Joint Costs - SOP 98-2

Per the workshops at CAN's annual conference, here is the link to the info on joint costs. What are joint costs you ask? When you send out something that is both educational AND a solicitation for funds you run the risk of having the total cost of the activity listed as fundraising and not program unless you meet certain criteria. The above article will help guide you through the process. The link is also here: http://www.aicpa.org/PUBS/JOFA/aug98/capin.htm

Alan

Proposed New FASB Regs

Nonprofit mergers are increasing and the Financial Accounting Standards Board is proposing new regulations on how they may be handled in the future. If interested there is still time to comment on them.

Volunteer Executive Director

Question from a recent Boot Camp attendee:
For a volunteer Executive Director, can the value of the salary they could be earning be included as in-kind professional service?

And the answer is: Not according to GAAP and IRS rules, it does not meet the characteristics of a donated professional service. BUT you could list this time on a proposal or funding request as an in-kind service, something to show them the value of the organization. It just is not an official contribution to the organization.

Donation Transactions

There were some questions at the latest boot camp on the specific journal entries for donations to be auctioned off or re-sold. From the great PPC Guides, I recommend them to any nonprofit finance professional, an excerpt:

"Organizations may receive contributions of gifts-in-kind to be used for fund-raising purposes. A common example is where an organization receives tickets, gift certificates, or merchandise from donors to be sold to others during an auction. An organization should recognize the donated item to be used for fund-raising purposes as a contribution and record it at its estimated fair value. When the item is subsequently sold (such as at auction), any difference between the item'’s initially estimated fair value and the amount ultimately received should be recognized as an adjustment to the original contribution amount.

For all practical purposes, the initial estimation may not be that important - the eventual contribution amount that is recognized will be what someone was willing to pay for the donated item. Organizations should use their best estimates when initially valuing the donated items and adjust the amounts later when the actual auction takes place. As a practical matter, the time period between the donation of items for an auction and the actual auction may be short. Accordingly, some organizations may wait to record the items until they are actually sold. That would not be appropriate, however, if the items were received before year-end and the auction was held after year-end.

Example: An organization is given a piece of jewelry valued at $3,000 to be auctioned off to the highest bidder at the organization's annual fund-raiser. The journal entry to record the initial gift-in-kind contribution is as follows:
Debit - Asset $ 3,000
Credit - Contribution revenue $ 3,000

At the fund-raiser, an individual purchases the jewelry for $5,000. The journal entry to adjust for the sale is as follows:
Debit - Cash $ 5,000
Credit - Asset $ 3,000
Credit - Contribution revenue $2,000

If the jewelry sold at auction for only $1,000, the journal entry to record the sale would then be as follows:
Debit - Cash $ 1,000
Debit - Contribution revenue $2,000
Credit - Asset $ 3,000"

Hope that helps! And you should check out PPC's guide to Expenses as well.

Multi State Solicitation Rules

Thaks to Shannon at Public Law Center for the information and link to filing for charitable solicitation in multiple states. Unified Registration Statement Kit