Monday, August 17, 2009

idea icon "In Kind" of Help

During times when people's hearts may be larger than their wallets, it is important to consider ways they can do great things for your Learning Center.

In kind donations are gifts of goods and services that can directly satisfy needs on you budget or can be transformed into financial support. This support can really add up. Whether it is donated office equipment and supplies to offset your expenses or donated services such as advertising or facilities use, there are many ways to accept non cash assistance.

One of the obvious transactions for in kind giving is donations to support special events. These donations come in 2 ways:
  • Event facilitation - These donations reduce the overall cost of the event, increasing the cash net. Examples of this giving includes: discount of donation of facilities, meal or product donations (like wine for a wine tasting), music or performance services and many others.
  • Property and gift donations - These are the things that fill the silent auction tables and populate the yard sale events. In many cases, these gifts really make an impact in an event's bottom line.
So it is a great time to take stock of your community and expand your support through these special gifts. Event how-to's for a gala, a golf outing and a wine tasting are on the Learning Center Website.

Keep in mind however that there are significant differences in the tax-deductability of in kind gifts. An interesting article is posted on the IRS web site. On the Idea Hub Forum as is a receipt for for accepting in kind real gifts of less than $500 (gifts valued over $500 require a qualified appraisal). Additionally, the standards valuing used goods is tricky. The best resource for this is probably the Salvation Army site.

Overall in kind donations can be a great manner of support!

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