITHER COUNTRY. In the most recent version of IRS
> Publication 1771, however, the IRS does suggest providing a "date
> received." My personal preference, however, remains "date processed." The
> acceptability of reflecting a processed date has been confirmed with the
> IRS.
>
> We are often faced with the dilemma of donors sending in last minute
> end-of-year contributions and being frustrated when they get a receipt
> mentioning a "gift date" in January. I would be too. In fact, it is not
> the donee's responsibility to assign a date of gift. That responsibility
> clearly falls on the donor. Were you, as a donee, to state a gift date on
> a receipt you could, in theory, be required to produce evidence supporting
> that date during an IRS audit of one of your donors. Stating gift dates on
> receipts would necessitate your keeping envelopes with postmarks, for
> example, for the required IRS statute of limitations. That is why the only
> time I suggest mentioning a gift date is for gifts of securities IF you
> feel like providing a value for them (not required per IRS Publication
1771
> as securities are gifts of property). However, if you choose to do so,
> make sure that you include a disclaimer advising the donor that the value
-
> and date - are being used for internal purposes only and to seek official
> guidance from their tax adviser. My suggested receipt language for these
>
> "Thank you for your gift of X shares of Y stock, which we have valued for
> our internal purposes only at $Z as of MM/DD/YY. For tax purposes, you
> will want to seek guidance from a tax professional in determining your
> Duke University, during my nearly 15 years there, rarely received a
> complaint from a donor about showing a processed date and not a gift date.
> The phone calls literally went away 15 years ago when, for the first two
> weeks of January, Duke began including the following message on receipts
in
> lieu of the normal fund, department, or school-based message and/or
> signature (I believe Duke no longer even needs to add this reminder):
>
> "May we remind you that the date above reflects when we processed your
> gift and does not imply the date your gift was made. While you should
> consult with your CPA or tax preparer to determine the tax consequences of
> your donation, the date you delivered or mailed your donation is generally
> recognized as the gift date. The determination of the contribution date is
> entirely your decision. Should you have any questions concerning this
>
> Don't get caught up trying to ascertain gift dates for your donors. But,
> since I am asked "When is a gift a gift?" every year, here are some common
> answers, and misconceptions:
>
> The date of the check HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH REALITY. It's not a legal
> date for anything. Why some institutions find a need to record this date
> in their system is unclear (although many software packages include this
> field). Entering this date is a waste of time, IMHO, and certainly cannot
> be used to represent the date of gift, the date received, or the date
> processed. To save data input efforts, and to standardize gift processing,
> the only date I suggest you reflect for most gifts is the date the gift
was
> entered on your system - which is usually automatically inserted - hence
> the phrase "processed date" recommendation I offer.
>
>
> The customary "legal" date of gift for mailed contributions is the date of
> postmark. This, however, is *not* true for metered mail. Nor does a
> postmark reflect the legal date of gift for some other, non-cash, forms of
> gifts like credit card and stock donations. For credit cards, regardless
> of when or how the donor tells you to debit their account, the legal gift
> date is the date the charge hits their account. For stock, things get a
bit
> more complicated. If the donor mails it in, the gift date is the later of
> the two USPS (not metered) postmarks for the certificate and stock power.
> If DTCed, it's the date of DTC and NOT THE DATE THE DONOR TOLD THEIR
BROKER
> TO TRANSFER THE GIFT. For the gift to be consummated the stock MUST be
> registered in your name or in the control of you or your legal agent.
>
>
> For items sent via third parties, like FedEx and UPS, the gift date is the
> date you sign for, or take into your possession, the package, not the date
> it was sent (a donor can recall items "mailed" this way until you have
> despite the fact taxpayers could hypothetically stop payment on the check
> and negate the actual gift. One word of caution: postdated checks are not
> deductible when hand delivered or mailed. A postdated check is a promise
to
> pay in the future and, thus, not deductible at time of delivery."
>
>
> *From Crescendo regarding electronic delivery of stock gifts* (dealing
> with a broker not acting on a transfer request when it is made): "Stocks
> taxpayer may irrevocably instruct his or her broker to transfer the stock
> to charity, the gift is not complete until the stock is delivered to the
> charity's account. This means that the gift date for tax purposes may be
> days and possibly even weeks after the taxpayer's instructions to
transfer.
Good luck and best regards,
Amy
Director of Advancement Services, Gift Acceptance
Division of University Advancement
The Catholic University of America
620 Michigan Avenue, E215 O'Connell Hall
Washington, DC 20064
Phone: 202-319-6919
Email:
phillipsajud@cua.edu <
burnettm@cua.edu>
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 11:15 AM Corie Pryor <
cpryor@truman.edu> wrote:
> I am trying to locate the "Annual Date of Gift email" that John Taylor has
> referenced regarding gift dates. It says it is on the download site. I
> have not accessed the downloads before and could use some assistance
> finding this email.
>
> Thank you.
>
> Corie Pryor
> Coordinator of Operations
> Advancement Office
> Truman State University
> Kirksville MO 63501
>