Entering Property gifts in RE (actual land)

Based on Bill Connors' book "Fundraising with THe Raiser's Edge":

• Stock/Property are gifts you don't want to keep but instead plan to sell and use the proceeds.  Can refer to real estate, artwork, jewelry etc. 
• Gift-in-Kind is gift of something other than money that you plan to keep and use.  Can refer to equipment, furniture, supplies, gift certificates, etc.

We try to use this as our guideline.  So, do you plan to sell or keep the property?

 

I agree with the assessment that if you are selling the land, you really need to enter it as Stock/Property.  If need be, you can add a gift sub type or a gift attribute of "Not Stock" if that would help you with the reporting process (should you need to leave this out or pull it separately).  My main reason for this recommendation is the fact that with Stock/Property, you can record the value at the time of the donation as well as the sale information (sale date, sale amount and any associated fees).  



Also, having just done this with an organization, I strongly encourage you to research the IRS regulations for land donations.  there are very specific wording requirements for the acknowledgments and, depending upon the value of the land, you may have to fill out paperwork (we had to get a form signed by the donor).   The IRS puts all of this information on their webpage, so finding it isn't difficult.

Agree with Christine.  The advantages of being able to track the value of the gift when it was donated (the amount the donor can receive credit for) vs the amount it actually sold for (if you were planning on selling) is invaluable.



Using the gift subtype to distinguish Stock from Property is also a nice feature.  I do believe gift subtypes will import into Financial Edge (sorry if you're not using FE), too.  Our gift subtypes are simple for this purpose - Stock or Property - to clarify in reports and on the gift.