Many Thrivent chapter activities and Thrivent Builds activities involve donations from individuals that qualify as tax-deductible contributions. It’s important for chapters to:

1. Understand the guidelines and requirements for how and when to provide a written acknowledgement/receipt, especially when a donor requests one.
2. Understand when records of donations must be documented and filed.
3. Relay the information to their service teams.

Important: According to the Pension Protection Act of 2006, all monetary donations require some sort of verification to be tax deductible. This means more donors will need and request written acknowledgements/ receipts for donations made at chapter and/or Thrivent Builds activities. Therefore, it's very important for chapters to be aware of the guidelines and requirements for providing receipts for donations. Please carefully review the information that follows.

This section of CHIP includes information on the following topics about tax-deductible contributions:

• What qualifies as tax-deductible contributions?
• When should a written acknowledgement (receipt) be provided to the donor?
• Contributions where something of value is received in return.
• Contributions of $250 or more – special reporting and recordkeeping required.

What qualifies as tax-deductible contributions?

Important: The guidelines below are intended as general information only. Chapter leaders, Thrivent Builds chapter specialists and volunteers should never guarantee that contributions made by an individual will be tax deductible. Chapters should advise individuals with questions about the eligibility of their donation for a tax deduction to consult their tax preparer, accountant, attorney or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

• A contribution or gift made directly to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, Thrivent chapters and/or to Thrivent Builds can be deductible only if it:
  • Is made by an individual, and
  • It is used exclusively for one of the following purposes listed by the Internal Revenue Code:
    • Religious
    • Charitable
    • Scientific
    • Literary
    • Educational
    • Prevention of cruelty to children or animals
  
  
• Corporations (nonindividuals) cannot deduct contributions (cash or gifts) made to fraternal benefit societies/chapters, which are exempt from federal income tax under IRS Code Section 501(c)(8), for fund-raisers or other purposes.

  If a nonindividual wants a tax deduction, and the recipient is a not-for-profit organization that is exempt from federal income tax under IRS Code Section 501(c)(3), the donation can be made to the not-for-profit organization directly. [Differences between 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(8) organizations]

  Example: If the recipient of a chapter activity is the local YMCA, a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, the donor should make the check out directly to the recipient organization and not to the chapter. The chapter cannot report this donation as part of funds raised by the service team, and the funds cannot be supplemented with Care program funds.

  Remember, these are guidelines only—chapters should always remind donors to seek the advice of their tax preparer on whether a contribution is tax deductible.




• Contributions to individuals are not tax-deductible. Donors should not direct the chapter to use their charitable contribution to benefit a specific person or family.



• It is helpful for the donor to make it clear that a contribution to a chapter is intended to be used for tax-deductible purposes only. Therefore, a donor can restrict the use of a donation to a chapter by writing on the check memo line: “for charitable purposes only.”

When should a written acknowledgement (receipt) be provided to the donor?
To claim a deduction for a charitable contribution, the donors are ultimately responsible for ensuring they have proof of their donation. There also are situations when a written acknowledgement/receipt from the donee organization is required for the donor to claim a tax-deductible contribution.

An Acknowledgement of Donation Received form (PDF, 200K), along with guidelines and instructions for how and when to use it, is available for chapter leaders and service team members online at www.thrivent.com > Members/Chapters > Volunteer Resources > Forms. This form can be signed by any member of the service team on behalf of the chapter.

Here are guidelines and requirements for chapters and chapter service teams to follow when donations are issued to Thrivent chapters or to Thrivent Builds at chapter and Thrivent Builds activities:

• A Thrivent chapter or chapter service team should provide a written acknowledgement/receipt ONLY in cases where the donor issues the donations to the Thrivent chapter or to Thrivent Builds. See the “Important Note” after these guidelines for what to do with donations not issued to the chapter or Thrivent Builds.



• A written acknowledgement/receipt is required by law to be provided by the chapter to any donor who makes a payment to the chapter or Thrivent Builds in excess of $75 partly as a contribution and partly for goods and services they receive. See Contributions where something of value is received in return later in this section for complete details and examples about these types of donations.



• It is recommended that chapter service teams, Thrivent Builds chapter specialists and Thrivent Builds congregational champions:
  
  
  • Provide an Acknowledgement of Donation Received form for all donations of $25 or more at a chapter and/or Thrivent Builds activity. Although providing a receipt is not legally required in all circumstances, this is a best practice to ensure our donors have the documentation they need to take a deduction, should they choose to do so and should also reduce the likelihood of chapters being asked for this information months later.
  
  
  
  • Ask donors if they'd like an Acknowledgement of Donation Received for all donations of less than $25.
  
  

  Service teams should have Acknowledgement of Donation Received forms at the activity so they are prepared to provide the receipts. (Helpful tip: The Acknowledgement of Donation Received form has a fillable area where you can type the chapter name electronically before printing and photocopying. This will save time from entering the chapter name for every receipt written.)




• Suggested process: Chapter financial directors and Thrivent Builds chapter specialists are encouraged to make a copy of each check included in a deposit or keep a written record of all donors, date of donation and amount of donation. This will be helpful to verify a “request for receipt” from a donor if he/she asks for a receipt at a time after the donation was made.



• A written acknowledgement/receipt should be provided when a donor requests a receipt for a donation to the Thrivent chapter or Thrivent Builds.



• A written acknowledgement/receipt should be provided to any donor who makes a donation valued at $250 or more. See Contributions of $250 or more later in this section for complete details about these donations and recordkeeping that is required of the chapter for these donations.



• A written acknowledgement/receipt should be provided to any donor who donates an item of property to the Thrivent chapter or to Thrivent Builds (e.g., someone donates a gift basket or flat screen television for a silent auction). This receipt must include a reasonably detailed description of the donated item of property.



• Important Note:
  What to do with donations not issued to a Thrivent chapter or to Thrivent Builds
  If the donor issues a check to an organization or group that is co-hosting the activity with the Thrivent chapter service team, the receipt is issued by the recipient of the check (the co-hosting group or organization), unless the check recipient signs the check over to the chapter on behalf of the donor.

  Examples:

  • A donor, Jane, issues a check to the YMCA at an event co-hosted by ABC Chapter and the YMCA. The YMCA signs that check over to ABC Chapter because the remainder of the checks were issued to the chapter. The chapter deposits the check into the chapter checking account. The chapter is responsible for issuing a written acknowledgement/receipt to Jane.
  
  
  
  • A donor, Jim, issues a check to ABC Chapter as a donation to the fund-raiser being conducted. The service team should issue a written acknowledgement/receipt to Jim.
  
  
  
  • A donor, Barb, issues a check to Thrivent Builds for a build occurring in their area and the chapter deposits the check into the chapter’s Thrivent Builds account. The chapter should issue a written acknowledgement/receipt to Barb.
  
  
  
  • A donor, Brad, issues a check to the YMCA at a fund-raiser co-hosted by ABC Chapter and the YMCA. The YMCA deposits the check into its checking account. In this case, the YMCA is responsible for issuing the written acknowledgement/receipt to Brad.
  
  
  
  • An electrician donates all of the wiring needed to construct a Thrivent Builds home in the area. Any request for a receipt/written acknowledgement should be referred to the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, as they accept all donations of Gifts in Kind for Thrivent Builds.

Contributions where something of value is received in return
Special handling is required by the donor and by the chapter for contributions made at a Thrivent chapter or Thrivent Builds fund-raising activity where the donor (an individual) receives something of value in return.

• If the donor receives a benefit as a result of making a contribution, the donor can deduct only the amount of the contribution that is more than the value of the benefit provided by the chapter.



• If the donor receives goods or services in exchange for a single payment of more than $75 to the chapter, the chapter is legally required to provide a written disclosure to the donor:
  • If the contribution exceeds the fair market value of the goods or services received, and
  • When the donor's check is made payable to the chapter.

  This is a requirement of all charitable organizations, such as Thrivent Financial for Lutherans chapters.

  Reminder: If another organization is working with the chapter and the donor (an individual) writes the check to that organization, the chapter is not required to provide a receipt/written acknowledgement, unless the check is signed over to the chapter on behalf of the donor.

  Examples

  • At a silent auction hosted by a Thrivent chapter service team, Mark pays $80 for a radio. The radio has a fair market value of $55. In this situation, the chapter must provide an Acknowledgement of Donation Received form to Mark.
  • At a silent auction co-hosted by ABC Chapter and XYZ organization, Trudy makes out a $100 check payable to XYZ organization for an item with a fair market value of $50. In this case, the chapter does not need to provide a written acknowledgement/receipt because the check was made payable to XYZ organization.

Contributions of $250 or more – special reporting and recordkeeping required
To claim a deduction for a donation of $250 or more issued to the Thrivent chapter or Thrivent Builds, the donor is required to have a written acknowledgement/receipt from the chapter. Therefore, it’s important the chapter service team issues a receipt/written acknowledgement to donors making a contribution of $250 or more to the chapter or Thrivent Builds.

In addition, special reporting and recordkeeping is required of the chapter for these donations:

1. Information about each item or freewill offering valued at $250 or more, which is given by a donor who receives nothing of value in return, must be recorded on a Donation tracking form (PDF, 223K), which is available on www.thrivent.com > Members/Chapters > Volunteer Resources > Forms.
2. The service team must enter the required information for each donated item and return the completed form to the chapter leadership board/Thrivent Builds Chapter Specialist along with all receipts related to the activity.
3. The chapter then must report these donations when they enter the final reporting for the activity online. To record donations valued at $250 or more, the chapter needs to access the Record/Update Donations page in their Chapter Leadership Administration or For Thrivent Builds Leaders section online.

Additional Topics
Differences between 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(8) organizations

This is proprietary information that is solely for use by employees, volunteers, and agents of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans in connection with fraternal activities of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.