FundSvcs Community

Good morning all, 

Can anyone share samples of their acknowledgement letters for Stock gifts? We provide the following statement in ours, but still get donors calling/emailing insisting on being told the full amount:

"The IRS does not permit Hartwick College to appraise the value of your donation. However, I can state that your entire gift will go to charitable purposes and that you received no goods or services in return."

I would love to hear how others handle these situations and see if there is a way we can adjust the wording to make it more palatable and understanding for our persistent donors. 

Hello - I know there is a tremendous amount information about stocks in the knowledgebase, and I apologize if this answer is already in here.

We have been reviewing our stock process and have questions about how to handle pledge-installment balances and overages when processing stock donations.  From the reading I have done, it seems that if a donor is trying to give $20,000 in stocks for a $20,000 installment, we should "credit" the donor $20,000, even if the donation comes in higher or lower (we typically receive electronic transfers).  Our Finance department is asking us to account for the exact amount of the cash earned once the stock is sold (we have a standing order to sell when stock is received).

Is the best practice to process the cash received and "credit" the donor for the installment amount, whether the cash is higher or lower? And if so, should any balances from the stock being short be written off?  Are overages paying off part of the next installment (if there is one)?

In the past, we have billed donors for the difference and credited the next installment if there was an overage, which has worked for us but I'm trying to confirm if this is correct.  Guidance is appreciated.