Has your unit ever received donated goods or services from an external donor (also known as in-kind contributions or gifts in kind)? If so, keep the following points in mind:
- In-kind contributions must be reported to the University of Illinois Foundation (UIF) on a timely basis (i.e., within the same accounting period and fiscal year that donated good or service was received) via an applicable Gift-in-Kind Transmittal form.
- However, if the in-kind contributions were simply pledged (and not yet received), then those pledges do not need to be reported on a transmittal form. Reporting to UIF should only take place once the in-kind contribution has been received.
- Finally, if you do not have an operational need for the donated good or service, it is allowable to sell it for fundraising purposes as a part of a charitable auction instead. If you choose to do that, keep the following in mind:
- As stated in last week’s tip about sales tax requirements, if the donated item was sold at a live, silent, or online auction, the sale is typically exempt from sales tax reporting.
- Once the sale is made, you will need to report the proceeds to the UIF on an applicable gift transmittal form.
- When you are completing the applicable transmittal form, you will need to denote the appropriate gift and non-gift values of the donated good or service that was sold. For example, if a donated item with a fair market value (FMV) of $100 is sold at a charitable auction for $500, then you would need to report $100 as a non-gift (as that represents the FMV of the donated item that was sold) and $400 as a gift on the applicable transmittal form.
Contact
For further details, contact the applicable subject matter experts listed in the Who to Ask list by searching on “Gift Funds”.
In addition, the administrative staff at UIF can also assist with questions on this topic. They can be reached by phone at (217) 333-0675 or email at giftadmin@uif.uillinois.edu
