A contribution statement does two jobs. It tells a giver what your records show, and it is the document they need in order to substantiate a gift. The second job is the reason the wording matters: the IRS sets out what an acknowledgment has to say, and a statement missing that language can leave a giver without the substantiation they expected.
What every statement shows
- The church's name
- The giver's name as your records hold it
- The date and amount of each cash gift, or a total with the detail attached
- For a non-cash gift, a description of the item — not a value
- The calendar year covered, and the date the statement was prepared
The sentence that has to be there
For any single gift of $250 or more, IRS Publication 1771 describes a written acknowledgment that states whether the church provided any goods or services in exchange. When nothing was provided, the statement says so — most churches print a line such as "No goods or services were provided in exchange for these contributions other than intangible religious benefits." Getting that line onto every statement is simpler than deciding, gift by gift, which ones crossed $250.
When the giver received something
If a giver paid more than the value of what they received — a fundraising dinner, a banquet ticket, a retreat at a subsidized price — that is a quid pro quo contribution, and the acknowledgment describes what was provided and gives a good-faith estimate of its value. This is worth setting up before the event rather than in January, because the value estimate is much easier to support while the invoices are in front of you.
Timing
Gifts belong to the year the church received them. A check mailed on December 30 and received January 3 is generally a gift of the earlier year based on the postmark; a card gift is dated when it is processed. Deposit dates are not the test, which is one more reason for the count sheet to record the date received. Statements should reach givers in January, before people start filing.
What to leave off
- A value for non-cash gifts. Describe the donated laptop or the truck; valuing it is the giver's responsibility, with an appraisal where one is required.
- Volunteer time. Hours donated are not deductible contributions, however valuable they are.
- Gifts designated to a specific individual. Money passed through the church to a named person raises questions your church's tax adviser should answer before any statement treats it as a contribution.
- Advice. A statement reports what the church received. What a giver may deduct is between the giver and their own tax preparer.
Reconcile before you send
The total of all statements should agree with contribution income in the general ledger for the year, and the difference — if there is one — should be explainable in a sentence: a non-cash gift recorded differently, a fee recorded gross, a correction made in January. Sending statements that do not tie to the books produces a season of individual questions nobody has time for.
Practical review order: reconcile the bank for December, confirm every deposit is coded by fund, run the giving detail by giver, compare the total to contribution income, then generate statements. See counting and depositing offerings for the upstream half of this.
