Gifts and donations to nonprofits can come in many forms. Non-cash donations are charitable contributions, other than money, that are made to an organization. When an individual or institution provides supplies, services, or free help and expertise, it is a non-cash donation, also known as in-kind support. Businesses, corporations, and even individuals can make non-cash donations.
Examples of Non-cash Donations
Everyone has something to offer when it comes to gift-in-kind donations. When somebody donates a physical object or shares their expertise, it is an example of an in-kind donation. These charitable contributions can be grouped into three basic types: goods, services, and people.
Donated Goods
Goods that are non-cash are any charitable gifts that are not money, such as equipment, furniture, and supplies. Examples of in-kind goods include:
- Computers and photocopiers
- Office supplies, such as paper, filing folders, etc.
- Food and beverages consumed at regular meetings
- Rent-free meeting or office spaces
An example of a non-cash donation in the form of goods that Believe In Me has recently received is a donation of wine from one of our favorite wine vendors, In Good Taste. This charitable organization has been helping us to host our Swirl, Sip, & Support events for the past few months and graciously donated a substantial amount of wine for our upcoming events. Their support is helping us to make new friends for our cause.
Providing Services
Small businesses, vendors, agencies, and occasionally colleges often provide gift-in-kind services. These services can include:
- Website Development
- Printing
- Transportation
- Maintenance of office equipment
Believe In Me: foundation for kids currently receives a non-cash donation in the form of services through our partnership with Zipline Interactive in Spokane, WA. This digital marketing and design firm helps our organization with the donation of website development and creative design. In fact, this blog platform is designed and managed by this generous company. They’re helping us tell the “Believe in Me” story on a variety of channels every day. We are so thankful for their generosity and support to help spread the word about what we’re doing for kids.
Another very generous non-cash donation Believe In Me benefits from is through our relationship with Sendoso. Their fulfillment center helps us to deliver modern direct mail, personalized gifts, eGifts, and other Physical Impressions at scale. This makes it possible for us to build stronger, deeper, and more trusted relationships than ever with the people who care about our cause the most. They offer their platform to our organization at no cost, providing us with a substantial boost to our bottom line. Their generosity is just one more example of how businesses are aligning with our cause to make a difference in the lives of kids.
Volunteering
Volunteers are an incredible source of an in-kind donation. Volunteers can help with staffing events, assisting with training, and even serve on the Board of Directors. The type of work informs the value of the time that they are providing the organization. Some examples of this work include:
- Fundraising
- Clerical and administrative assistance
- Professional services, such as accounting or legal advice
- Professional skills such as carpentry and painting
Possibly one of the most valuable forms of in-kind donations are the volunteers who help us carry out our mission every day. Our army of volunteer talent includes accounting and finance professionals, graphic designers, copywriters, digital marketing professionals, salesforce administrators, software engineers, charitable giving advisors, and many more. They’re helping us to automate the repetitive tasks that we can train a computer to do, analyzing our investments to make sure we can sustain and grow our operations., and producing content that communicates the impact your donations are making on our community. , Sans-serif;”>Without their gifts of talent, we would be forced to hire much more staff to accomplish the great work we are donated. Visit our volunteer page to see some of the great people who are volunteering for our organization.
In-kind donations benefit nonprofits by helping organizations to access goods and services that alternatively may have been unavailable and unaffordable. In-kind donations also benefit the business or individual supplying them as they can be tax-deductible!
Non-Cash Donations Can Be Tax-Deductible
Non-cash donations are often tax-deductible for donors as charitable contributions. A charitable contribution is tax-deductible for a donor if it is for the use of a nonprofit or charity.
The nonprofit that receives the donation should supply the donor with a written acknowledgment, which includes the name and employer identification number (EIN) of the charity. A detailed description of the charitable in-kind donation and the date that it was received should also appear in the acknowledgment. In turn, the donor should provide the value of the in-kind donation, which is determined by what the nonprofit would have paid for the goods and/or services.
Non-cash donations that are service-based are a little more complicated. Donated in-kind services are not tax-deductible. However, the expenses directly correlated with the provided services are tax-deductible. Donors need to keep detailed records of these expenses. Again, nonprofits should provide a written acknowledgement without a monetary amount for the expenses, but instead, a description of the services and the year of the service.
A donor’s tax professional is the best source of information concerning recording, acknowledging, and reporting in-kind donations.
Best Charities to Make Non-cash Donations to in WA
Being kind in-kind is possible! Businesses, corporations, and individuals can help change the lives of kids in the community throughout Washington. Believe In Me: foundation for kids is committed to leveraging your generous donations to transform the community’s vulnerable youth into healthy, confident, and productive adults. Specifically, Believe In Me supports programs that provide residential and foster care, wrap-around services, education, and enrichment through play, art, and outdoor immersion. Here are some details about the programs that are fulfilling the Believe In Me’s mission.
Morning Star Boys Ranch
Morning Star Boys’ Ranch was founded in 1956 with a mission to help neglected, pre-delinquent boys become healthy, happy, and successful citizens. In 1957 the first boy arrived at Flannery House. Beginning in 1971, the Ranch grew to 224 acres. Through generous donors, the Murphy House was completed in 1977 to accommodate thirty-three boys. Today, the Ranch has added programs to meet the ever-increasing needs of our youth and their families. These include Equine Assisted Therapy, a 4-H Program, and a new Community Services Program offering child and adolescent counseling. Family therapy that supports girls and resources for parents in an outpatient setting is also provided. More than 1,400 boys and six decades later, the program continues to provide a loving, structured environment for boys in need. In the early days, the boys were mostly teenagers, but now the residents are much younger and in need of more intensive services. Many have been abused, abandoned, or homeless. Morning Star Boys’ Ranch strives to provide residents with the education, skills, and social confidence to transition to foster and adoptive homes.
Transitions | EduCare
Transitions, as a whole, is aimed at ending poverty and homelessness for women and children in Spokane. EduCare in a Transitions program that provides a nurturing environment to help children recovering from trauma. In 2018, 21 children were served with 6,364 hours of childcare and 2,057 nutritious meals. Transitions EduCare program provides licensed sliding-fee scale child care on the Transitional Living Center campus for toddlers, preschool, and school-age children designed to meet the needs of formerly homeless children.
Embrace Washington
Embrace Washington is committed to supporting children in foster care within our community. They do this by raising awareness of vulnerable children’s needs, identifying how to meet those needs, and connecting individuals and organizations with a heart to serve the foster care community. Believe In Me helped launch its Foster Care Education program, providing tutoring and college-preparatory learning for foster children ages four to eighteen.
Dishman Hills Conservancy | Kids in the Hills Page
Dishman Hills Conservancy hosts a unique program called “Kids in the Hills”. It’s an opportunity for Title 1 Elementary school students to get outside through field study and allow them to take what they’ve learned back into the classroom and apply it to their studies. Over 500 students are served by this program annually.
Due to the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, the opportunities offered by “Kids in the Hills” are temporarily closed. The organization has instead developed their Be at Home In Nature: short, engaging, educational and accessible videos and activities. The videos can be accessed on Youtube. Donations in-kind are still welcome!
YWCA Spokane
For more than four decades, YWCA has provided life-saving services to help victims of domestic violence and their children flee abuse and increase their safety. While safety services are essential, they are often not enough; domestic violence’s consequences do not end once a family has fled abuse. Believe In Me’s contributions help develop the Pathways to Healing program for children and teens that have been exposed to domestic violence. Through a combination of trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy, sand/play therapy, mindfulness training, and eye movement desensitization and reprogramming, they aim to help children and adolescents heal individually, and within their family.
How to Make a Non-cash Donation at Believe In Me
Non-cash donations are an essential source of Believe In Me’s revenue, especially during an economic downturn. In-kind donations are also an excellent way to cultivate support and build capacity for the Foundation while freeing up cash for other operating expenses.
The process for making an in-kind gift is different depending upon the type of in-kind donation. If your gift’s nature and purpose is large, you will be asked to sign an in-kind gift document that outlines the intended purpose of the gift and expectations for how the Foundation will fulfill this purpose. For smaller donations, an online form will help to describe the donation and its fair market value. The Foundation will provide you with a gift acknowledgment form to document your gift for tax purposes.
If you’re considering making an in-kind gift to Believe In Me, please contact our Chief Executive Officer at (509) 448-1412 to make an appointment to discuss the details.
