Wedding use of building -- donation

Can we give a contribution receipt to a family that made a monetary donation to the church that used the building for a wedding? They are not members but the church does not charge for the use of the building.

Comments for Wedding use of building -- donation

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Usage Fee or Donation?
by: Vickey

If the church does not charge a "usage" or "rental" fee for the use of any of their buildings, you may be able to classify it as a donation.

However, I would be cautious on how I recorded that donation =(

If your church allows weddings and events without asking for a "donation" to help with expenses or clean up, then don't record it as a "wedding" donation as I have seen many do ... because ...

technically, they ARE charging a fee and the donor IS getting a good or service in exchange for their donation.

Then you would want to classify it as a "quid pro quo" donation and handle it accordingly. I go into a lot of detail in my Church Accounting Package on the different type of donations and how to handle them.

BUT if they are just giving an offering for the church ... not related to the wedding itself... you can record it as an unrestricted donation.

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