We record them all in our donor database, as long as there is substantive supporting documentation which, depending on the item, may be a receipt copy, a professional listing for the same item with a price, a recent completed (sold) auction or similar. In some cases we will allow a value assessment by a knowledgeable faculty member with expertise that was not involved in the transaction. It is really, case by case and is only for internal counting. Accounting will use their discretion if something should go on the books.
Some business offices will distinguish between items that are for budget relief or not and only record those that are budget relief. An example might be if your physical plant has a budget to plant annuals in the spring but a local nursery donates them instead. That would get recorded and the budget could be adjusted accordingly.
Hope that helps,
Best,
John Smilde
Director of Gifts and Records Administration
Advancement and Alumni Relations
George Mason University
4400 University Drive, MSN 1A3
Fairfax, VA 22030
703.993.8680
jsmilde@gmu.edu
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Original Message:
Sent: 8/17/2023 10:15:00 AM
From: Andrea White
Subject: GIK recording
I know gift in kinds are always a hot topic and I have tried looking through some previous threads on this. I'm curious how other organizations are handling the recording of GIKs in their database. Do you record the value of any GIK you receive with an appraisal/receipt? For our org, we only do so with $5k+. Is there any reason why you can't record the value below $5k as long as you have the documentation?
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Andrea White
Rochester Regional Health Foundations
andrea.white@rochesterregional.org
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