Galvin’s Favorite Functions for Nonprofits: Automating Year-End Tax Receipt Creation

What does your organization spend more time on when it comes to fundraising: asking or thanking? 

You probably answered “asking.” After all, the main reason people do not give is because they weren’t asked. However, the number one reason people do not give again is because they were not properly thanked. 

Acknowledging gifts and issuing tax receipts may feel like one of the more mundane activities of a nonprofit. However, it is also one of the most important. Research shows that acknowledgment practices—or lack thereof—can significantly impact donor retention. A large percentage of donors, especially those giving for the first time, will not donate again if they feel unappreciated or don’t receive a timely acknowledgment.  

What Are Gift Acknowledgments and Tax Receipts? 

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires that organizations provide tax receipts for single donations of $250 or above. However, most nonprofits consider issuing gift acknowledgments best practice for all donations of any size. As for timing, tax receipts are due by January 31 of the following year, while nonprofit experts recommend acknowledgments go out within 48 hours of receiving a donation. 

No doubt, it is a lot of work. In fact, it often requires organizations with limited resources to add additional staff for data entry and documentation. 

Salesforce makes it much simpler with gift acknowledgments and tax receipts. Now nonprofits can thank donors, comply with tax laws, and foster ongoing relationships by sending timely, accurate, and personalized gift receipts at any time of the year without the extra effort. 

Let’s dive into what you need and how organizations can put them to work.

What do you need? 

To leverage the power of Salesforce for automating year-end tax receipts, you only need 3 simple things to get started:

• A Salesforce org that utilizes Nonprofit Cloud (NPC) or Nonprofit Success Pack (NPSP)
• A data structure that includes donation tracking
• A document generation solution

How Do Tax Receipts Work?

With the tax receipt deadline just around the corner, let’s discuss how Galvin can help you leverage Salesforce for tax receipts. For organizations that are not using document generation in Salesforce, this exercise typically involves pulling all donations for the tax year into a spreadsheet, creating an itemized list, putting the information into a document using a mail merge, and then emailing or physically mailing donors. The process can take days, if not weeks, and bring the organization’s work to a screeching halt. 

Here are the general steps to activate a receipting process: 

1. Pick a document generation tool & install and activate it. There are several options on the Salesforce AppExchange, as well as a native doc gen option available with some Salesforce licenses. The report data feeds the tool, which aggregates the information and puts it into the branded template.
2. Create the tax receipt email and/or letter template inside Salesforce using the correct messaging and branding. Merge tags will allow you to customize and personalize the receipt for each donor using data that already exists in your CRM.
3. Build a customized report depending on the doc gen tool. This might be a Salesforce report, a list view, or a customized report within an integrated app that pulls together the payment information for all donations within the tax year (this can be tailored to calendar and fiscal year as well).
4. Organizations can then distribute the tax receipts via physical mail or branded email attachments.

Salesforce tax receipts offer speed and flexibility. Send one email or send hundreds. Best of all, the tax receipt includes your branding, messaging, and accurate donor data that saves time and builds engagement all while meeting the deadline of January 31st.

Why is Automating Year-End Tax Receipts a Galvin Favorite Function? 

Here’s the top three reasons why we recommend using Salesforce for automating year-end tax receipts and acknowledgments: 

• They save time and effort. Time is critical in donor relations, especially when thanking donors properly. By leveraging Salesforce, nonprofits can send personalized, timely acknowledgments and receipts in just a few clicks—far faster and easier than time-intensive, manual processes. Plus, with the help of Galvin, the acknowledgement and receipting functionality they can be ready to go in less than a week. 
• They are flexible. Whether sending one acknowledgment at a time or doing a big batch, the functionality allows for both process standardization and communication customization. Teams can tailor messaging easily by building templates, while instituting a process that ensures no donation falls through the cracks. As a result, the organization can boost donor relationships and ensure everyone feels valued.
• They boost efficiency. Acknowledgments and receipting reduce the need for extra staffing and manual data entry, making the process of recognizing donations smoother and more affordable. By automating these administrative tasks, nonprofits can redirect resources to other mission-critical areas, maximizing both impact and budget.

Show Your Gratitude with Galvin

Gift acknowledgments and tax receipts are important features that a nonprofit organization can leverage within Salesforce to transform donor relations. By partnering with Galvin, you’ll bring efficiency and ease to these essential functions, allowing your team to focus on what matters most—making an impact. Say goodbye to extra steps, missed acknowledgments, and preventable donor churn. Learn how Galvin can help your organization say “thank you” in a whole new way. Want to discuss your specific situation in further detail? Contact us below and we would be happy to talk further!

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We’d love to work with you on your Salesforce needs. Our team of certified Consultants can work closely with your team to close more deals. Call us at 317-297-2910 or complete the form below.