How To Improve Relationships With Donors

Let’s be completely honest, donors are a nonprofit organization’s best friend!

Without donations from philanthropic individuals, businesses, and organizations, it is extremely difficult to effectively carry out the work of your organization.

Forming a good relationship with a donor can benefit your nonprofit organization significantly and allow you to help even more people in your community by connecting with a philanthropist.

Here are 10 ways to improve relationships with a donor:

10 Ways Your Nonprofit Can Improve Donor Relationships

What does it take to establish a good rapport and working relationship with a philanthropist or donor? It has to be more than a nicely written email or monthly newsletter, right?

Several of our clients shared their “secrets to success” when it comes to creating and maintaining a positive nonprofit-to-donor relationship. Being honest, transparent, authentic, trustworthy, and patient are characteristics that go furthest with a potential donor.

Once you have embraced these characteristics it’s time to put them into action. This can be done in 10 ways:

1) Take Risks - GO FOR IT!

2) Maintain open communication

3) Listen & Learn

4) Find common interests and build on them

5) Do a follow-up call or send a nice note after your initial meeting

6) Help promote their company at hosted events or online (social media/website)

7) Be interactive and open to feedback

8) Refrain from being defensive

9) Educate donors of your nonprofit organization

10) Be strategic

Utilize these characteristics and put them into action to help you grow as a nonprofit organization leader but also improve the overall reach and financial support of your beloved organization.

What To Do After You've Gained Donors

Once you’ve built a rapport with the donor(s) that you’ve been looking for, don’t forget to file your annual 990 Forms with ExpressTaxExempt. The last thing we want you to do is to gain a bunch of new donors and then lose your tax exempt status. ExpressTaxExempt will help you remain tax exempt and free from IRS penalties. Create an account or sign in today to handle your nonprofit organization’s tax filing needs.

What are some ways that you have attracted and kept a donor or philanthropist engaged over the years? Comment below so we can add them and share with others 😊.

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#GivingTuesday - Making a Difference One Donation at a Time

Today, we recognize #GivingTuesday, a social movement which encourages others to give back by donating time, money or positive influence to a worthy cause that makes a difference. Generous efforts such as donating blood, providing financial support to a local organization, visiting a nursing home, or even helping out at a soup kitchen can touch the lives of many.

Even large organizations such as PayPal have “seized the season” and partnered with its users to celebrate the #GivingTuesday initiative, adding 1% of all donations made through their portal from now until the end of the year.

Since we’re talking about donating to charity, we’d love for you to share with us ways that you will donate! Are you a part of a charity or nonprofit organization who could use some donations to support the mission of the organization? If so, post the group name and information in the comments so other readers can donate!

For tax-exempt organizations, donations are a major component to its success and level of outreach. Thankfully, taxpayers have the ability to maximize their tax savings before the end of the year by giving to a charity and deducting it on their annual federal income tax return.

#GivingTuesday Tax Filing Reminders

With #GivingTuesday being an annual event, there are some reminders that taxpayers should be reminded of as they give money or good to an exempt charity or organization before December 31.

Donations to Eligible Organizations (Only) are Tax-Deductible

Churches, synagogues, temples, mosques, and government agencies are eligible to receive deductible donations. For a complete list of eligible organizations, click here.

Itemize to Claim Charitable Donations

Charitable deductions cannot be made if an individual chooses the standard deduction. Taxpayers must itemize their donations on Form 1040 Schedule A to claim deductions for charitable contributions.

Have Proof of Monetary Donations

Upon making a donation, be sure to receive a bank record or a written statement from the charity/organization to prove the amount and date given. Taxpayers using payroll deductions should retain a pay stub, a Form W-2 wage statement or other proof showing the total amount withheld for charity, along with the pledge card showing the name of the charity.

Donating Property

Donating items such as clothing and other household items come with a deduction amount that is normally limited to the fair market value of the item. These types of items must be in good or better condition to be considered tax-deductible.

Similar to monetary donations, those that donate property must get a written acknowledgment from the charity for all gifts that are worth $250 or more. This statement should include a description of the items contributed.

What Happens After You Donate?

Once you’ve donated and received the necessary paperwork for your deduction, all that’s left to do is simply file your annual tax return. However, tax-exempt organizations have a few more steps to take such as filing their required Form 990 each year.

Exempt organizations are required to file this return to ensure that their organization is not abusing its tax-exempt status. The IRS also utilizes the information reported on Form 990 and makes it available for public information.

Luckily, exempt organizations can handle all of their Form 990 filing needs right here at ExpressTaxExempt with our easy, simplified filing process, and can even instantly share their information with GuideStar, the world’s largest source of nonprofit organization information.

Give, Give, Give!

The ExpressTaxExempt team encourages you to take some time this holiday season and give back in some way in honor of #GivingTuesday. Once again, feel free to comment on ways that you or your organization are helping out today and days to come as well as providing your organization's information to gain support from fellow ExpressTaxExempt users.

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International Day of Charity: Support & Give Back Today

“Every good act is charity. A man's true wealth hereafter is the good that he does in this world to his fellows.” -- Moliere

Did you know that today, Tuesday, September 5, 2017 is the International Day of Charity? If you’re like me, you may have recently returned from a Labor Day Weekend vacation or even enjoyed a great cookout with friends and family on your day off on Monday.

Labor Day Weekend has ended and now we’re “back to life...back to reality!” As we get back into the swing of things to finish out the rest of this week, take a few moments and help make the world a better place by making a donation to charity on International Day of Charity.

Donations can be given to charities that support the environment, protect children, feed the hungry, or help worthy causes. Of course, with their being so many charities to choose from, it’s quite hard to choose which one to give to. We did some research and found some of the top 10 charities that are making a difference in the world which you could consider donating to. Check out the list below:

Charitable Organizations

Natural Resources Defense Council

Based in New York City, this organization has worked with businesses, elected officials, and community groups on issues such as global warming, ocean cleaning, and food security. Natural Resources Defense Council website.

United Nations Foundation

The United Nations Foundation is a U.S. public charity founded by Ted Turner which partners with others around the world to tackle issues such as global health, climate change, poverty, women’s empowerment and more. Visit the United Nations Foundation to donate.

Caring Voice Coalition

The Caring Voice Coalition puts its efforts towards empowering patients who live with a life-threatening chronic disease by providing outreach programs and services aimed to provide financial, emotional, and educational support. Caring Voice Coalition website.

Billy Graham Evangelistic Association

Established in 1950 and now based in Charlotte, North Carolina, this association aims to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible around the world. The association has a weekly Hour of Decision radio program broadcast, syndicated newspaper column entitled “My Answer,” and also has the Billy Graham Response Team which provides emotional and spiritual care to individuals and communities living through a sudden tragedy. To donate, visit the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.

Catholic Medical Mission Board

This group provides healthcare for the world’s most poor and does so by building healthy, sustainable communities through local engagement and partnerships. These causes are targeting in communities throughout Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. Catholic Medical Mission Board website.

AmeriCares

AmeriCares serves as an emergency response and global health organization that aids those in crisis. Established in 1979, AmeriCares has delivered more than $12 billion in humanitarian aid to 164 countries, including the United States. To support AmeriCares, click here.  

To assist the victims of Hurricane Harvey, see our most recent blog post:

“5 Ways You & Nonprofits Can Help Hurricane Harvey Victims”

Samaritan’s Purse

The Samaritan’s Purse has met the needs of those who are victims of war, poverty, natural disasters, disease and famine, while including the purpose of sharing God’s love through His Son, Jesus Christ. Its most popular mission, Operation Christmas Child, has delivered more than 135 million shoe boxes filled with gifts to poor children in more than 150 countries. Visit the Samaritan’s Purse website today to make a donation.

MAP International

Founded in 1954, MAP International helps prevent disease by improving water supplies and promotes health to create hope and lasting change in more than 115 countries. Their annual efforts include partnering with local leaders to help educate and train communities to deal with health threats such as HIV/AIDS. Visit their website at www.map.org for more information and ways to donate.

Direct Relief

Direct Relief is California’s largest international humanitarian nonprofit organization which provides medical assistance to improve the health and lives of people affected by poverty and disaster in the United States and throughout the world. More than $3.4 billion in medical supplies and equipment has been provided since its inception in 1948. Visit the Direct Relief website to support their efforts.  

Take Action

Let’s celebrate International Day of Charity by supporting a charity of your choice and helping those that are in need. Remember, charitable donations can be listed as a deduction on your taxes, so be sure to keep record of your gift. For more information on Charitable Donation Deductions, click here.  If you know of other charities that could use our support, please leave a comment below. At ExpressTaxExempt, we respect the services that exempt organizations provide to communities and we’re motivated to help with your e-filing needs so you can get back to proudly serving your community. Visit our website for any tax forms that your tax exempt organization may need throughout this year and save even more when you e-file with our recently reduced filing rates! We’re available to assist you via phone at 704.839.2321 on Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST or reach out to us 24/7 via email at support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

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Give Now, Receive Later: Donate & Get Money Back

At ExpressTaxExempt we respect the services that nonprofits, charities, and exempt organizations provide to their community. These groups help so many from day to day, so “now let us help you!”

As expected, most nonprofit organizations and charities aim to receive donations and contributions from generous givers to support their philanthropic endeavors. One may ask, “Why would a tax company be concerned with donations?” To answer that question, all contributions and donations to an organization qualified by the IRS can be deducted from your tax return when filing. For those that are in charge of collecting donations for your organization(s), this is a great interesting fact to share with your potential donors.

We’ve listed some tips here for you and your donors to utilize to ensure that your contributions  will positively pay off during tax filing and tax return season.  

TIP #1: Make donations to a qualified organization. Deductions on your tax return cannot be made to specific individuals, political organizations and candidates.

(Exempt Organizations Select Check Tool)

TIP #2: Must file Form 1040 and itemize deductions on Schedule A. (Extension Form Available).

TIP #3: Benefits received from contributions, such as merchandise or tickets to a game, can only deduct the amount which exceeds the market value of the received benefit.

TIP #4: Non-cash property or stock donations are usually valued at fair market value. Clothing and household items should be in good used condition or better in order to be deducted.

• Fair Market Value: The agreed price at which property would change hands between a willing buyer and seller.

TIP #5: Regardless the amount, a bank record or payroll deduction record must be maintained for a contribution of cash, check, or other monetary gift. Written communication from the organization [that received the donation] with the name of the organization stated along with the date and amount of the contribution will also suffice for verification purposes.

TIP #6: For contributions of cash or property equaling $250 or more the following must be provided to claim a deduction:

• Bank record
• Payroll deduction record
• Written acknowledgement from organization
• **One document may satisfy these requirements**

TIP #7: If the total deduction for all non-cash contributions for the year is over $500, an

IRS Form 8283 must be completed and attached to your return.

TIP #8: Donating items or a group of similar items valued at more than $5,000 must also complete Section B of Form 8283, which will more than likely require an appraisal by a qualified appraiser.

Whether you are responsible for collecting donations for your charitable or nonprofit organization or considering to make a donation, ExpressTaxExempt is here to help you each step of the way and provide beneficial content for you and your organization. Also, be sure to visit ExpressTaxFilings for your personal e-filing needs as well as ExpressExtension to be granted extra time to gather all necessary information. If you need any help at all with the filing process, don’t hesitate to give us a call. We’re available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST, at (704) 839-2321 and through live chat on our site. We also offer 24/7 email assistance at support@ExpressTaxExempt.com.

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How Can You Take Donations to the Next Level?

Let’s face it, fundraising isn’t easy. Simply getting your audience to the donate can be a struggle for many nonprofit and tax exempt organizations.

So how can you optimize your approach to fundraising? Well, come up with a plan to take your donations to the next level!

You Need Online Donations

First up, you need to start accepting donations online. Even if you feel better with the old school methods, you need to consider online donations. Why? Because the whole world is mobile—and the easier it is, the more people are eager to give. And nothing is easier than using your phone or laptop to donate.

So make sure you have a website, and use social media, email, and video production to bring your donors to your website! It all works together, really.

Communication for Donations

After you have your page designed, implement your email marketing strategy to direct donors to your site. We’ve told you about email before, and stand by those marketing basics.

Mixed together with social media, you’ll be able to direct increased traffic towards and hopefully donations to your site.

But don’t abandon all of your traditional methods—a direct mail campaign that advertises your web presence is a good mix of traditional and cutting edge. It’s best to use both to reach your audience!

Advanced Tip: Landing Pages

Your website might be awesome, but if you utilize a landing page, you can customize the experience even more for your donors. So what should you do? Customize a single page with a short donation form and passionate copy with a call to action. REMEMBER—Minimalism is best, so avoid heavy graphics, web videos, or any other distractions.

Let’s face it, some things will work and some won’t. Instead of doubling down on one strategy, you should implement A/B testing to make sure that your fundraising efforts aren’t wasted!

Test your landing page by creating two pages that are near identical, but with different calls to action. Monitor which CTA produces better conversion rates, and then you know that is the right direction. Take the foundations of the more successful page, and then create another page expanding that idea. Keep testing and watch your conversion rates increase!

Once you have your donations coming in, head over to ExpressTaxExempt and create a free account. While Form 990 might not be due for a few more months, it’s never too early to work on your recordkeeping, e-file last year’s 990, or even just keep track of donors.

If you have any questions, our dedicated customer support team is here and ready to help, by phone at 704.839.2321 and by email at Support@ExpressTaxExempt.com. We look forward to hearing from you!

What are your advanced marketing tips?

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Gifts and Contributions

Isn’t the holiday season the most special time of year? The streets and houses are adorned with festive decorations, holiday music plays through the radio, or through your streaming music service, and the television airs the annual list of holiday specials. While it may be a couple more weeks before we are all back around family and friends, these things are our first glimpse of the holiday season, and as the song pronounces, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”

One of the most common trends of this time of year is giving donations, and with the #GivingTuesday kickoff earlier this week, the act of giving is now in full effect. For those of you operating nonprofits and charities, it has to be an exciting time with all the contributions you’re receiving. In most cases, you’ll have to report those contributions when you file a tax return for your exempt organization.

With ExpressTaxExempt, reporting your contributions is as simple as waking up on Christmas morning.

After you’ve completed entering your organization details, prior year information, and your organization’s program service, you can begin to enter your contributions and gifts from the “Statement of Revenue” page.

1. Click the “Start” link for “Contributions, Gifts, Grants.”

2. Click “Start” if you need to list “Contributions from Fundraising Events” or “Contributions, Gifts, Grants, and Similar Amounts Received.”

Let’s say your organization has a holiday fundraiser, and it received contributions and donations from that fundraiser. Here, you can…

3. Enter the required income and contribution amount, and any expenses, from the fundraising event, then click the “Add” link.

If you didn’t host a fundraising event, and your organization accepted contributions as they were given, you can…

4. Click “Yes” for “Did you receive any contributions, gifts, grants and similar amounts received?”

5. Enter the required contribution details and click “Add Another” to list another contribution, or click “Add” to list only what you’ve just entered. That’s all there is to it.

“Do I have to list every individual contribution? I don’t have to with the paper form.”
We hear this quite often, and we understand that entering every single contribution can be tedious. While you might not have to do that with the paper form, please keep in mind that, with e-filing, you’re using sophisticated software with automated calculations and algorithms. The program even states the contribution will be factored into your public support percentage.

So if you tell a program that your organization receives at least 33% of its support from contributions, memberships fees, etc., then the program is going to automatically attempt to factor 33% from your list of contributions. If you list them as one large donation, that’s going to prompt an improper calculation, which will fail your public support test.


Bulk Upload

To compensate for having to sit within the program, and list contributions one by one, we do offer a bulk upload feature, which can list all your contributions at once.

All you need to do is

• Step 1 - Download our pre-set Excel template.
• Step 2 - Enter your contributions within the template and save.
• Step 3 - Upload your saved template from your computer.

In this merry time of year, as well as anytime of year, our jolly support team in Rock Hill, South Carolina is more than happy to answer any questions, or help with any assistance you may need with e-filing your tax return. Give us a call at (704) 839-2321 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST. Email us anytime, 24/7 at support@expresstaxexempt.com, or live chat with us at www.expresstaxexempt.com.

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Things To Know Before Deducting Charitable Contributions

When you make a contribution to charity, it not only helps those in need but it also provides you benefits at tax time. It is the gift that keeps on giving. The Express990 team would like to go over a few things to know before deducting your charitable contributions...

Qualified Charities
To deduct a contribution, you must donate to a qualified charity. You will not be able to deduct gifts to individuals, political organizations, or candidates. You can easily check the status of a charity via the IRS Select Check tool.

Itemized Deduction
You will need to file Form 1040 and itemize your deductions to deduct your contributions.

Benefit in Return
Your deduction is limited when you receive something in return for your donation. You will only be able to deduct the amount of your gift that is more than the value of what you got in return.

Donated Property
For property donated, the deduction is usually the item's fair market value. If you sold the property on the open market, the price you would get would be your fair market value.

Donations of $250 or more
You will need a written statement from the charity you contributed to stating the donated cash or goods of $250 or more. On the statement, it must show the amount of the donation and/or a description of any property donated. If you were provided any goods or services in exchange for your donation, the statement will need that description as well.

Form 8283
If your deduction for all noncash gifts is more the $500 for the year, you will need to file Form 8283 - Noncash Charitable Contributions.

Records to keep
To prove the amount of contributions you made during the year, you must keep proper records. The IRS doesn't exactly give a clear explanation of this other than, "the kind of records you must keep depends on the amount and type of your donation." For more information on this particular subject, you should contact the IRS directly.

Always consult with your tax professional and/or the IRS when deducting charitable contributions.

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