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The practice supports donor trust and transparency in line with the Donor Bill of Rights, addressing donors’ expectations for appropriate recognition and assurance regarding restricted use. It outlines best practices for designing an acknowledgment program, including policies, processes, timing, signatories, salutations, customization, honorific and memorial gifts, and additional ways to express gratitude.",{"@graph":63,"@context":118},[64,80,101],{"@type":65,"itemListElement":66},"BreadcrumbList",[67,71,74,77],{"item":68,"name":69,"@type":70,"position":9},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":72,"name":10,"@type":70,"position":73},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/",2,{"item":75,"name":41,"@type":70,"position":76},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/letters/",3,{"item":78,"name":59,"@type":70,"position":79},"https://docshare.wps.com/template/best-practice-in-gift-acknowledgment-original-date-june-2011-revised-april-2017/280290/",4,{"url":78,"name":59,"@type":81,"image":82,"author":87,"headline":59,"publisher":90,"fileFormat":93,"inLanguage":57,"description":61,"dateModified":94,"datePublished":95,"encodingFormat":93,"isAccessibleForFree":96,"interactionStatistic":97},"DigitalDocument",{"url":83,"@type":84,"width":85,"height":86},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/best-practice-in-gift-acknowledgment-original-date-june-2011-revised-april-2017/280290.png","ImageObject",442,249,{"name":88,"@type":89},"Aria Callaghan","Person",{"url":68,"name":91,"@type":92},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-18","2026-09-16",true,{"@type":98,"interactionType":99,"userInteractionCount":8},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":100},"ViewAction",{"@type":102,"mainEntity":103},"FAQPage",[104,110,114],{"name":105,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":107},"What is the purpose of gift acknowledgments in donor relations and stewardship?","Question",{"text":108,"@type":109},"Gift acknowledgments demonstrate that generosity is appreciated and help set the stage for ongoing strategic communication that deepens connection to the organization.","Answer",{"name":111,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":112},"How should organizations differentiate tax receipts from acknowledgments?",{"text":113,"@type":109},"Tax receipts provide documentation for charitable donations to comply with IRS regulations, while acknowledgments express gratitude separately and should avoid IRS compliance wording unless structured appropriately.",{"name":115,"@type":106,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What factors should guide the design of an acknowledgment program?",{"text":117,"@type":109},"The document emphasizes establishing policies and processes, selecting proper signatories and salutations, setting appropriate timing, customizing messages to donors and gifts, and handling memorial/honorific acknowledgments consistently.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":78,"og:type":120,"og:title":59,"og:site_name":91,"og:description":61},"article",{"robots":122,"canonical":78},"index,follow",{"doc_id":124,"site_id":56},280290,1789536265,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":127},{"doc_id":124,"user_id":128,"nickname":88,"user_avatar":129,"doc_module":9,"category_id":40,"category_name":41,"doc_title":59,"doc_description":61,"doc_content":130,"file_id":131,"file_url":132,"file_type":133,"file_size":134,"view_count":8,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":9,"is_downloadable":9,"audit_status":9,"page_count":15,"language":135,"language_code":57,"site_id":56,"html_lang":57,"table_of_contents":136,"faqs":137,"seo_title":138,"seo_description":61,"update_tm":125,"read_time":79},962084926284,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Best Practice in Gift Acknowledgment  \nOriginal Date: June 2011  \nRevision Date: April 2017  \nOriginally Prepared By: Julie Bostian, Gilian Brannan, Kirsten Rasmussen,  \nDaniel Wilcock  \nRevised By: Kristen Batten, Nora Blessner  \nCategory: Donor Relations & Stewardship  \nComments To:  [bestpractices@advserv.org](bestpractices@advserv.org) (please include the Name of  \nPractice, above, in the subject line)  \nDescription of Practice:  \nTimely, accurate and meaningful acknowledgments are essential to donor satisfaction and retention. They demonstrate that a donor’s generosity is appreciated and that his or her gift will advance the mission of your organization. Good acknowledgments set the stage for ongoing strategic communication about a donor’s gift that will deepen his/her connection with your organization.  \nAcknowledgments create trust and transparency for our donors. The Donor Bill of Rights notes the right of donors to receive appropriate acknowledgment recognition (\\#5), and to be assured that their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given (\\#4) .  \nFollowing is a summary of best practices, recommendations and considerations to inform the creation of an acknowledgment program.  \nProspective Users of Practice:  \n• Donor relations and stewardship professionals  \n• Advancement services professionals  \n• Organizational volunteers  \n• Fundraisers  \n• Development leadership  \nIssues Addressed:  \n• Tax Receipts vs. Acknowledgments: Defining tax receipts and acknowledgments and the role of each piece of correspondence.  \n• Acknowledgment Policies: Definition and role of an acknowledgment policy.  \n• Acknowledgment Processes: Rationale for designing an appropriate and wellfunctioning process to produce acknowledgments.  \n• Acknowledgment Timing: The appropriate duration of time between when a gift is received and acknowledged.  \n• Acknowledgment Signatories: Determining the appropriate signatory for acknowledgments.  \n• Acknowledgment Salutations: Systematizing use of salutations that are appropriate for letter signatories.  \n• Customizing Acknowledgments: Creating meaningful acknowledgments by customizing them to the donor and the gift.  \n• Memorial and Honorific Gifts: Creating (1) acknowledgments to donors who have made honorary or memorial gifts, and (2) notification of contributions received to those who are being honored and the family members or friends of those being memorialized.  \n• Additional Ways to Say “Thank You”: Supplementing letters by delivering the“thank you” message through different mediums and venues.  \nDesired Outcome:  \nDonor relations and stewardship professionals understand the best practices related to designing and implementing a system to provide donors with timely and meaningful“thank yous” or acknowledgments.  \nProcess:  \nIssue One: Tax Receipts vs. Acknowledgments  \nIssue Addressed: Defining tax receipts and acknowledgments and the role of each piece of correspondence.  \nRecommendations: Organizations must comply with IRS regulations for providing donors with documentation of receipt of their charitable donations (tax receipts) . It is also a best practice to send a separate thank you letter(s) (acknowledgment) to donors to express the organization’s gratitude.  \nRecommendation details:  \n1. Consult IRS publication 1771, Charitable Contributions and Disclosure Requirements, ( [http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf](http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf)), for details on current legal requirements that your organization must fulfill in providing tax receipts for donations.  \n2. Due to the importance of IRS requirements both for the donor and the nonprofit organization, all gifts should be processed by a central office or team that is also responsible for issuing tax receipts. Centralized production will ensure standardized receipts that comply with legal requirements as well as full accountability for providing them.  \n3. Donor relations/stewardship professionals should be","cbCaifZ5aiLwDI0X","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaifZ5aiLwDI0X","pdf",220164,"English","# Best Practice in Gift Acknowledgment\n## Tax Receipts vs. Acknowledgments\n## Acknowledgment Policies\n## Acknowledgment Processes\n## Acknowledgment Timing\n## Acknowledgment Signatories\n## Acknowledgment Salutations\n## Customizing Acknowledgments\n## Memorial and Honorific Gifts\n## Additional Ways to Say \"Thank You\"","[{\"question\":\"What is the purpose of gift acknowledgments in donor relations and stewardship?\",\"answer\":\"Gift acknowledgments demonstrate that generosity is appreciated and help set the stage for ongoing strategic communication that deepens connection to the organization.\"},{\"question\":\"How should organizations differentiate tax receipts from acknowledgments?\",\"answer\":\"Tax receipts provide documentation for charitable donations to comply with IRS regulations, while acknowledgments express gratitude separately and should avoid IRS compliance wording unless structured appropriately.\"},{\"question\":\"What factors should guide the design of an acknowledgment program?\",\"answer\":\"The document emphasizes establishing policies and processes, selecting proper signatories and salutations, setting appropriate timing, customizing messages to donors and gifts, and handling memorial/honorific acknowledgments consistently.\"}]","Best Practice in Gift Acknowledgment - Original Date June 2011 - Revised April 2017 | PDF"]