Setting Proper Expectations (Baseball Cards to RVs)

As we serve more and more donors who are donating their noncash treasure to support ministry, we take time to evaluate what the potential value of the donation is in the current market. Often the donor has an exaggerated idea of what something is worth. Baseball cards are the biggest culprit; rarely will we be able to get the amount from collectible baseball cards that the donor thinks we should. Retail sellers of baseball cards place a high markup on their cards but greatly reduce the amount that they will pay to buy those same cards.

Often with collectibles and jewelry, there is a strong emotional attachment. Many donors have a lot of passion for their collectibles and they bring back strong memories or they inherited the collection from a parent or close relative so the collection represents a memory. Because of the strong attachment to a donation, a donor will often want to control the amount a donation is sold for, but the IRS requires that when a donation is given, the donor no longer has any control of ownership.

In many of these cases, it is much better for the donor not to give the donation and wait until they are ready to give the donation with no strings attached.

Once I was helping a church with several noncash donations that were offered in their capital campaign. A late model RV was offered that was potentially worth $60,000 and the donor had been trying to sell the RV for several months. After I consulted with our contracted RV dealer in Kansas City, he said that the RV was only worth $46,000 in the Kansas City market; this was unacceptable for the donor and he chose to continue selling it himself. I wasn't able to help this church directly but because of having a Donor Advised Fund with Servant Christian Community Foundation, they were able to allow their donors to donate almost anything and otherwise they would have never offered the opportunity. You can learn more about Ministry Foundation (AKA Donor Advised Fund) by going to http://www.servantchristian.com/web/Churches_and_Ministries/churches_home_page.asp?b=17 .

Donor Advised Funds are the heart of how Servant Christian Community Foundation can and can greatly serve churches, ninistries and individuals by allowing donors to give many noncash items.