Читать книгу The Law of Fundraising - Bruce R. Hopkins - Страница 34

Professional accounting literature applicable to not-for-profit organizations requires that organizations report fundraising expenses separately from other supporting expenses and program expenses.

Fundraising expenses generally include all costs involved in inducing others to contribute resources without receipt of economic benefits in return. Fundraising costs usually consist of the direct costs of solicitation (such as the cost of personnel, printing, postage, occupancy, and so on) and a fair allocation of overhead.

One aspect of accounting for fundraising costs is subject to considerable judgment—accounting for the joint costs (such as postage) of multiple-purpose materials, such as educational literature that also includes a request for funds. Formerly, accounting literature (and industry practice) was inconsistent on this issue. Some organizations allocated joint costs between respective functions. Other organizations did not allocate joint costs and reported joint fundraising and educational costs exclusively as fundraising expenses.

Functional allocation of multiple-purpose expenses is now required by the accounting profession in its most recent pronouncement on the subject, if certain criteria are met. Recommended bases of allocation include the content of the materials, the use made of materials, and costs associated with different functions.