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Record volunteer services on Form 990?

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Record volunteer services on Form 990?

Our 501(c)(3) charitable organization received $6,000 of in-kind items, such as printing service, theatrical production service, advertisements. Where do we show the value of these items on Form 990 under Part I (Revenue) or elsewhere in the form? 

You probably can’t show these gifts separately on the front page of the Form in Part I. The value of contributed services is not includable as revenue or support. To the extent that a printer might have contributed the paper on which the printing was done, you could include the value of the paper as a noncash gift on line 1g of the Statement of Revenue in Part VIII of the Form. But the value of services, like all volunteer services, cannot be counted. 
 
There was a spot on the “old” Form 990, which was to be used for fiscal years beginning before 2008, on which you could have estimated the value of these in-kind services. Under the “new” Form 990, generally for use now for fiscal years beginning in 2008, the IRS asks for an estimate of the number of individuals who volunteer to assist the organization in Question 6 on the very first page of the Form. There is no specific space on which to estimate the value of the volunteer services or free use of facilities, however. (If the services or facilities are given by a governmental agency, they may still be counted toward public support in Schedule A, but the value of private services or facilities do not qualify for that calculation.) An organization may want to include an estimate of value if it is significant on the new Schedule O in connection with a description of a significant program.
Thursday, January 12, 2012

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