Fundraising Rules and Regulations

Background

• Some organizations, to whom contributions are deductible, erroneously inform donors that their entire contribution is deductible, when a portion of the contribution is often not deductible.
• Organizations conducting fund-raising activities are required to comply with specific fund-raising disclosure requirements.

Nondeductible Contribution Safe Harbor Formats

In the case of a solicitation by mail, leaflet, or advertisement in a newspaper, magazine, or other print medium, (including web pages) the following four requirements must be met:

1. The solicitation includes whichever of the following statements the organization deems appropriate: "Contributions or gifts to [name of organization] are not deductible as charitable contributions for Federal income tax purposes," "Contributions or gifts to [name of organization] are not tax deductible," or "Contributions or gifts to [name of organization] are not tax deductible as charitable contributions;"
2. The statement is in at least the same size type as the primary message stated in the body of the letter, leaflet, or ad;
3. The statement is included on the message side of any card or tear off section that the contributor returns with the contribution; and
4. The statement is either the first sentence in a paragraph or itself constitutes a paragraph.

References

• IRS - Exempt Organizations Examination Guidelines - Fund-raising Activities