Tax Deductibility for Donations

How It Works

Soliciting tax-deductible donations is the basis of every successful fundraising campaign. However, not all contributions are fully tax-deductible. The following is offered only as general information with respect to some of the most common issues and should not be relied upon, particularly because there may be exceptions, conditions, and restrictions not addressed here.

For tax advice, you should confer with a tax lawyer or an accountant. Additionally, you should never provide tax or legal advice to donors or potential donors – they should contact their own tax professionals for advice. If you’d like to familiarize yourself with the IRS’s policies surrounding deductibility you can review the IRS guide to Charitable Contributions here.

Tax Deductibility Grid

Fractured Atlas can accept and process donations made by check, debit/credit card, or noncash (in-kind) donations of physical tangible items contributed to your project.

You're welcome to accept cash donations, but these will need to be paid to you and/or your project directly. We cannot issue tax receipts for donations made by cash or money order.

Fractured Atlas uses the following IRS guidelines to determine whether or not we can issue a tax receipt.

• Fully Deductible
  • When a donor gives money to a charity and receives nothing in exchange for the gift, that donation is fully tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
• Partially Deductible
  • When a donor gives money to a charity and receives goods or services in exchange (i.e. free tickets, a reception, a DVD, a t-shirt), s/he is only entitled to a tax deduction for the amount donated above the value of the goods and services offered. In these cases, it is generally the recipient organization's responsibility to estimate the value of the items offered.
• Sometimes Deductible
  • When a donor gives tangible goods, the donation is tax-deductible based on the donor's estimate of the item's value. Office supplies, food, equipment, etc. are included in this category. NOTE: Fractured Atlas cannot accept or process vehicle donations (although a car does qualify as a tangible item).
• Never Deductible
  • When a donor gives pro-bono services (like fundraising, legal advice or graphic design) the donation is not considered tax-deductible according to the IRS. Free rent is also not considered tax deductible by the IRS, so donations of space are also not considered tax-deductible.
  • This includes just about any donation that isn’t cash, publicly-traded securities, or physical property with an objectively quantifiable value. Rent of any kind is considered the use of an asset, so this is not a deductible gift. Free legal, accouting, graphic design, web design or printing services are also not deductible under the law. All of these things may be unquestionably charitable, but the IRS nonetheless does not allow the donor to claim a charitable deduction on his or her tax return.
  • Here’s the good news: if someone wants to donate services to you, they can donate them directly to you without involving Fractured Atlas or going through your sponsored fund (thus saving you the admin fee). Fractured Atlas will not process any donations of services or the use of assets by a project.