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Building Supply Donations

When developing a rescue one of the largest expenses can be in the acquiring of the building material needed to construct the individual dog kennels, houses and even the shelter itself. Containing and reducing this cost for most is critical to getting a rescue up and running in the shortest time possible.

The good news is, is that in many cases such material can be had FREE of charge through building supply donations if you are willing to put a little work into it.

The key to getting good building supply donations is to look where building is taking place. The larger the project the more the potential material. It is important to understand that builders operate on profits. As such they will not be willing to give away perfectly good material. What quatities as good however is in the eyes of the beholder. For many builders a piece of lumber is no longer good once it contains more than a nail or two and is not subsequently attached to their building project. The reason for this is that for them it costs more to pay the labor to remove the nail than to simply grab another board. If you are willing to remove the nails you not only have a good board but can also sell the idea to the builder you are helping in reducing their waste disposal cost while at the same time allowing them to possibly take a tax credit for the material they otherwise would have discarded at a cost.

Other examples of scrap include large sections of sheeting/plywood and lineal board material that has been cut and the remainder discarded, extra bricks and blocks, extra roofing shingles and so on.

When looking for scrap that can be turned into good working material for your building purposes it is a good idea to set up a rapport with several builders in your area. When introducing yourself you can ask about what projects they have going on, where these are located and if they are willing to allow you to collect scrap from such sites.

When selling the idea of collecting their scraps you can use additional incentives such as letting them know how this will reduce associated dumping fees and labor costs associated with their disposal while at the same time keeping a detailed Donation Accounting Statement of what you take so that you can provide a copy to them as a receipt so they can then use such during tax time for write-off purposes.

It is critical when developing a scrap collection program that you understand fully and completely from the builder exactly what is scrap and what is not and to get an okay before the removal of any material. If there is any confusion or misunderstanding on the matter this can lead to a builder claiming you are stealing. The safest thing to do is to have the builder or project supervisor sign off on the above mentioned Donation Accounting Statement on any load you remove before you leave the premises.

To help make this process easier we have developed a blank Donation Accounting Statement (link below) and initial Builders Supply Donation Agreement Form (link below) that will help make sure everything is understood by all parties. You will want the builder to fill in the Builders Supply Donation Form and make copies for both you and their files. After this has been done and all parties have agreed on what is to be defined as scrap you may begin collecting and filling in your Donation Accounting Statements. After each collection you will want to make a copy of the Donation Accounting Statement and supply this to the builder for their records and tax purposes.

If you collect donations above the $499 level in value you will want to explore the possibility of becoming a federally recognized 501 (c) (3) non-profit. This will allow you to accept larger donations while at the same time allow the builders the tax advantages of such donations as only donations made to federally recognized 501 (c) (3) non-profits are tax deductible at the $500 and above amount. One easy way around this for all parties involved is to simply limit individual collections to levels below the $500 value mark.

It should be noted that becoming a federally recognized 501 (c) (3) non-profit does has several advantages when it comes to collecting donations especially in terms of grants, bequests and the like. Most large-scale donors/granters will not make donations/grants to organizations without such designation. If you seek to limit your service to the PitBull breed however it is not likely you will find many large-scale donors/grantors sympathetic to the PitBull cause. If this is the case simply registering as a state based non-profit through your local Secretary of State will likely meet your business needs. If however seeking larger scale donations/grants is something you think worth pursuing then you may wish to open up your services to accept more than PitBulls. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options. The primary disadvantages with becoming federally recognized is that it costs $500 (if done on your own) above any state incorporation fees, it can take a long time for the government to review and approve status, there is increased levels of required accounting and the paperwork can seem a bit overwhelming sometimes. Becoming state recognized on the other hand is easy, typically costs less than $100 but limits you in your ability to receive large scale donations and contributions that the giver can also write off their taxes.

When seeking donations it is important to help the donor realize what tax advantages there are in giving. Most businesses pay exhorbative tax rates and are always looking for ways in order to reduce such tax burdens. Giving to non-profit organizations is a win-win situation as they not only do good in the community and gain good will with its citizens they also can use such donations as tax deductible items in many cases.

If seeking to become a non-profit it is important for you to understand that you are also a marketing median for your sponsors. GIVE THEM CREDIT. This will help encourage ongoing contributions. Offer to pass out their coupons and brochures. When providing new homes for pets make gift baskets of such information to provide to new owners. Successful non-profit work is a skill. When you enter into donor agreements you should think of yourself as an advertising company for your donor. It may be just as easy for them to pay for advertising elsewhere but can they receive the tax deductions and good will of the community that you can bring? Help donors see the advantage in giving to your worthy cause.

To go to a printable Builders Supply Donation Agreement Form click format below.

HTML Format, PDF Format

To go to a printable Donation Accounting Statement click format below.

HTML Format, PDF Format

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