Best Of
End of year and IRS guidelines
Hello everyone! This is our first "end of year" as a foundation and I'd love any tips and best practices you have to share. These are the main things we are tracking:
- Donation Cutoff for Tax Year
- Only donations received or postmarked by December 31 can be included in that tax year.
- For checks, use the postmark date if received in January.
- For wires, ACH, or crypto, use the bank settlement or blockchain timestamp.
- Post All Donations in Foundant by January 10
- Use the correct post date (12/31 or earlier).
- Update donor profiles if addresses/emails changed (important for receipt delivery).
- Generate IRS-Compliant Donation Receipts (January)
- Each receipt must include:
- AVF’s name and EIN
- Donation amount and date
- "No goods or services were provided in exchange for this donation."
- If applicable, fair market value disclosures (e.g., for non-cash gifts)
Are we missing anything ? Thanks everyone and happy holidays! 🎄
CRM Best Practices for Vulnerable Populations
Does anyone have suggestions for best practices when it comes to gathering data on vulnerable populations? I'd welcome articles, webinars, personal experience, etc. The practical concern of my colleagues is what information should/should not be included in Profile notes for our CRM, as well as the pros/cons of adding custom fields to measure impact and meet grant deliverables that could potentially identify constituents as members of a vulnerable population.
Re: Best Practices for using ACHs
Has anuone had difficulty with the exported csv file?
Specifically, column D formatting is scientific number, and it needs to be TEXT for our bank upload.
We have tried converting it and saving the file – but the Receivers routing number keeps reverting to scientific “E+11” format.
Please help – thank you, Jackie
AI for Community Foundations
Has any organization integrated AI into their daily work beyond just taking minutes and sending emails? We are struggling to find resources and training applicable to community foundation work, and our staff, particularly development staff, are asking for more. I would love to chat with someone who has found unique approaches to AI!
