Downloadable templates
501(c)(3) Donation Receipt Template
A 501(c)(3) donation receipt is the written acknowledgment a tax-exempt charity gives a donor so they can claim their gift. This template includes the wording the IRS looks for; fill in the amount and download a PDF or PNG to send.
- What must a 501(c)(3) donation receipt include?
- Per IRS Publication 1771, a written acknowledgment must show the organization's name, the amount of a cash contribution or a description of any non-cash property, and a statement of whether the charity provided any goods or services in return — and if so, a good-faith estimate of their value. A donor needs this acknowledgment to deduct a gift of $250 or more.
Optional extra rows printed under the header — e.g. Store #, Terminal, Order type.
Add your own total lines — a discount (use a negative amount), service charge, deposit or rounding. They fold into the total.
What this receipt contains
- Charity's legal name and 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status
- Donor's name and the date the gift was received
- The amount of a cash gift, or a description of donated property
- A statement of whether any goods or services were given in return
- A dated, numbered acknowledgment the donor can file with their taxes
Fields that matter
- The organization's legal name and its tax-exempt status
- The amount of cash or a description (not value) of non-cash property
- A statement that no goods or services were provided, or their value if they were
Who uses it
Nonprofits, churches, PTAs and other tax-exempt organizations acknowledging donations, and treasurers who need IRS-compliant wording for year-end donor letters.
Why a donation receipt has to be worded carefully
A donation receipt is not just a thank-you note — it is the document a donor relies on to claim a charitable deduction, so the IRS specifies what it must say. The rules live in IRS Publication 1771, 'Charitable Contributions — Substantiation and Disclosure Requirements'. This template builds those requirements into the layout so a busy treasurer does not have to remember them from scratch.
The sample acknowledges a $250 cash gift to a fictional food bank. The figures and the closing statement are placeholders you replace with your own organization's details, but the structure mirrors what a compliant acknowledgment contains.
The three things the IRS wants to see
According to Publication 1771, a written acknowledgment must contain three elements: the name of the organization, the amount of the cash contribution or a description of any non-cash property donated, and a statement about whether the charity provided any goods or services in exchange for the gift. If nothing was provided, the acknowledgment says so explicitly — the sample footer reads 'No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution.'
Those three elements are what let the donor substantiate the gift. Leaving out the goods-or-services statement is the most common mistake, which is why it is a fixed line in this template rather than an afterthought.
The $250 threshold
A donor must have a written acknowledgment from the charity to deduct any single contribution of $250 or more; the sample uses exactly that $250 figure. Below $250 a bank record or a simple receipt can suffice, but at $250 and above the charity's written acknowledgment becomes mandatory. Because donors often do not know the rule, many organizations issue a proper acknowledgment for every gift so no one is caught short at tax time.
Note that the threshold applies per contribution, not per year — several $100 gifts are each under the line, while one $250 gift is over it. When in doubt, send the acknowledgment.
Quid pro quo gifts and the $75 rule
When a donor pays more than $75 and receives something in return — a benefit dinner, a concert ticket, a tote bag — the contribution is 'quid pro quo', and Publication 1771 requires a written disclosure. It must tell the donor that only the amount above the value of what they received is deductible, and give a good-faith estimate of that value. For example, if someone pays $100 for a dinner worth $40, the deductible portion is $60.
This template's footer line is where that disclosure goes. For a straightforward gift with nothing given in return, you keep the 'no goods or services' wording; for a quid pro quo payment, you replace it with the value estimate and the deductible-amount statement.
Cash gifts versus donated property
For a cash donation you state the exact amount, as the sample does with $250. For a non-cash gift — clothing, equipment, a vehicle — you describe the property but deliberately do not put a dollar value on it. Valuing donated goods is the donor's responsibility, and a charity that assigns a value can create problems for both sides. So a non-cash acknowledgment reads 'one used laptop' or 'three boxes of canned goods', not a price.
If you receive both cash and goods, list them separately: the cash amount on one line and each described item on its own line, with the goods-or-services statement covering the whole acknowledgment.
The penalty for skipping the disclosure
The disclosure requirement has teeth. Publication 1771 sets a penalty of $10 per contribution for failing to provide the required written disclosure on a quid pro quo gift, capped at $5,000 for any one fundraising event or mailing. A single missed letter is minor, but across a large appeal the cap can be reached quickly.
The practical takeaway is simple: send a compliant acknowledgment for every applicable gift. It keeps your organization clear of the penalty and, just as importantly, it keeps your donors able to claim the deduction they gave expecting.
Fill in and send the acknowledgment
Replace the sample organization with your charity's legal name and confirm your tax-exempt status wording. Enter the donor's name, the date the gift was received, and the amount or the description of the property. Keep or adapt the goods-or-services statement in the footer to match the gift. Give the acknowledgment a number, as the sample's DON-3307 shows, so you can track it.
Then download it — a free PNG to email, or a Pro PDF for a polished year-end letter — and send it to the donor. Keep a copy in your records. This page is a plain-language template, not tax advice; when a gift is unusual or large, point the donor to their tax adviser and confirm the current rules in IRS Publication 1771.