Picture this: your nonprofit is planning its annual fundraising gala, and a local hotel offers its ballroom at no charge. That single donation could save your organization $15,000 or more. But what happens next? How should nonprofits handle donated event space when it comes to accounting, taxes, and donor relationships? Donated event space is one … Read more
A sold-out gala can still be a losing proposition. I have watched nonprofit teams celebrate a $200,000 event total while quietly burning through 1,200 staff hours, $90,000 in direct costs, and six months of donor cultivation time that could have generated three major gifts instead. This is the paradox that keeps executive directors up at … Read more
Bequest giving dropped 4.4% in , according to the latest Giving USA report, and that headline number has left many nonprofit leaders asking the same question I hear every quarter: why does bequest giving change so much from year to year? One year the dollars surge, the next they fall, and board members want explanations … Read more
Yes, you can deduct donations made with a credit card. According to IRS Publication 526, charitable contributions charged to your bank credit card are deductible in the year you make the charge, not the year you pay the bill. As long as you give to a qualified organization and itemize your deductions, that credit card … Read more
When donated property is worth more than $500, you must file Form 8283 with your tax return, and depending on the property type, you may need a qualified appraisal, follow special valuation rules, and stay within IRS deduction limits. I have spent the past several tax seasons guiding donors through these exact rules, and the … Read more
Updated for by our team of researchers. Short answer: Yes, a portion of your charity golf tournament fees is tax deductible, but only the amount you paid that exceeds the fair market value of the goods and services you received in return. Most players over-claim because they assume the entire entry fee counts as a … Read more
Yes, a donor-advised fund (DAF) can give to a private foundation, but only to a specific type: a private operating foundation. Grants from a DAF to a private non-operating foundation are generally not allowed by the IRS. The distinction matters more than most donors realize, and getting it wrong can trigger penalties, delayed grants, or … Read more
A DAF grant refund is generally not possible once the donation has been confirmed and sent to the nonprofit. Donor-advised fund contributions are irrevocable gifts, meaning the funds legally belong to the DAF sponsor the moment you transfer them. The only real exception is recoverable grants, which let a nonprofit return unused funds to the … Read more
When I first started working with our planned giving team at AAAFRC, I noticed that donors often confuse a charitable bequest with a regular donation. They are not the same thing, and the difference matters for both your heirs and the causes you care about. In this guide, I’ll explain what a charitable bequest is, … Read more
If you’ve ever wondered what happens when a charity is named in a will, the short answer is this: the charity receives a charitable bequest after your death, your executor handles the distribution through probate, and the funds typically arrive tax-free to the organization. Only about 5-6% of people over 50 currently include charities in … Read more