Best Practices for Receiving Charitable Contributions

Church leaders need to know principles of legal giving and receiving to safeguard the coffers, as well as the church's reputation. For instance, if one of your members decides she wants to surprise your pastor with a monetary gift, and she wants to benefit from a tax write-off at the same time, she's making what the IRS would call an illegal contribution. Our government frowns on people funneling money to a particular person in the church's name just for the benefit of tax-savings. In simple terms, when people make a charitable contribution, they give up control of the offering and let the church manage the donation. This download is designed to provide you practical help and clear understanding on some of the issues surrounding charitable contributions.

CONTENTS
Substantiating Cash Contributions
by Richard R. Hammar

Handling Blank, Predated, and Postdated Checks
by Richard R. Hammar

Substantiating Contributions of Property
by Richard R. Hammar

Tangible Property Gift Receipt Cover Letter
by Richard R. Hammar

Church Contributions from IRAs
by Richard R. Hammar

Gifts of Stock
by Richard R. Hammar

When Gifts Come with Strings Attached
by Elaine Sommerville

Designated Contributions—Benevolence Funds
by Richard R. Hammar

Designated Contributions—Missionaries
by Richard R. Hammar

Love Offerings
by Richard R. Hammar

Liability for Ignoring Donor’s Designations
by Richard R. Hammar



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Pages: 39

This resource has been redesigned and updated.