To tag onto Amy's comment, as one of those vendor partners, at StratusLIVE we absolutely look for feedback like this to guide our product direction, both through direct conversations with our partners and through the steady flow of conversation on forums like this. Most of us here have previously worked in non-profit shops of various shapes and sizes, so we genuinely know the pain of trying to use systems that are too 'rigid' for scenarios like this that pop up during the year. We're always looking for ways to maintain the right balance of structure and flexibility when designing our CRM.
On the specific topic of standalone soft credits, you'll be happy to know that we do support this in our platform (we've actually always had it designed this way). In a case like this a standalone soft credit could be applied to the speaker's contact record either manually or as part of an automated workflow, which in turn could be used for recognition, etc. Some of our clients will apply a similar logic to track soft credit values in lieu of volunteer hours, just as another example.
Glad to see we're not the only ones who find value in having this feature :)
Best,
Brendan
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Brendan Murphy
StratusLIVE
brendan.murphy@stratuslive.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 08-30-2024 10:08 AM
From: Amy Phillips
Subject: Is this Refused Honorarium a Gift?
If ONLY our database tools allowed for a stand-alone soft credit transaction I have to believe so many of the conundrums we face in such scenarios would be non-issues.
This is me throwing down a gauntlet to our vendor partners who may be checking in on these discussions. PLEASE start making more effort to assess what options your current and potential clients need to facilitate our gift operations. There are any number of possible improvements I could imagine, but after 26+ years in this field one of the top three - as in we really, really, REALLY need this - improvements would be to enable stand-alone credit transactions.
IMHO.
Best to all for a terrific Labor Day weekend! -Amy
Original Message:
Sent: 8/30/2024 10:30:00 AM
From: Isaac Shalev
Subject: RE: Is this Refused Honorarium a Gift?
If everyone is looking to cut down on paperwork, the easiest solution is for no money to change hands, and to soft-credit the speaker. They can't take a tax deduction, but conversely, they won't get a 1099 either, so their tax situation should be unaffected. If they don't itemize, this actually is a better solution, because if they actually got paid, they would have to show income, but would not receive the offsetting deduction.
If they do want a tax deduction, the issue here is that neither a donation of service nor forgiveness of a debt is tax deductible. Only once the money is constructively received by the speaker can it be donated back.
Thank you,
Isaac Shalev
Data Strategy Expert
Sage70, Inc.
(917) 859-0151
isaac@sage70.com
Schedule a 30-minute consultation now:
Original Message:
Sent: 8/28/2024 10:03:00 AM
From: Maureen Aylward
Subject: Is this Refused Honorarium a Gift?
We have been asked to determine the best way to deal with this situation – a new one for us. Our basic question – Is this a donation? We are giving background about this situation.
The Career Center has "a speaker coming in who would like to donate their honorarium back to the university. They don't want to be paid the funds at all and I asked if they'd like to donate them back instead. Is there a way for them to donate without having to be paid and then donating back? I'm asking because they didn't want to deal with the payment process at all so my solution of donating back my end up being more time-consuming for them if we have to pay them to begin with."
- The speaker refuses the honorarium (University of Washington and Saint Louis University) in writing prior to the event. Can this be considered a donation? If so, how can we accept these funds (refused honorarium)?
a. Note, our Foundation accepts all charitable donations.
b. Scenarios suggested:
i. If a donation,
1. the Career Center cuts a check (to whom?) which is endorsed to the Foundation;
2. Is there another way to transfer the money?
ii. If not a donation, should the Career Center have some documentation that the funds were not paid to the speaker? Asking because this question was raised.
a. If needed, we will consult with University Finance.
Thanks for your help!
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Maureen Aylward
University of Mary Washington
maylward@umw.edu
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