A donor using a Gift Card to make donation

Cheena DeAraujoDesir

Has any of your organizations allowed donors to make a donation with a gift card? If so, how do you tax receipt this? Is this a common occurence?

JoAnn Strommen

Common occurance, probably not. If you're talking about a gift card that is like a cash Visa you'd process it just like a credit card payment.  As long as your credit card processor can process it, you should be fine. I believe most are processed just like a credit card. As to receipting, I can't think of anything that would be different.  It's their cash, their check, their credit card, their gift card....

Denise Covington

JoAnn Strommen:

Common occurance, probably not. If you're talking about a gift card that is like a cash Visa you'd process it just like a credit card payment.  As long as your credit card processor can process it, you should be fine. I believe most are processed just like a credit card. As to receipting, I can't think of anything that would be different.  It's their cash, their check, their credit card, their gift card....

Interesting. I would have said to process it as a gift-in-kind.  I was thinking a gift card to Target or other store.  Typical in-kind contributions for silent auctions.

JoAnn Strommen

True, it could be either. I read it several times before guessing - "to make a" to me led to my response.  If it is "to donate a gift card" yes, I'd go the GIK route.

Cheena DeAraujoDesir

I apologize for the confusion. Believe or not, I tried writing so it didn't sound like they were donating a gift card, rather, using a gift card to make their donation.

Cheena DeAraujoDesir

JoAnn Strommen:

Common occurance, probably not. If you're talking about a gift card that is like a cash Visa you'd process it just like a credit card payment.  As long as your credit card processor can process it, you should be fine. I believe most are processed just like a credit card. As to receipting, I can't think of anything that would be different.  It's their cash, their check, their credit card, their gift card....

Thanks, I could not find any tax language surrounding this. And we had been doing it for years for a donor, but it just seemed weird.

Cheena DeAraujoDesir

Cheena DeAraujo-Desir:

JoAnn Strommen:

Common occurance, probably not. If you're talking about a gift card that is like a cash Visa you'd process it just like a credit card payment.  As long as your credit card processor can process it, you should be fine. I believe most are processed just like a credit card. As to receipting, I can't think of anything that would be different.  It's their cash, their check, their credit card, their gift card....

Thanks, I could not find any tax language surrounding this. And we had been doing it for years for a donor, but it just seemed weird.

 

Also, the gift card was purchased at our Pro Shop.