Robert L. Weiner, of Robert Weiner Consulting, recently posted an article titled, Year End Donation Processing, to help guide nonprofit organizations in the proper acknowledgment of year-end gifts. As Robert mentions in his article, it is the responsibility of the donor to preserve documentation of charitable gifts in the case of an audit, but it is the responsibility of the nonprofit to correctly acknowledge receipt of the gift to the donor.

As year end approaches, your donors may be requesting annual giving receipts. Even if you supply tax information on each thank you letter you send, some donors may want a year-end total when they are preparing their tax returns. Remember, providing a thank you is not the last step in your appeal process, it is the bridge to the next gift! Sending a year-end tax receipt is another way to reach out to your donors and thank them for their support of your organization. With LGL, it’s easy to produce a year-end tax letter. Just create a list of 2011 donors, save the list, and create a mailing. Use our sample letter as a template or create your own.