These are appropriate property donations to the institution. However, to qualify as being deductible they must be given to the University and not earmarked for a specific student or even dorm or student group/club. You need to demonstrate that all students have access to the items.
The receipt is a standard GIK or property donation receipt, clearly describing the item without any value. See IRS Publication 1771.
Whether you wish to enter these in your CRM is an institutional decision. I know many organizations that do not enter GIKs below a nominal value. If you do enter them you will want to coordinate with Finance as most are not interested in booking these on the general ledger even if you record them in the Adancement system.
John
John H. Taylor
919.816.5903 (Cell/Text)
Big Ideas; Small Keyboard
Original Message:
Sent: 5/4/2024 10:03:00 AM
From: Valerie Au
Subject: Best Practices for Receipting and Recording Donations of Household Items for Students
Hello,
I'm looking for advice on how universities handle donations of household items or appliances at campus thrift stores to be provided to students at no cost. Specifically, I am interested in:
- How do you receipt these donations? Are there specific templates or language that you use?
- Do you record these items as donations in your advancement system?
Thank you.
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Valerie Au
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
hau@umassd.edu
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