Thanking Donors

Twice this month, we’ve been asked for help on how to properly acknowledge donors. So here’s a quick post with two things to get you started.

The surprisingly helpful IRS “Charitable Contributions” publication. Kudos to the IRS for this little gem. It contains guidelines for a wide variety contribution types AND has sample Written Acknowledgements. This should cover a lot of questions you might have. https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf

And even more to the point is a basic donor acknowledgement letter that meets the IRS Key requirements:

• Organization Name: Validates the entity is a 501(c)(3).
• Donor Name: Clearly stated.
• Contribution Description: Amount of cash or description (not value) of non-cash property. For non-cash gifts, such as items or equipment, describe the item (e.g., “a laptop”) but do not assign a monetary value to it. 
• Date: When the donation was received.
• Exchange Statement: Explicitly state if goods/services were or were not received in return.
• EIN: Including the Employer Identification Number helps donors. 

Sample Donation Acknowledgment Letter (For Cash/Check Contributions)

[Date]

[Donor Name]
[Donor Address]

Dear [Donor Name],

Thank you for your generous donation of $[Amount] to [Organization Name], received on [Date of Donation]. 

Your support helps us continue our mission to [Brief Mission Description]. Specifically, your contribution will support [Optional: Specific Program/Campaign]. 

[Select one of the following statements]

• Option A (No benefits provided): No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution.
• Option B (Benefits provided): In exchange for your contribution, we provided [Description of goods/services], estimated at a fair market value of [Amount]. 

[Organization Name] is a qualified 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Please retain this letter for your tax records. 

Sincerely,

[Signature]

[Name]
[Title]
[Organization Name]
[EIN Number] 

If you have any questions about contributions and donor acknowledgements, please reach out to us. We’re happy to help.