We will be happy to help you with any request by email: info@fordonate.com
We work closely with your branding standards to ensure that all forms fit seamlessly into your existing website. Each part of our request forms are customizable, including fonts, logos, questions and more.
The work you do is unique, and your giving program is no exception. Your CSR—including your employee matching, volunteering, sponsorships, and in-kind requests—needs a custom software solution to manage your program effectively and keep administrative costs low.
Through our eCommerce portal, you can even offer items for sale. Customers may select the what they want, pay, and then receive shipping information — all achieved automatically in our secure web-portal.
Ship items with the DX shipping manager, or utilize our UPS, FedEx, and USPS integrations. Produce packing slips, letters of authenticity, and shipping reports. Customers can choose to pick up, or to pay for shipment.
We believe that a philanthropy software solution should help your corporate giving make an even bigger difference. The dollars your company contributes and the money your employees give all go towards the charities you choose.
As a grantmaker, you’ve been entrusted with the heavy responsibility of finding worthy programs to support. While there are many components of this from evaluation to implementation, having effective software solutions to manage grant applications is one of the most basic and important...
Starting or renovating a corporate social responsibility program at your organization? It can be hard to know where to focus your efforts and how to do so to have the greatest impact, both socially and with your audience. These steps will help ensure your program is as effective as possible.
DonationXchange provides the most innovative, efficient and customizable web-based software to help our customers manage their corporate social responsibility initiatives and keep them connected with their community. Given the current competitive market, it is critical to find a way to give better without requiring you to give more. DonationXchange will make your community outreach program more
1. Prospects. Prospects are people who haven't yet donated but are prime candidates for supporting your organization in some way, large or small. They're people you want to make sure receive your mailings, from your quarterly newsletter to your annual appeal. Some day, when the right pieces come together--extra money in their pocket or a personal connection to your mission-- prospects have a high likelihood of sending you a donation.
2. Individual donors. Individual donors come to donate to your organization for myriad reasons. Perhaps they came to an open house or other event you held, were impressed with the event and your organization, and donated beyond just the admission fee. They may have become a member or donated to a specific cause being showcased by the event.
Perhaps your individual donor responded to a direct-mail piece. Your appeal spoke to an interest of theirs, they were impressed with your statistics, or they remembered a friend of theirs saying they were a member of your organization and really appreciated what you do, and the person donated a small amount for that reason alone.
Individual donors will collectively be the lifeblood of your donor base. No one individual donation brought in this way is going to make or break you, but together they form a large percentage of your annual operating income.
3. Major donors. Major donors rarely happen overnight. They might take years of cultivation, but once they decide to give, they give in large sums. Some may have the capacity to give a large sum annually; some may give only strategically when you are doing a special campaign.
Cultivation and stewardship are important to major donors. They don't want to be "sold to," but they also want to be kept apprised of what your organization is doing--i.e., how you're using their donation.
One of the best ways to steward major donors is to assign each one to the most suitable board member. It's likely many of the major donors came through board member connections to begin with. Help your board members learn how to best steward donors if they don't already know. A plan should be in place for each major donor to receive a certain amount of correspondence each year--not asking for a donation but simply updating them on key initiatives or the overall status of the organization.
4. Corporate donors. Corporate donors require a completely different approach than individual and major donors. Although they certainly do exist, few corporations give large donations simply to be philanthropic. They expect certain marketing opportunities from their donation--a press release announcing a significant gift, a check presentation photo sent to the papers, naming of a key area in the building to which they're giving, publicity for sponsorship donations before, during and after an event.
Corporations should be key donors and donor prospects in any organization's development plan. The board should be enlisted to help identify corporations for whom your mission would appeal. Corporations don't just donate for their own or their owner's sake; help them understand that your organization's mission is near and dear to the hearts of their employees.
You'll want to figure out the fiscal year for the corporations you plan to approach as much as possible. As you try to gather this information, you might consider creating a corporate mailing piece that can be sent a few times a year to a certain number of corporations. Once you start to collect specifics about their fiscal year, you can group those twice-a-year mailings by the most logical mailing period for a company's fiscal year.
5. Foundations. Private foundations are pots of money set aside by a person, family or other entity for donation purposes. They typically fall under tax-free IRS laws which, for the tax-free status, require them to give away a certain amount of money--typically a percentage of the income or the principal of the fund itself, depending on how it's set up--each year. To do that, they often target types of charities they're interested in and open a grant proposal round once or twice a year during which organizations can appeal to them for funding.
Foundations often prefer to fund programs that actually result in accomplishing the mission of the organization. Few foundations offer funding to capital campaigns, and fewer tend to offer funding of general operating funds for the day-to-day business of the organization. Most require a post-grant report to give them the measurables that show how their funding helped you accomplish your mission.
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Return donations requests are generally rare, but occasionally donors may ask your not-for-profit to return their gifts. Are you required to comply? What if you’ve already spent the money? Such requests raise many difficult questions — and even the answers can be complicated. But establishing a return policy can help.
There are several reasons donors commonly ask for their gifts back. For example, a donor may simply have a change of heart. Or the donor may believe your charitable organization is misusing or “wasting” donated funds or that it’s no longer fulfilling its charitable mission. This could involve philosophical differences or a recent trend that the donor dislikes. In some cases, donors argue that their wishes for the funds are being ignored.
There’s no federal law that requires nonprofits to return donations. Individual states have enacted various laws that could come into play, but these generally are vague about returning contributions. They usually assume that a gift is no longer the property of a donor once a charity accepts it. And because nonprofits are expected to act in the public interest, state regulators may rule that returning a donation harms the public good.
When are returns mandatory? One circumstance is when the terms of a donation agreement are substantially violated. If a donor stipulates that money must go directly to hurricane relief and the funds are instead spent on mobile devices for staffers, the charity is legally obligated to return the donation.
Another circumstance is when a nonprofit employee embezzles the donated money or otherwise uses the funds illegally. And, if a donor pays for a ticket to a fundraising event and the event is cancelled, the money must be returned, no questions asked.
You can head off unwanted return requests by adopting a written donation refund policy. State that most donations aren’t eligible for return and explicitly describe the circumstances under which a donation is eligible for return.
Also document large gifts using a standard agreement form that includes your return policy and consider including a “gift-over clause.” This permits a donor to request that a gift be transferred to another organization if the donor believes it has been misused. Finally, observe best fundraising practices. By adhering to the highest ethical standards, you may be able to avoid misunderstandings and conflict that could result in a refund request.
Instead of waiting for a donation request to occur, take steps to prevent it. But if a donor asks for a smaller donation back, it’s usually best to return it. Larger donations may be harder to return. In this circumstance, talk to your legal and financial advisors — and possibly your state’s nonprofit agency. Contact us for more information.
All content provided in this article is for informational purposes only. Matters discussed in this article are subject to change. For up-to-date information on this subject please contact a Clark Schaefer Hackett professional. Clark Schaefer Hackett will not be held responsible for any claim, loss, damage or inconvenience caused as a result of any information within these pages or any information accessed through this site.
If you’ve got clothing, toys, furniture, books, even cars and trucks that you’d like to donate, this list will tell you where and when you can do just that. By the way, if you’ve got things you want to keep but don’t have space in your San Diego home or office, a self-storage unit at CA Storage is always an affordable, secure and convenient option.
With several locations around San Diego, Father Joe’s Villages is an excellent choice for donating you older, unwanted stuff. Not only can you drop it off, but they will come and pick it up for you. Super convenient! More importantly, Father Joe’s uses 100% of the revenues they earn, selling your stuff to help the homeless in San Diego. 100%! That’s amazing in so many ways! They accept donations of clothing, household goods and appliances, furniture, electronics, toys, books, and more. They only ask that you make sure everything you want to donate is on their list. Father Joe’s is a great choice for where to donate furniture in San Diego.
The San Diego Rescue Mission is another donation location that helps the homeless in San Diego by selling used stuff and using the profits in many crucial, helpful, and kind ways. You can donate things there and donate your time as a volunteer, so if you don’t have the stuff to donate but want to help, keep that in mind. They always need volunteers for their many activities. Like most donation centers, they take a wide variety of things but gently used clothing, and household goods are the most helpful. They also accept donations of cars, vans, and other vehicles and, in San Diego county, will come and pick them up right at your door. It’s a great place to donate clothes in San Diego.
For over 100 years, the Salvation Army has been helping people worldwide through the revenues they create selling used, donated goods. In San Diego, they have a significant presence and an even bigger location. They also sell all the donated clothing, toys, books, household goods, and appliances there. Even if you don’t have a donation to make, you can support them by purchasing something. Please note that the Salvation Army has many drop-off locations around San Diego. We’ve listed their central location.
This is another great place to donate clothes in San Diego. The unique thing about P.V. Thrift Store is that the money they make selling your used stuff provides funding and work-study programs for refugees. This helps them learn English, acquire skills, and get the jobs they need to become Americans. They accept clothing, household goods, and any other gently-used stuff that you’re looking to donate.
Cerebral Palsy is a disease that affects 1 in 500 children. United Cerebral Palsy (UCP) is doing its best to end this terrible affliction. When you donate your used stuff to their Thrift Store, you’re helping them a great deal in their noble endeavor. They accept donations of gently used clothing, toys, small household goods, and much more. Their thrift store is exceptionally well run and looks like a regular department store. So if you don’t have anything to donate, you can help them by going in and making a purchase.
The San Diego Food Bank provides nutritious food to individuals and families in need in San Diego County. It is the largest hunger-relief organization in the area and the perfect place to make a food donation in San Diego. Last year, the Food Bank distributed 28 million pounds of food. The food bank itself serves approximately 350,000 people per month. We think that’s an amazing way to make a food donation in San Diego.
As you can see, we believe in donating to help those in need. However, there are times when you might want to hold onto some of your things but simply don’t have space at home or your business. It’s then when CA Storage can help. We have several San Diego locations, where you can rent a self-storage unit in several different sizes. Our locations are very secure with video-monitoring 24/7 and large, keypad-controlled front gates that you can quickly enter with a car or moving truck.
From household goods to sporting equipment, baby furniture, clothing, and anything else that you want to keep, we have the right size storage space for you. We also have climate-controlled storage for those things that can’t take the heat and humidity. You can talk to one of our friendly managers or chat with one of them online. When you’re ready, you can also reserve your San Diego storage unit using our easy online application form. So, again, donate what you can and, when you need extra storage space, contact CA Storage.
We hope you found a place to donate on our list today that’s close by and that you’ll help support one of these wonderful organizations. Every time you donate, you help people in need all over San Diego. So don’t throw it away; donate today!
Your organization just received $10,000 from someone in the community. The funds are definitely reportable as income for your organization but is this a donation or something else entirely? Sometimes it is hard to determine if an amount received by an exempt organization is a charitable donation or an exchange transaction. The following factors may help in making that determination; however, they are not binding under the Internal Revenue Code.
Any payments received that are partially a donation and partially an exchange transaction must be segregated and are called “quid pro quo” contributions. Only the portion received which exceeds the value of the goods and services or other substantial benefit can be treated as a charitable donation.
Let’s take a look at what is clearly insignificant. Token benefits are ignored and the entire amount is treated as contribution revenue if the fair market value, or FMV, of the token benefit does not exceed 2% of the payment, not to exceed $107 in 2017 and $108 in 2018. Low-cost articles with the organization’s logo that cost less than $10.70 in 2017 or $10.80 in 2018 (Rev. Proc. 2016-55 and 2018-18) are also considered token gifts as long as the payment received is at least $53.50 in 2017 and $54.00 in 2018.
They receive four tickets to the event with a FMV of $200 ($50 per ticket). The donation exceeds $54.00 in 2018 so the donor can receive a token benefit of $20 (2% of $1,000). In fact, they receive a benefit of $200, which is considered an exchange transaction so the charitable donation is $800 for the fundraising event. The donor can actively refuse the tickets and receive the full donation of $1,000. They cannot get the full donation by just failing to use the tickets.
When a donor makes a payment to an exempt organization that exceeds $75, it is partly a contribution and partly an exchange transaction. The donee must provide a written disclosure statement in connection with either the solicitation or the receipt of the “quid pro quo” contribution. This statement is not required for items meeting the “token exception” mentioned earlier. The statement must disclose that the contribution deductible for federal income tax purposes is limited to the excess of money or FMV of property donated over the value of goods and services received by the donor. The statement must also include a good-faith estimate of the FMV of goods or services. Failure to meet the written disclosure requirement could result in an IRS penalty of $10 per contribution. The maximum penalty is limited to $5,000 per fundraising event or mailing.
Jennifer serves as a key member of the tax department and leader of the Construction and Real Estate Team. In addition to her extensive tax background, she spent several years providing assurance services to a variety of clients, including exempt organizations.
Many not-for-profits are in the first year of implementing the new lease accounting standard and may need guidance on where to start. Below-market leases or donated space also give rise to another new accounting update to consider.
Developing future leaders and mapping out a succession plan in advance is one of the best ways to mitigate the risk of losing key personnel and prepare for the future needs and growth of an organization. This video offers tips and best practices for creating and implementing a succession plan for your nonprofit.
Investment Policy Statements dictate how a nonprofit’s investment program operates. How is performance measured? Learning how to benchmark and measure success and organize the investment committee helps to ensure investment committee members satisfy their fiduciary duties.
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Material donations provide low-cost art supplies, clothing, and housewares for the community to enjoy. They help teachers properly equip their classrooms. They help creatives afford supplies. They give families an affordable place to buy clothing and household items. Donating items and materials is really easy.
The new donation location includes a convenient curb-side drop-off service to make donating to The Scrap Exchange easier than ever before. Just set up an appointment, drive-up and drop of your old things in a couple of minutes.
As much as 70% of materials trucked to municipal landfills come from business and industry. By diverting this waste to people who can use it in education, art, and recreation, local businesses can reduce the waste stream and also help enrich education and the arts.
Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Congo (Kinshasa), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Reunion, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Somalia, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia or Zimbabwe
Sometimes a loved one may want to donate a kidney but their blood type is incompatible. Some transplant centers will help incompatible pairs of recipient/donors through a process called paired exchange, which involves two living donors and two recipients.
If the recipient from one pair is compatible with the donor from the other pair, and vice versa– the transplant center may arrange for a "swap"–for two simultaneous transplants to take place. This allows two transplant candidates to receive organs and two donors to give organs though the original recipient/donor pairs were unable to do so with each other.
In paired exchange, an incompatible donor/ recipient pair (such as a mother and son that don't have compatible blood types) are matched with another incompatible donor/recipient pair for a "swap". Each donor gives a kidney to the other person's intended recipient.
Both donors and candidates are carefully evaluated and tested medically and psychologically to assure that the benefits outweigh the risks. It is important for both surgeries to be scheduled for the same time in case either donor changes their mind at the time of surgery. Surgeries can take place at the same or different hospitals. It can be advantageous if the surgeries take place at the same hospital though this may mean extra costs of travel and housing for one couple.
A NEAD™ chain (Never Ending Altruistic Donor chain) begins with one non-directed (altruistic) potential donor. In this program, the non-directed donor gives to a person waiting for a transplant, and that recipient's willing – but incompatible – donor gives to another person waiting, and so on.
In A NEAD™ chain, a non-directed potential donor is matched up with a recipient who has a willing, but incompatible donor. Then that recipient's incompatible donor then gives to another incompatible pair, and so on.
OPTN/UNOS Kidney Paired Donation Program The vision of the OPTN/UNOS Kidney Paired Donation Program is that every kidney transplant candidate with an incompatible but willing and approved living donor receives a living donor kidney transplant. The mission is to develop a successful Kidney Paired Donation (KPD) program with universal access to all UNOS/OPTN members that prioritizes the medical and psychosocial safety of living donors and candidates.
As a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization we depend on a combination of grants, donations and sponsorships to fund our programs. Without your support, these vital services for children and families would not be possible. In 2015 we reduced our waiting list from 132 children waiting to be served in July, down to 72 in December. As additional funding comes in we can reduce - and hopefully eliminate - the waiting list.
In-kind donations are also welcome and tax-deductible. Please note, however, due to the coronavirus outbreak, we may not be able to accept physical donations at this time and we will not be accepting used, or gently-used items made of soft material (e.g. - clothing, stuffed animals, etc.). Please review our Wishlist to learn what items are useful for our programs and services.
I reached my limit with holiday shopping ten years ago. I was never a big fan because it combines a bunch of stuff I don’t like – unnecessary stress, long lines, and buying when prices are high. Not to mention that most holiday gifts miss the mark for me and recipients. And I try to keep the number of things I own to a minimum since stuff demands attention, attention that I prefer to give to people.
But I’m no Grinch. I enjoy the holidays. I just wanted to do the gift part of it differently. So I had an idea. Instead of exchanging gifts, I would exchange donations. I sent an e-mail to my family asking what causes that they’d like me to donate to, and included a list of my favorite causes they could donate to in return.
However, that’s not all I included. I made the mistake of venting my frustration about the excessive materialism of the holidays. Well, that did not sit well with the born-again Christians in my family. I got a lot of flack for my attitude. This was a humbling e-mail FAIL, especially for someone who majored in American culture in college! I had attacked a treasured American tradition. And my family indirectly. What did I expect?
I was not going to let the foot in my mouth stop me. I rephrased my e-mail. I talked about the donation exchange as if it was natural for the season of giving. Now that was more like it. With a simple turn of phrase, I spliced commercially amplified holiday gift giving onto an authentic, longer standing, equally powerful American tradition – philanthropy.
Everyone in my gift-giving circle decided to play along. Was it my new way of putting it across? Was it because it was consistent with their values? Was it because sending a check is tons easier than buying a gift? Or maybe it was because I didn’t give them a choice! I don’t know. But I remember that first holiday of the donation exchange well.
I remember the relief of not having to go holiday shopping. My girlfriend Andrea (now wife) did a donation exchange with her family too. This freed us both for the holidays. We spent the time relaxing. We caught up on sleep. We went to a Japanese steam bath. We read. We watched movies. We cooked. We went on dates. We made social calls. And we reflected on the past and upcoming year. Our new holiday tradition freed up time needed to close the year in a restorative and reverent way.
A neighbor of ours recently found out their two children have Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy which has no known treatment let alone cure…the family is raising money for the few folks who are researching this disease…UVA [University of Virginia] has had some promising results on a razor thin budget so we wanted to help. Carson and Addison have been collecting coins to help out…truly grass roots.
Another unexpected benefit was that it helped me meet my board of director outreach and fundraising obligations for the nonprofits I serve. The donation exchange gave me an easy way to make progress on both fronts.
Looking back, I see this change as a milestone in my transition from a consumer to a citizen. It was an important step in creating a lifestyle focused on contribution to the common good, a path I continue on today. The satisfaction I got from it and the multiple purposes it served confirmed I was onto something. And encouraged me to look for other ways to redesign my life for shareability.
This holiday season is the tenth year of our donation exchange. Since the first exchange, my family has raised thousands of dollars for causes. We’ve learned about the issues that touch each other’s lives. We’ve included our children in the exchange to introduce them to giving. And it’s still as relaxing as ever.
A donation exchange isn’t for everyone. Holiday gift giving can be fun, rewarding, and practical. However, if you feel a little like I did five years ago, I encourage you to give it a try. It’s also a great way to give if you can’t physically get together with family. And there’s no better time to give. There’s a lot of need out there because of the economy.
Let participants know how you want them to give. If you want them to give directly to your causes, then include links to donation pages or mailing addresses. If you’d like to deliver the donations yourself, then ask them to mail donations to you.
The holidays are just around the corner, so we’ve started to prepare. This year we’d like to try a different way to exchange gifts. It’s fun, easy, and good for the community. It’s called a donation exchange. We think it’s a fitting way to celebrate the season of giving.
Please e-mail us the names of your favorite causes. We will make a donation to one or more of them in your name. We can either send the donation to you or make the donation directly to the nonprofit in your name. Let us know.