One thing we’ve learned, it’s that people like helping other people. Businesses stepped up for Americans who were strapped by the COVID-19 recession .

GALESBURG, ILLINOIS, UNITED STATES, February 23, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- If it’s one thing we’ve learned during the past year, it’s that people like helping other people. Individuals and businesses stepped up with meals, clothing and more for their fellow Americans who were strapped by the COVID-19 recession.

And now, we are hopeful we will begin to glimpse the light at the end of the COVID tunnel. Schools open and summer programs like camps will likely operate with hygiene and distancing protocols in place.

Recovery will not be swift or secure for many. Many nonprofits, such as schools, churches and those serving the poor, saw donations dry up during the recession. As good corporate citizens, you want to help, but your own company may be in recovery mode.

Rather than taking out your checkbook, you can help your community – and yourself – by giving excess or unwanted inventory as in-kind donations.

In the current business climate, knowing how much of your inventory is “excess” is complicated. You don’t want empty shelves when your customers come calling. But we are headed into spring and summer, and you may have past season items in your inventory that you would like to stop carrying.

How to Give In-Kind

Most nonprofits welcome in-kind donations. But it can be complicated. A well-run nonprofit will have a gift acceptance policy that specifies what sorts of items it will accept, what the intended use of those items is, and how they will be valued.

Then, of course, you have to identify the nonprofits you believe will benefit from your unwanted or excess inventory. Where are they located? How will you deliver it? The logistics can be daunting, and you don’t want to spend a lot of your company’s resources on them.

Instead, consider giving your items to a gifts-in-kind organization. These are 501(c)(3) nonprofits that collect corporate product donations and then distribute them to qualified nonprofits, usually for a small handling fee. There a number of such organizations, including NAEIR.org.

Be sure that the gifts-in-kind organization you choose is a registered 501(c)(3) with a clean Better Business Bureau record and Form 990 filings as required by the IRS.

A gifts-in-kind organization should make it easy for you. You should expect that it will accept 100% your overstocked sporting items, whether it’s a truckload or a few cartons, at any time of the year. Of course, you should also expect your gifts-in-kind organization to give you a full accounting of your donations.

Giving In-Kind is a Win-Win

In-kind donations not only benefit nonprofits; they also can help the bottom line.

Section 170(e)(3) if the Internal Revenue Code states that when C Corps donate their inventory to qualified nonprofits, they don’t just receive a tax deduction: they can receive a tax deduction equal to up to twice the cost of the donated products.

Under the tax code, deductions are equal to the cost of the inventory donated, plus half the difference between the cost and fair market-selling price, not to exceed twice the cost.

For example, if your product costs $10 and you sell it in store for $30, the difference is $20. Half of $20 is $10. So, $10 (product cost) plus $10 (half the difference) equals a $20 deduction. As $20 does not exceed twice the product cost, it is an allowable deduction. It’s that simple.

Recovery Is Coming, But…
Some data points to a recovering U.S. economy. That would indeed be a marvelous turnaround.
Your industry may still be struggling, or it may be poised for a big rebound. Either way, keep in mind those nonprofits that are helping our fellow citizens get back on solid footing. If you have products that could help someone else, consider in-kind donations – and make it easy on yourself by working with a gifts-in-kind organization.

Gary C. Smith is President and CEO of NAEIR, National Association for the Exchange of Industrial Resources, the largest gifts-in-kind organization in the U.S. Galesburg, Ill.-based NAEIR (www.naeir.org) has received donations of excess inventory from more than 8,000 U.S. corporations and redistributed more than $3 billion in products to non-profits and schools. Gary can be reached at 800-562-0955.

Joanne Levine
Lekas & Levine PR
joannepr@aol.com
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