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  • 1.  Gift Cards

    Posted 04-17-2023 12:40 PM
    Good Afternoon,

    I was searching the archives here for clarification on the handling of a donation of gift cards. We have had a local company give (2) $50.00 Amazon gift cards to the hospital to be given out through a random drawing during Nurses' week.  I'm not certain that I am interpreting the below correctly and would like clarification if possible.

    Since the cards can be used to purchase something tangible it seems they may be a gift, however, does this really support the mission of the hospital?  Also, if they are considered a GIK,  how would we receipt these cards since we typically only list the item and not the amount?  

    Thanks so much for your help,

    Shea Sadler
    Senior Director, Advancement Information & Analytics
    Development & Alumni Relations

    ssadler@southalabama.edu
    P: (251) 414-8116

    -

    University of South Alabama
    650 Clinic Drive
    TRP III, Suite 1500
    Mobile, AL 36688-0002





  • 2.  RE: Gift Cards

    Posted 04-17-2023 01:01 PM

    I would suggest that there are many ways to use gift cards to support the mission of the organization, everything from purchasing items that you use in your mission to using them in a staff appreciation initiative.

     

    Also, the essence of a non-cash gift receipt is to describe the item in enough detail to allow its identification in support of a deduction.  In this case, since a $50 gift card is substantially different than a $10 or $100 gift card, you would want to identify the face value.  One might say something like "two Amazon gift cards, each with a face value of $50."  You're not actually valuing the cards, you're describing them-though in this case the value and the description are closely related (and separate from any deduction the donor might be entitled to claim, which would depend on how they were acquired and the donor's basis in them, which happily is not anything that you need to be concerned about).

     

    My US$0.02 worth; the usual disclaimers apply.

     

    Good luck!

     

    Alan

     

    Alan S. Hejnal    (he/him/his)

    Data Quality Manager

     

     






  • 3.  RE: Gift Cards

    Posted 04-17-2023 01:46 PM
    I agree with Alan, these are GIKs that you should describe as bearing a face value of $50. The actual FMV of an Amazon gift card is more like $35-$40, based on resale markets like eBay, so you're not actually stating the value, you're just describing the card.


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

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