Planning Center Giving, our church donation software, has made it possible to accept monetary donations online and in person through cash, checks, credit or debit cards, Apple Pay, and bank transfers.
To improve your donation management experience, we’re excited to release our newest feature: a way to track in-kind donations!
This much-requested feature allows you to easily record, track, and acknowledge non-cash gifts from your donors.
What Are In-Kind Donations?
In-kind donations are donations of goods, services, or other non-cash assets instead of money. These include things like furniture, artwork, vehicles, construction or labor services, and stocks.
There hasn’t been an easy way to track these types of gifts in Giving, but we’re changing all of that.
How to Track In-Kind Donations
Don’t fret—tracking in-kind donations is super simple!
When you go to enter a new donation on someone’s profile, you’ll see two tabs: one for monetary donations and one for in-kind donations. Just select the “In-Kind Donations” tab.
There, you can enter all the important details of the item or service that was donated, like a description of the gift. You also have the option to include the gift’s valuation amount and whether any goods or services were exchanged for it, which is important for tax receipts.
Speaking of receipts, you can also send donor acknowledgment letters! After entering the donation details, you'll have the option to instantly email the donor a customized acknowledgment letter to use as a thank you note or receipt for their tax purposes.
How to View In-Kind Donations
Want to see all your in-kind donations at a glance?
Admins can view a summary of all the in-kind donations received in a new report on the "Reports" tab.
Donors can see their entire giving history—both monetary and in-kind gifts—right in their Church Center account, whether on the web or on mobile. Their annual giving statements will also reflect any in-kind donations they’ve made so they can have a comprehensive view of their generosity.
We’re so excited to introduce this new feature and for all the ways in-kind donations can open up even more opportunities for your church to receive generous support.
For a more thorough rundown into how in-kind donations work in Planning Center Giving, hop over to this update note!
💛 Team Giving