School Fiscal Services
Accountability & Stability
Our staff provides a consistent level of accountability and expertise to each school and its donors. Our financial statements are maintained according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and are audited each year by an independent CPA firm.
Tax Deductibility
Gifts made through the Alliance qualify for tax-deductibility based on the Alliance’s status as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, so your organization does not need to obtain its own non-profit status. Tax receipts are typically sent to donors within four business days.
Giving Options for Donors
The Alliance accommodates many types of contributions. Please note that we require the donor’s name and address for every donation. The types of donations we accept include, but not limited to:
- Cash contributions (checks, money orders, wire transfers, and credit cards)
- Non-cash contributions (stock gifts and pledges)
- Online donations via our secure website, Paypal, mobile applications
- Donations to your group through Seattle Foundation’s annual GiveBIG campaign
- Pledges, installment payments, and recurring gifts
- Life-income gifts, including certain types of annuities, charitable trusts, and bequests
- In-kind donations such as school materials, equipment, and services
Efficient & Secure Gift Handling
We provide donor support services to ensure safe and efficient gift processing. Services include:
- Maintaining and tracking each donor and his or her gift in our database
- Sending acknowledgements to thank donors and providing tax receipts when applicable
- Sending pledge reminder notices to donors making recurring or installment gifts
- Processing matching gift applications
- Monthly reporting on donations, pledge payments and status of pledges
Timely & Accurate Accounting & Payables Processing
- Weekly payment of invoices and reimbursements as requested by account advisors.
- Compliance with Washington and IRS regulations and reporting, including use tax collection and 1099 reporting.
- Monthly financial reports on account activities and status
Submission of Donated Funds
Donations to a school account are generally submitted via check or our secure website. As an account advisor, you may prefer to solicit donations and have donors forward their donations to you or another individual coordinating your fundraising efforts. Donations may then be submitted in a group along with a Deposit Transmittal Form for your account. Donations with a Deposit Transmittal Form may be mailed or delivered to our office by hand. Please note that the Alliance retains 6% of every donation to cover a portion of the program costs. Donors giving online have the option to cover this administrative fee so that the sponsored group receives 100% of the gift.
Account funds can be used for:
- Classroom supplies
- Fundraising supplies and expenses
- Food/Beverages for meetings, events, etc.
- Professional development and training
- Consulting or contractor services in compliance with Washington law
- Direct payments to School Self-Help or other accounts at the District (Salaries for teachers, aides, counselors, etc and any other school related expense)
- Account funds cannot be used for:
- Direct payments to teachers or District employees (as funds should be forwarded to the District)
- Direct payment of employee compensation, wages or salaries of any kind
- Reimbursement to third parties for payment of employee compensation, wages or salaries of any kind
- Reimbursement to third parties for payment to individuals for professional services
WE SUPPORT YOU!
We provide gift-management and accounting services, allowing school staff and volunteers more time for school programs and fundraising.
QUESTIONS ABOUT DONATIONS AND INCOMING FUNDS
The Alliance retains 6% of every donation to cover a portion of the program costs. Donors giving online have the option to cover this administrative fee so that the sponsored group receives 100% of the gift.
We accept a variety of contributions in support of your organization, such as:
- Annual campaigns, phonathons, direct mail and event contributions;
- Events payments and registrations;
- Trip deposits (not tax-deductible).
We do not accept:
- Raffle ticket sales or other gambling proceeds– without prior approval.
- Contributions intended for the direct benefit of a specific individual.
Funds that are raised with significant involvement of students or school staff or that are raised as part of a school sponsored event are classified as ASB funds and per Washington State regulations, these funds must be held at the School District. For example, money raised at a student-run car wash would be considered ASB funds. Funds raised at a student concert would also be considered ASB, as would funds raised at any event where the donor might reasonably feel that the event was an ‘official’ school event.
If you are not sure if your fundraising event would be considered ASB activity, please contact us or your school principal.
ASB funds may be deposited with the Alliance temporarily, but they must be forwarded to an ASB account at the District in a timely fashion. They cannot be used to make payments directly from your Alliance account.
Donations to your school account can be submitted in a number of ways.
Contributions from your donors can be sent directly to the Alliance by check or via our secure website.
- Check: Donors can mail donations by check directly to the Alliance. Checks must be payable to ‘The Alliance for Education’ and designate the account name/number on the check or in a note accompanying the donation.
- Via Our Secure Web Site: Donors may visit the donation page of our secure website to submit a donation to your school via credit card. The site provides a field for the donor to direct their funds to your particular school account.
As an account advisor, you may prefer to solicit donations and have donors forward their donations to you or another individual coordinating your fundraising efforts. Donations may then be submitted in a group along with a Deposit Transmittal Form for your account. Donations with a Deposit Transmittal Form may to be mailed or delivered to our office by hand.
We need the donor’s name and address for every donation. For credit card donations we also need the credit account number, the expiration date of the card and the three digit code from the back of the card.
Installment or regular monthly donations paid by credit card can be a convenient way for your donors to provide on-going support to your group. These payment options can increase total giving. A larger gift might seem more realistic for a donor if they can pay later or make a number of installment payments over time.
Recurring gifts provide your donors the option to support you with an ongoing monthly donation. They can set it and forget it knowing that they are providing your group with long-term sustaining support.
The Alliance provides your group with all the back-end support to track gifts, remind your donors and process payments. Please contact jim@alliance4ed.org to see how you can utilize these fundraising strategies.
Yes, the Alliance sends a thank you letter to each donor acknowledging his or her gift and noting tax-deductible status for the donors tax reporting purposes. Letters are sent quickly, typically within 4 business days of receipt of the donation.
There are many ways of raising money, but not all qualify as a tax-deductible gift from the donor. A general rule of thumb is to ask the question, “Did the donor receive any goods or services in return for his gift?” If the answer is yes, then the gift may not be tax-deductible.
In order to record, acknowledge, and receipt a gift correctly, the Alliance must know the specifics regarding that gift. Account Advisors are responsible for providing information necessary to determine tax-deductibility. Before your organization conducts any type of fundraising other than soliciting simple contributions, please consult with our staff regarding different types of gifts and what we need to know about your fundraising campaign activities.
The activities listed below are just some of the things that require additional information:
- Auctions
- Ticket Sales
- Item Sales
- Commemorative Bricks and Tiles
- In-Kind Gifts
- Student activity/trip deposits
- Raffle Ticket Sales
To ensure the proper credit to your account, send a completed stock transfer form to the Alliance for Education. Stock transfer transactions are anonymous (no donor is identified) when they reach our broker, so this form is the only way we can identify the contribution. Please contact jim@alliance4ed.org to request a form.
Life-income gifts such as annuities, charitable trusts and bequests, may require legal documents executed by all parties. The Alliance for Education must be consulted as early as possible on how to proceed. Please contact jim@alliance4ed.org for more information.
The Alliance will mail monthly pledge reminders to donors at all pledge levels with outstanding gifts. Accounts receive a monthly report of all outstanding pledges.
QUESTIONS ABOUT PURCHASES AND USE OF DONATED FUNDS
- Classroom supplies
- Fundraising supplies and expenses
- Food/Beverages for meetings, events, etc
- Professional development and training
- Consulting or contractor services in compliance with Washington law.
- Direct payments to School Self-Help or other accounts at the District – salaries for teachers, aides, counselors, etc and any other school related expense.
- Direct payments to teachers or District employees. Funds may be forwarded to the District for allowable staff time but may not be paid directly to individuals.
- Direct payment of employee compensation, wages or salaries of any kind.
- Reimbursement to third parties for payment of employee compensation, wages or salaries of any kind.
- Reimbursement to third parties for payment to individuals for professional services. Individuals may be paid for services, but they must be paid directly.
Goods or certain services used in Washington State are subject to either sales or use tax unless specifically exempted by the Washington Department of Revenue. The tax applies regardless of where, or from whom, the property is purchased.
What does this mean for you? When you purchase items online or from out-of-state, even though the vendor may not charge sales tax, tax must be paid to Washington State. For School Accounts, The Alliance for Education reports and pays this tax for all applicable purchases. We calculate the tax (currently 10.1%), record the charge to your account, and forward the sales tax to the state on a quarterly basis. When these charges occur, you will see them coded as “Use Tax” on your monthly activity reports.
We want to make sure that you are aware of this requirement and have full information when choosing between in and out-of-state vendors.
In-state vendors must itemize sales tax on any receipt or invoice, otherwise the state requires payment of Use Tax. Please retain and forward original itemized receipts for any reimbursements as documentation and proof of tax payment.
If you’d like more information on Use Tax requirements in Washington State, please refer to the Washington Department of Revenue website.