charitable donations

Hi ! I am a voluteer with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of NJ. CF is a chronic disease which impacts the lungs and digestive systems of the children and young adults who have the disease. Every fall we hold a gala event to raise funds for CF research. We are always in need of auction items such as a condominium stay for a week.I was curious to know if there are any condominiums you manage or if an appeal could be made to your timeshare rental owners of anyone who would be willing to donate their unit. Of course all donations would be fully tax deductible. We are a humble group and would thankfully accept any help you could provide.

Thank you in advance for your consideration of my request.

Best regards, Cindy Berardi Mom of son Michael 18 yrs old with CF

Hopefully you will get a response but generally (and you should consult with a tax export) donations of a one time use at a timeshare or any other property is non tax deductible. See example 2 below.

This is from IRS pub 526 "Partial Interest in Property

Generally, you cannot deduct a charitable contribution of less than your entire interest in property. Right to use property. A contribution of the right to use property is a contribution of less than your entire interest in that property and is not deductible.

Example 1. You own a 10­ story office building and donate rent ­free use of the top floor to a charitable organization. Because you still own the building, you have contributed a partial interest in the property and cannot take a deduction for the contribution.

Example 2. Mandy White owns a vacation home at the beach that she sometimes rents to others. For a fund­raising auction at her church, she donated the right to use the vacation home for 1 week. At the auction, the church received and accepted a bid from Lauren Green equal to the fair rental value of the home for 1 week. Mandy cannot claim a deduction because of the partial interest rule. Lauren cannot claim a de­ duction either, because she received a benefit equal to the amount of her payment. See Con­ tributions From Which You Benefit, earlier."

Thanks for the information. I am having the legal staff check on this. I guess the fact that we are a registered 501-3-C makes no difference? If that is true what a shame. :(

Again thanks for your input.

Cindy

Bloomberg is publishing an investigative report into the activities of a telemarketing business InfoCision that does fund drives for several national non-profit organizations. The company was found to be keeping a huge share of non-profit contributions solicited by InfoCision on behalf of charities such as the March of Dimes and the American Cancer Society.