Be Kind to In-Kind - Or it won't be kind to you

Leslie Wilson and Troy Lindsey of BKD presented some hard truths about accounting for In-Kind goods and services on Tuesday, May 27, 2008. Some basic take-away points:

• Record contributed goods and services at fair market value. The general rule of thumb for determining fair market value is to ask what the npo would pay upon purchasing the goods or services. However, FAS 157 will change that determination to this: what would the npo receive upon selling the contributed item?
  
• Record in-kind services (also known as Contributed Services) only if they create or enhance a nonfinancial asset
  or
  The services would typically need to be purchased by the organization if not contributed AND the services are provided by individuals with specialized skills
  
• In-Kind goods and services should be acknowledged with a written letter stating the donor's name, the date and location of the donation, and a description of the item received along with a statement that no goods or services were provided by the npo in exchange for the contribution, or a description and good faith estimate of the value of the goods or services that the npo provided in return for the contribution. Send the acknowledgement no later than January 31 of the calendar year following the donation.
  
• The fair market value of a donated auction item should be stated in the acknowledgement letter to the donor who purchased the item at the auction.
  
• The IRS 990 requires special event revenue to be divided up between the FMV of items donated to the event, revenue that was raised to support the event, and revenue that was contributed in exchange for value received in the form of food, beverages, entertainment, advertising, or auction/raffle/drawing items.