How “in kind” Donations to StudentReach work:
“In kind” donations are non-monetary (i.e. not cash, check, credit card, etc.) donations that have a monetary value. These kinds of donations include cars, boats, real estate, collectibles, and anything else that can be used or sold. Obviously, working with this kind of donation is more complex than a monetary donation for both StudentReach and the donor, but it can be a win-win for us and you. The following is a brief summary of how it works.*
What we do with your donation:
- We use it – We sometimes put donated items in service for our use. Vans, computers and other such items might fit in this category.
- We give it away – Sometimes, people we serve need the items you donate. We might gift a car, a computer or clothing, for instance.
- We sell it to support our mission – Some items might be more useful to provide money for the services we provide, and some items are not practical for us to use at all. In that case, we try to get top market value for your donation.
What kind of tax deduction you will get:
IRS guidelines provide for you to get a fair market value tax deduction for the item you donate. While the FMV might be difficult to determine, the following 4 factors are useful.
- Cost or selling price – When an item is quickly sold, this is relatively easy to determine, if not, it is more complicated.
- Sales of comparable items – This is relatively simple with cars, real estate and some other items, but more complex with many donations.
- Replacement cost – This can be used more easily with items that are not subject to rapid declines in price, like real estate, used vehicles and other such items.
- Opinions of experts – professional appraisers or other experts can be useful for large ticket items.
What the IRS guidelines say:
Publication 4302 – explains how vehicle donations work
Publication 561 – explains how to determine the value of donations
Feel free to contact us using the contact form on this page or just call us at 707.333.9089 if you have any questions. We’ll do our best to get you the information you need as quickly as possible.
*Please note, StudentReach is not a tax expert and the information here is included to be a brief explanation of general guidelines. Please consult the linked tax publications, IRS.gov and your own tax professional for legal or tax advice.