Somehow, your plans for a December fundraising campaign for your nonprofit simply got away from you this year. That’s too bad, because giving to charitable causes in December is one third of all giving throughout the year.
But here’s the good news. First, as we know, charitable giving during the Christmas season is a tradition for many. Second, people often wait until literally the last few days of the year to donate to charitable causes.
So it’s not too late to crank up an email campaign, include a giving request in your newsletter, or even to send out a fundraising letter.
What can make this work for you is an already robust group that you communicate with regularly and an easy-to-find “donate” button on your nonprofit’s website and Facebook page. Let me explain easy – put the donate button very prominently on your home page.
Also, remember the tried-and-true rule about asking for donations — personalize your request. What would move you the most — a request to give to anonymous hungry children in Savannah? Or to read stories, see photos, watch videos about children in Savannah who have been helped by donations and know that you can change the life of a child this Christmas with your gift?
On the back end, generally speaking, you must be prepared to process all such gifts by Dec. 31 before midnight for the contribution to be credited to the 2014 tax year. Checks dated before year end but not cashed until 2015 will still be applicable to 2014.
You must also be generally familiar with the IRS regulations on year-end charitable donations, as such questions are inevitably going to come up. This does not imply the need to put on your accountant hat, which unless you are in fact an accountant with extensive nonprofit experience, would be inappropriate.
Here are some of the key points to keep in mind. One can only claim a charitable deduction on their taxes if they itemize their deductions and donate to “qualified charities.” These fall into two categories: any church, synagogue, mosque or government agency, or any charity listed on the IRS website.
To find the latter, go to Select Check .irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Exempt-Organizations-Select-Check.
You should know before you undertake a fundraising campaign whether your nonprofit is listed on the IRS site. If it is not, unless your organization is a church, synagogue, etc., it will not be a tax deductible donation for your donors.
Gifts of money include those made in cash or by check, electronic funds transfer, credit card and payroll deduction. To deduct a donation from their taxes, donors must be able to provide either a bank record or a written statement from your charity, regardless of the amount of the gift, showing your nonprofit’s name, the date and the amount of the contribution.
Bank records include canceled checks, or bank, credit union and credit card statements. But if your nonprofit requests a donation, it seems incumbent upon you to provide supporting documentation to your donor. And you must do this for gifts of $250 or more.
Your nonprofit should be familiar with the extensive information provided by the IRS about charitable donations and what must be provided to donors if you wish to be credible as a charity.
Complex donation involving stocks, large bequests and the like should be handled with the assistance of a professional by a professional who is familiar with these vehicles and their tax implications. You may be surprised by the extensive information the IRS maintains about charitable giving. It can be daunting to understand. Nonetheless, don’t miss the opportunity to ask a helping hand for your mission at this time of the year.
Yours may be just the cause a donor is looking for.
Sarah Todd Clark is principal of Calhoun Enterprises, a resource for positive social change. She can be reached at 912-224-2120 or calhounent@gmail.com.
By Sarah Todd Clark