Tax receipt

Why it matters

A receipt should carry your organization's legal name and EIN, the date and amount of the gift (or a description of non-cash property), and a statement of whether the donor received goods or services in return, with a good-faith estimate of their value if they did. The donor needs it by the time they file their return.

Many organizations receipt every gift and also send a year-end statement listing each donor's giving for the year, which saves donors from hunting for single receipts in April. Rules have exceptions, so check the details with your accountant.

How Steward shows it

In Settings, under Tax Receipts, you enter your legal name, EIN and receipt address and turn receipts on. For a gift entered by hand, "Send receipt" on the gift's row emails it. The receipt prints your organization's details, never Steward's.

Year-end giving statements run only when an admin starts them. A dry run shows how many donors and gifts were found and who has no email address before anything is sent.

Related terms

• Acknowledgment letter Acknowledgment letter is the name for the thank-you a nonprofit sends after a gift. It thanks the donor personally and, when it includes the required details, also serves as their written acknowledgment for tax purposes.
• Quid pro quo contribution Quid pro quo contribution means a payment to a nonprofit that is partly a gift and partly in exchange for goods or services, such as a gala ticket that includes dinner. Only the part above the value received is deductible.
• In-kind gift An in-kind gift is a donation of goods or services instead of money, such as food, equipment, auction items, office space or professional work given for free.