My Nonprofit Reviews

I have both volunteered for and been on the Board of Directors of the FCCO. The young volunteer that complained about Board members bidding up the price of auction items clearly doesn't't understand how the IRS works or how MOST not-for-profit organizations raise money. In some cases items are donated and have a "bottom" price and the item will be withdrawn if that price is not exceeded. Notwithstanding that, all items must be "valued" by the organization for IRS purposes to ensure that "insiders" don't get an item(s) at at an unrealistically low price. This prevents abuse. So if the $1,000 picture that the volunteer mentioned is sold for less than $1,000 the IRS still values the item at $1,000 and taxes must be paid on the difference. So most of us that go to these events are happy to bid UP the price of an item to: 1) get a higher tax deduction, and 2) to avoid having to pay taxes on an item that has been sold at less than market value. So if an item is sold at less than the market value the buyer is taxed at their tax rate for the difference and I can tell you I'd rather give my money to the FCCO than the IRS. I hope this clears up the "misinformed" volunteer on how these auctions really work - a life lesson here I hope.