What about an appreciation event that is not listed as a "benefit" or "perk" and is not promised or qpq, but (what I would consider) stewardship, such as a reception for scholarship award recipients, and we invite the donor so they can meet the recipient of the scholarship they or their family funded. We don't always have these events, and they are not promised as a condition of a gift.
Original Message:
Sent: 02-13-2025 09:43 AM
From: John Taylor
Subject: Giving Circle- Membership Benefits and Tax-Deductibility
No - not based on my conversations with the IRS. To prove that the event is open to the community, it must be publicly promoted such as an open invitation on your website.
Once again, if you limit the invitation to only donors who have contributed - regardless of the level - you have created a quid pro quo. Further, no invitation can be sent to anyone who contributed via a DAF or private foundation. Per IRS regulations, they may only receive token benefits. Of course, if they also made a qualifying gift from personal sources, that's fine.
As noted earlier, if you have any notion of not following IRS guidelines, do so only with written permission of Counsel.
John
John H. Taylor, Principal
John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
2604 Sevier Street
Durham, NC 27705
919.816.5903 (cell/text)
Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987
Original Message:
Sent: 2/13/2025 10:19:00 AM
From: Lauren Nielsen
Subject: RE: Giving Circle- Membership Benefits and Tax-Deductibility
We often face this same question at my organization, thank you for posting.
I received the following question today: If an annual donor reception invitation states that the event is open to all but is only emailed to donors of a certain level, do we satisfy the open to the entire community requirement (if the event is free)?
I think the invitation process needs to be the same for all, by excluding the invitation for some, how would those individuals know they are even invited. I appreciate any feedback. Thanks!
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Lauren Nielsen
Life University
lauren.nielsen@life.edu
Original Message:
Sent: 02-12-2025 04:08 PM
From: John Taylor
Subject: Giving Circle- Membership Benefits and Tax-Deductibility
Yes, there is a value to be deducted. It does not matter that some are calling it a stewardship event. What matters is that people are being invited because they gave. And inviting a few non-donors to attend does not change the picture.
The only way to avoid the quid pro quo is to open the event to the entire community - at no charge.
John
John H. Taylor, Principal
John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
2604 Sevier Street
Durham, NC 27705
919.816.5903 (cell/text)
Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987
Original Message:
Sent: 2/12/2025 4:53:00 PM
From: Michele Whitaker
Subject: Giving Circle- Membership Benefits and Tax-Deductibility
Hi Everyone,
Our development team is creating a Giving Circle, and one of the "access and recognition" items listed is an "Invitation to an annual donor reception."
One view is that this is considered a stewardship event, and we are not selling tickets or charging anyone to attend, therefore it is not a benefit that we need to reduce the tax-deductibility of their contribution by.
Another is that is is a clear membership "benefit" that the donor expects and we are obligated to provide. That rules it out as "surprise and delight" stewardship, meaning it is something the donor is receiving in return, and we should account for it as such.
I am thinking we will end up changing the language, but what is your take if we don't? Is there a value that should be deducted?
Thank you!!
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Michele Whitaker
Baton Rouge Community College Foundation
[whitakerm@mybrcc.edu]
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