Year-End Giving Season: How Your Nonprofit Can Handle the December Donation Surge
About a third of US giving lands in December. The IRS requires a written acknowledgment for gifts of $250 or more, and the postmark sets the gift's tax year.
#charitable-giving
Charitable Giving
Donation strategies, tax-deductible contributions, and qualified charitable organizations
That Thank-You Letter Is a Tax Document: What Your Nonprofit Must Put in Every $250-Plus Donor Acknowledgment
A gift of $250 or more needs a contemporaneous written acknowledgment before the donor files — five IRS-required elements, or the deduction fails.
Public Charity or Private Foundation? How the 509(a) Tests Decide Your Nonprofit's Tax Fate
Miss the 509(a) support tests and the IRS reclassifies you as a private foundation: 1.39% investment income tax, 10% self-dealing tax, Form 990-PF yearly.
You Volunteer Every Weekend. Here's What the IRS Actually Lets You Deduct
Volunteer hours are worth $0 on your return, but the IRS lets you deduct 14 cents a mile, supplies, and uniforms — and two 2026 changes shrink who benefits.
Cause Marketing With a Charity? The Commercial Co-Venture Rules You Must Clear Before Launch Day
A "$1 per sale" charity promise makes you a commercial co-venturer in 20+ US states. Register in 7, name the number in every ad, and avoid the IRS UBIT trap.
Donate the Surplus, Deduct More Than It Cost: The Food-Donation Tax Break Most Businesses Miss
Section 170(e)(3) lets any business deduct donated food at cost plus half the markup, capped at twice cost — with a 15% net-income limit, a five-year carryover, and a Good Samaritan liability shield.
Donating Your Old Work Truck or Van? Why the Deduction Is the Sale Price, Not Blue Book
Since 2005, the IRS has limited most vehicle donation deductions to the charity's actual sale proceeds reported on Form 1098-C — not Blue Book value. This guide covers the $500 and $5,000 paperwork thresholds, the three exceptions that allow full fair market value, and why a fully depreciated work truck can produce a $0 deduction plus taxable recapture income.
Donor-Advised Fund vs. Private Foundation: A Business Owner's Guide to Giving Appreciated Stock
US donor-advised funds deduct appreciated stock at FMV up to 30% of AGI; private foundations cap lower — IRS rules for owners.
Charitable Giving in 2026: Cash vs. Property, $500 Noncash Threshold, and the Appraisal Rule for Donations Over $5,000
Noncash gifts over $500 require Form 8283 and over $5,000 require a qualified appraisal — and every single gift of $250 or more needs a contemporaneous acknowledgment letter before the return is filed.
Nonprofit Thrift Store Bookkeeping: How to Value Donated Goods, Keep the Volunteer-Labor Exclusion, and Stay Off Form 990-T
Nonprofit thrift store bookkeeping covers the fair value and sold-price methods for donated inventory, IRS Publication 561 receipt thresholds, the roughly 85% volunteer-labor and donated-merchandise UBIT exclusions, and when Form 990-T filing is required.
Reducing RMDs With QCDs in 2026: How a $111,000 Charitable Distribution Lowers Your Required Minimum
QCDs up to $111,000 in 2026 let IRA owners 70½+ give directly to charity, satisfy RMDs, and exclude the distribution from income.
Donor-Advised Funds for Small Business Owners: Timing Charitable Giving Under the 2026 Rules
Starting in 2026, itemized charitable deductions only count above a 0.5%-of-AGI floor, while the new non-itemizer deduction excludes donor-advised funds. This guide shows small business owners how to respond — bunching several years of giving into one high-income year, donating appreciated stock to avoid capital gains, and using the 60%/30% AGI limits and five-year carryforward around a business sale.