“A Secret Sauce” for Increasing Planned Gifts
This article addresses “a secret sauce” and not “the secret sauce” because there are many ways to help increase planned gifts. Before we discuss a secret sauce, an explanation of planned giving needs to be provided. Planned giving includes any gifts beyond cash gifts that require some planning.
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2021 Year-End Giving Letter Template
ECFA has created a free sample letter to share with donors regarding special charitable giving incentives in the tax law scheduled to expire on December 31, 2021
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5 Ways to Model Unmistakable Integrity When Considering Giver Intent
Do donors really care if the ministry follows through with donor intent?
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7 Lessons My Father Taught Me About Fundraising
Dr. Barry Corey, President of Biola University, thoughtfully shares characteristics of Godly development that were modeled by his father. His thoughtful comments will encourage anyone involved in resource development.
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A Proper Budget CAN Drive Your Small Nonprofit’s Revenue Growth
Besides accuracy, one of the most important things about financial management is using those numbers to discover trends that will inform the business decisions that lead to growth.
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Assumptions, Asking, and Child Sponsorships: Fundraising for Orphan Care or Vulnerable Children Organizations
Assumptions, Asking, and Child Sponsorships:
Fundraising for Orphan Care or Vulnerable Children Organizations
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Avoiding Common Fundraising Mistakes
A review of common fundraising mistakes demonstrates why raising funds is not as simple as it may appear. It requires careful planning, an understanding of the fundraising landscape, and the Lord's guidance.
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Bitcoin Basics for NFPs: Accepting and Valuing Crypto Asset Gifts
As crypto-assets (crypto) continue to make the headlines and push into the mainstream of finance, more nonprofits are seeking solutions for donations of these assets and asking questions about accounting implications. This article outlines the basics for accepting and valuing donations of bitcoin and other crypto and highlights some important considerations for working with third-party service providers to receive, hold, and liquidate these assets.
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Can Boards Restrict Gifts?
No. Only donors can restrict, and in some instances, unrestrict gifts.
Governing board may designate net assets that do not have restrictions. And, boards can undesignated net assets they previously designated.
This is an important principle for ministries: Donors restrict and boards designate.
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Charging an Overhead Assessment against Restricted Donations
Highlights the key issues relating to the determination of overhead rates to be applied to gifts, accounting for overhead charges, communication of overhead charges to givers, and much more
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Charitable Acknowledgments Provided to Someone Other than the Giver
Outlines issues to consider when a giver requests that a charitable receipt be provided to someone else
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Charitable Gift Acknowledgments for Donations
Outlines IRS requirements for acknowledgments for contributions received by a ministry
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Charitable Gift Catalogs
Gift catalogs are occasionally used by charities, giving donors an opportunity to choose between many needs. This document discusses the challenges of this giving approach.
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Charitable Gift Percentage Limitations
Charitable deductions for a particular tax year are limited by certain percentages of an individual’s adjusted gross income (AGI).
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Charity Auction Implications
An overview of the tax rules relating to the donation of items to be auctioned and the items purchased at an auction
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Conduit Gift
A nondeductible transfer of funds to a charity that is not intended to benefit the charity, and over which the charity does not have adequate discretion and control
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Contribution
An unconditional transfer of cash or other assets to an entity or a settlement of cancellation of its liabilities in a voluntary nonreciprocal transfer by another entity acting other than as an owner.
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Contributions for Disasters
Accountability for funds received and expended for disaster relief should be based on certain best practices.
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Contributions of Motor Vehicles, Boats, and Airplanes
Congress has provided special rules related to the contributions of motor vehicles, boats and airplanes. The gifts of these items may not occur frequently for you but when one of these donations is received, you need to be prepared to properly apply the rules in compliance with the law.
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Contributions to Athletic Scholarship Programs
Outlines the IRS’s position on the tax deductibility of contributions to athletic scholarship programs
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Distributions from 403(b) Plans
Addresses the permissible distributions from 403(b) plans and the tax consequences of non-qualified distributions
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Does Social Media Fundraising Work?
Is social media a useful tool to raise ministry funds? ECFA's recent survey of more than 700 Christ-centered nonprofits and churches indicated widespread affirmation that social media works.
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Donations – A Ministry’s Responsibility to Control
Discusses how a ministry must exercise full administrative control over donated funds to ensure that they fulfill exempt purposes and programs
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Donor-Advised Fund Used to Pay Pledge
There are potential ramifications to donors and donor-advised fund (DAF) managers who use (or “misuse”, as the case may be) a DAF to fulfill a donor’s “legally enforceable pledge.”
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Explicit Gift Restriction
An explicit gift restriction occurs when a donor sends a letter, indicates a restriction on a response form, or provides other specific communication to the ministry identifying a contribution as restricted in terms of purpose or time.
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Gifts to Domestic Organizations for Foreign Use
Charitable deductions to U.S. charities, including ministries, with the gift restricted for a foreign charity are only permitted in certain situations.
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Gifts to Help Ministry Participants
When an individual ultimately benefits in some way from a gift, a variety of tax issues may arise. Ministries must be clear in their communication and control over contributions in order to protect their donors’ tax deductions.
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Giver Restrictions or Giver Preferences
The distinction between a giver's restriction and giver's preference can make the difference between the giver's eligibility for a charitable tax deduction and no tax deduction.
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Giver-Imposed Condition
A giver stipulation that specifies a future and uncertain event whose occurrence or failure to occur gives the promisor a right-of-return of assets he or she has transferred, or releases the promisor from its obligation to transfer assets.
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Giver-Imposed Restriction
A giver-imposed stipulation that specifies a use for the contributed asset that is more specific than the broad limits imposed by the ministry’s purpose and nature.
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Guidelines for Handling Funds Raised for Disasters
Contains guidelines that ministries should consider when raising disaster-related funds
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Implicit Gift Restriction
An implicit gift restriction occurs when there are certain circumstances surrounding the gift that makes the donor’s restriction clear even though there is no explicit gift restriction.
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Issuing Donation Acknowledgments Before Receiving Tax-Exempt Recognition from the IRS
When a new ministry is in the process of being formed, it is common for givers to make gifts to the ministry and to desire an acknowledgments that may be used for tax-deduction purposes. The question often arises whether and when the new ministry can legitimately issue charitable acknowledgments.
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Maximizing Generosity Through Alignment
When givers, askers and organizations submit to God's call, generosity is maximized. Then, great things are accomplished individually and corporately in the present world that result in eternal rewards.
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Membership Benefits
It is important to determine if a membership fee paid to a ministry has a charitable contribution component. This document explains the rules ministries much follow in properly accounting for membership fees.
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Moving the Needle with Special Gifts for Your Ministry
Special gifts or planned gifts will continue to be vital in the future as cash giving trends are in a downwards trajectory in many churches and other ministries.
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National Worker (non-U.S. worker)
A citizen, born in or naturalized in the country where a ministry conducts missionary activity.
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Needy and Distressed Test
This test should include a set of criteria by which a ministry can objectively make distributions to individuals who are financially or otherwise distressed.
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Personal Gifts
A transfer of money or other property from one individual to another individual, voluntarily, without any obligation nor a consideration for services rendered.
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Preferenced Gift
A preference indicated by a giver expressing the giver’s wishes, desires, or advice on how or when the gift will be used but is not restricted for a specific individual.
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Prohibiting the Acceptance of Restricted Gifts
A ministry's policy to prohibit the acceptance of restricted gifts only has a limited effect.
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Project Reporting to Givers - Nonprofit
A donor has requested a report on how her gift was used for a certain project. What is appropriate for our ministry to provide to this donor?
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Proper Care of Giver-Restricted Gifts
Giver-imposed restrictions create specific responsibilities for the ministry – both in terms of ethical practices and accounting issues
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Redefining How We Raise Resources
This article focuses on a new way of thinking about raising money for the work of God's Kingdom. Rather than merely harvesting or picking "low-hanging fruit," the focus should be on sowing seeds that encourage Christian generosity.
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Running Gifts Through the Ministry
Discusses how to recognize and avoid gifts that have been earmarked by givers for the benefit of specific individuals
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Sample Annual Year-End Letter to Volunteers Related to Deducting Out-of-Pocket Costs
Sample Annual Year-End Letter to Volunteers Related to Deducting Out-of-Pocket Costs
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Sample Communication from a Ministry to Its Deputized Workers
Communicating with your own deputized workers is just as important as communicating to donors.
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Sample Deputized Support-Raising Gift Acknowledgement Version A
When acknowledging a gift for deputized fundraising support, it is critical to include language that explains the ministry’s discretion and control over the gift
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Sample Deputized Support-Raising Gift Response Form Version A
Communication up front to donors on how their gift will be used is just as important as providing charitable acknowledgements after the gift is received.
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Sample Deputized Support-Raising Letter Version A
The following sample letter provides helpful language that your organization can share with deputized workers.
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Sample Deputized Worker Policy
Creating a sound deputized worker policy helps communicate the expectations both of the ministry and the deputized worker.
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Sample Short-Term Mission Trip and Mission Field Visit Assessment Policy
Many ministries sponsor short-term mission trips and encourage their constituents to participate in the trips. Additionally, ministries may send representatives to a mission field to assess certain field-specific issues before a ministry begins to support a particular field or as a qualifying event contingent on a ministry’s continuing to support a field. This document includes sample language for your ministry’s policy.
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Scrip Sales by a Ministry
Scrip, in the form of a gift certificate or a gift card, is sometimes purchased by a ministry from a merchant at a discount and may create special tax considerations.
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Should You Accept Cryptocurrency Donations?
With the rapid growth of cryptocurrency, should your church or ministry start accepting cryptocurrency donations?
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Temporarily Restricted Net Assets
The part of net assets for a ministry that is temporarily restricted by donor-imposed stipulations.
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The 7 Deadly Sins of Year-End Gift Receipts
This article written by Michael Martin for The Church Network Insight magazine will help church administrators understand the importance of ensuring that gift receipts provided by the church meet the requirements of federal tax law for those who will use the receipts as substantiation when filing their returns and claiming a charitable deduction.
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The Road to Generosity
With our freedom in Christ, we can choose to travel on the road to generosity or we can take self-absorbed detours. Such a choice necessitates clearly mapping out the biblical motivations and obligations for the desired route of generosity. While it is presently the road less traveled, it is certainly the one that God will greatly bless.
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Trips and Events Provided for Donors
Discusses the tax and stewardship issues surrounding fundraising trips and events provided for donors
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Underfunded and Overfunded Projects
Discusses the appropriate action when a ministry project is either underfunded or overfunded
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Variance Power
A variance power is the authority granted to a ministry by a court with respect to the use of a giver-restricted gift.
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Which Gifts Are Giver-Restricted?
When a ministry receives funds, it is essential that any giver-restricted gifts be identified.
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