Just curious - does everybody here include the dollar amount of the gift when someone donates stock, or do they treat it more like a gift-in-kind where they let the donor declare the value?
Thanks for your input!

IRS publication 1771 says to include a "description (but not the value)" of any non-cash contribution.  Some people stretch it to say "which we have internally valued at $xxxx.xx" but I do not do that.  I feel it is too much like giving tax advice.

On the date your gift was made, based on a high of $73.19 and a low of $72.18, the mean price of the Exxon Mobil Corp. stock was $72.685.  Thus, the value of your contribution is $3,634.25.

We also have the line about no goods or services…..

We do the same as Nancy in our letters.

The IRS acknowledgment rules non-profits have to follow say "description (but no value)".  The IRS rules for valuation are the Donor's rules for valuation.  They are responsible for valuing their own non-cash gifts. 

Melissa, you may be correct to follow the minimum the IRS needs in a letter, but both our auditors and a  tax advisor/lawyer on our board want us to use the format I gave above.  This method for setting value of stock is in IRS form 561 "Determining the Value of donated property". 

 We use the same format as Nina and our auditors have found this to be in compliance.  We just quote the date of the sale, the high, low, and the mean.  We don't at all list totals.

We keep it simple.  "...Thank you for your gift of # shares of ABC stock gifted on XX/XX/XXXX" type of thing.  Has worked fine for us for many years. 

The Maryland Association of Nonprofits published this -

IRS publication 1771 does not say that you have to include any disclaimer.  I would follow what that publication says and feel it is unnecessary to explain to the donor that you are "only following the rules".

Why would you NOT state the value of the stock in the acknowledgement letter? If you have been given this information at the time the gift transacted I don't understand why you would omit this from the letter.  I apologize upfront if this has already been asked and I just didn't catch this part of the conversation.

Zoe - it is because the IRS tells you not to in IRS publication 1771.  see www.irs.gov

Nina Williams:

Melissa, you may be correct to follow the minimum the IRS needs in a letter, but both our auditors and a  tax advisor/lawyer on our board want us to use the format I gave above.  This method for setting value of stock is in IRS form 561 "Determining the Value of donated property". 

Nina, my understanding is that IRS publication 561 is to be used by the donor for them to determine the value of their donated property.  They need that publication because IRS publication 1771 is for the non-profits and tells us not to include a value on our acknowledgements for non-cash gifts .  I'm sticking to 1771 and leave 561 for the donor to use.

Again,  check with your own auditor and tax advisor/lawyers.  Ours want us to include the info as long as we follow the IRS  in how to designate the value.  see my previous comments.

Mellisa,   here is a question.  If a donor is paying on a multi-year pledge and you do not value the stokk gift,  how do you and the donor determine outstanding balance? or do you accept the donors value for inputting into RE?