In a message dated 02-03-28 12:02:50 EST, Valerie Schafer wrote:

<< We have a membership system where the standard annual membership is
$10-15, but when someone contributes, say, $100, should we be giving them a
receipt? Does any of that $100 constitute a donation? >>

I guess I don't understand your question.  If the standard membership fee is
$10-$15, obviously anything above that is a gift--especially if no added
benefits accrue when someone contributes more than the membership fee.  If
membership entitles the member to publications, admission, and discounts,
especially a fee at this comparatively low level, it normally would not be
tax-deductible.  And if $10-$15 entitles the member to these benefits,
clearly they are NOT worth $100.  Even if the enthusiastic $100 member thinks
the goodies really ARE worth $100, it seems to me that your institution, by
stating a lower standard fee, has implied that they're not worth
substantially more.

It would be normal procedure to thank people for joining and becoming
members.  If you supply a membership card to identify members, it's very
easy, extremely highly recommended, and certainly good business practice to
supply a receipt at the same time--and say "thanks" for their membership
support.  (I'm admittedly big on receipts: when I buy a newspaper at a 7/11,
I expect a cash register receipt--I love the embarrassed look I get when the
cashier has started to crumple it up as I ask for it--what do they think it's
for?  --but that's another story.)

Any donor should receive thanks on paper, either with a receipt that includes
the words "thank you" or in a letter on official stationery (keep a
boilerplate acknowledgment on your computer and just insert the amount, no
big deal).  If the donation is included in the same check with the membership
fee, thank them for the difference:  "...and for your additional gift of X
dollars..."  If you provide an acknowledgment in the form of a receipt rather
than a letter, make sure there's space for something like the above phrase on
your receipt form.  Beyond membership fees, any donation to a charitable
trust deserves thanks.  I don't know how anyone could think otherwise.

David Haberstich

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