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  • 1.  GIK of Used Flowers

    Posted 11-01-2023 11:13 AM

    Hello.  A donor would like to donate their flowers from their wedding reception to hospital patients (where allowed).  Would this qualify as a charitable in-kind gift?  If so, wouldn't an actual invoice of purchase price of flowers or appraisal of flowers be required?  These flowers would be "used" so not sure how one could come up with an accurate value.  Thanks in advance!



    ------------------------------
    Dena Toth
    Medical University of South Carolina Foundation
    tothd@musc.edu
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  • 2.  RE: GIK of Used Flowers

    Posted 11-01-2023 11:28 AM
    I doubt these would have a meaningful value for recording purposes. And the donation does not directly serve the mission of the institution unless it is your practice to give all patients flowers and this reduces your costs.

    John H. Taylor 
    919.816.5903 (Cell/Text)

    Big Ideas; Small Keyboard





  • 3.  RE: GIK of Used Flowers

    Posted 11-01-2023 12:42 PM

    Oh, I wouldn't doubt that a gift of flowers could be appreciated by patients and so support the mission of the organization, whether or not there is a practice of giving flowers or indeed the wherewithal to do so customarily.

     

    Organizations often benefit from gifts that support the mission in ways that they would not be in a position to accomplish in the absence of the gifts.

     

    In any case, as Isaac notes, the receipt would describe but not value the gift, in the usual way of in-kind gifts, the value would probably be minimal, as John notes, but that would be the donor's issue (if indeed their circumstances place them among the few taxpayers situated to deduct charitable contributions).  You could, if you wanted, put the effort into determining a value for gift recording purposes, or perhaps not, and it's unlikely that the organization would record such a gift on the accounting side.

     

    My US$0.02 worth; the usual disclaimers apply.

     

    Good luck!

    Alan

     

    Alan S. Hejnal (he/him)

    Data Quality Manager

     

    SNAGHTML5cbfa34

     






  • 4.  RE: GIK of Used Flowers

    Posted 11-01-2023 02:21 PM
    One last comment -- I'm not sure the gift value would be minimal. A wealthy donor's wedding could be quite lavishly decorated, with flowers costing six figures. In general, second-use flowers are sold for about 40-50% of their normal price, plus labor, so you could still be looking at a potential tax deduction of several tens of thousands of dollars. 


    Thank you,
    Isaac Shalev
    Data Strategy Expert
    Sage70, Inc.
    (917) 859-0151
    isaac@sage70.com

    Schedule a 30-minute consultation now:







  • 5.  RE: GIK of Used Flowers

    Posted 11-01-2023 02:24 PM
    I sure would not want to be the employee tasked with storing and distributing all those flowers - or deciding who gets them and who doesn't.

    John H. Taylor
    Principal
    John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
    2604 Sevier St.
    Durham, NC   27705
    919.816.5903 (cell/text)

    Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987







  • 6.  RE: GIK of Used Flowers

    Posted 11-01-2023 02:55 PM

    Hmmm. That might complicate things a bit. 

     

    Now that you mention it, I can imagine that flowers for a wedding could be costly, for their intended use at a wealthy donor's wedding.

     

    But would the value proposition for distribution to patients be the same as for the wedding?  If one were to purchase flowers to distribute to patients, one might use different considerations and make different choices than a wedding planner might make for the wedding of a wealthy individual.  If the cost is derived from the rarity of the bloom, or the volume of exactly identical blooms, or whatever, would that carry over exactly (or at 40%) to the brightening of the life of a patient who might receive them?  Or would the value be more akin to what the hospital might decide was reasonable should it purchase flowers for such a purpose?

     

    I wouldn't want to be the one making that valuation (nor, with John, would I want to be the person handing the logistics, although I can easily imagine that there would be colleagues who would love to make the distributions).

     

    My US$0.02 worth; the usual disclaimers apply.

     

    Good luck!

    Alan

     

    Alan S. Hejnal (he/him)

    Data Quality Manager

     

    SNAGHTML5cbfa34

     






  • 7.  RE: GIK of Used Flowers

    Posted 11-02-2023 08:48 AM

    Hi Isaac, where can I find information regarding the value of second-use flowers (40-50%) of their normal price?  Thank you!



    ------------------------------
    Dena Toth
    Medical University of South Carolina Foundation
    tothd@musc.edu
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: GIK of Used Flowers

    Posted 11-02-2023 10:07 AM
    Hi Dena,

    Your best bet is to talk to event florists, especially those who have exclusives on specific venues. The cases for re-use I'm most familiar with are when flowers are re-used between two events on the same day or next day in the same venue. Professional event planners are probably another good place to get valuation information. There is a company that hosts a marketplace for this type of match-making, https://www.bloomerent.com/how-it-works, and they describe a similar discount range. 



    Thank you,
    Isaac Shalev
    Data Strategy Expert
    Sage70, Inc.
    (917) 859-0151
    isaac@sage70.com

    Schedule a 30-minute consultation now:







  • 9.  RE: GIK of Used Flowers

    Posted 11-01-2023 12:14 PM
    Hi Dena,

    There are a few charities out there that accept 'second-use' or 'second bloom' flowers. They generally require a monetary contribution (which they do receipt) in order to accept the flowers, because of the real costs involved in re-using. They  may be the better option for your donor. 

    You could accept this as a GIK, but like with all GIKs, you would simply describe 'x bouquets of second-use flowers' . If the donor wants to claim a value of $5k+  then they will need an appraisal.

    Thank you,
    Isaac Shalev
    Data Strategy Expert
    Sage70, Inc.
    (917) 859-0151
    isaac@sage70.com

    Schedule a 30-minute consultation now: