Reader's Question Begs for Answer
Tuesday December 2, 2008
A reader asks:
"I am having trouble understanding how to handle a specific donation. The check writer (or even the person donating with a personal credit card) informs us that the donation is actually a split donation ($20 from person A, $50 from person B, and $30 from the check writer/card owner themselves). I cannot seem to find any rules on how non-profits are to handle these donations - how to hard credit or soft credit individuals, and where the tax-receipt(s) are sent.
Is there anyone out there who has dealt with this type of gift and can share how they handle this situation?"
If anyone has advice about this, please let us know via the comments section. Thanks!
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Comments
Only the person writing the check can claim the tax deduction. If the other individuals involved want to claim the deduction, they need to make the donation separately in order to be able to verify the contribution on their tax returns via proof of a cancelled check or credit card receipt.
How do you retain volunteers?
In regard to retaining volunteers, see our list of articles on managing volunteers at http://nonprofit.about.com/od/volunteers/Volunteers_Volunteering.htm