For building funds, capital campaigns, brick walks, named rooms and land gifts
Capital campaign acknowledgment letters: naming rights, engraved bricks, land gifts and multi-year pledges — what the IRS lets you say
A capital campaign produces the biggest gifts your organization will ever receipt, and the oddest ones: a name on a room, a brick in the walk, two acres of land, a five-year pledge paid from three different accounts. The good news is that the IRS treats donor recognition — naming, plaques, donor walls — as having no fair market value, so the acknowledgment still says no goods or services were provided. The traps are elsewhere: keepsakes the donor takes home, property letters that state a value, pledge confirmations mistaken for receipts, and DAF grants applied to binding pledges. Four templates below, each with the required IRS Publication 1771 elements.
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Recognition or return benefit? What to value in a capital campaign
| What the donor gets | Goods or services? | What the letter says |
|---|---|---|
| Room, wing, bench or building named for the donor | No — recognition (Rev. Rul. 73-407, 77-367) | "No goods or services"; describe the naming as recognition (template 1) |
| Name on the donor wall or in the dedication program | No | Same |
| Engraved brick installed in your walkway | No — stays on your property | Template 2, version A |
| Duplicate brick, framed certificate or miniature the donor keeps | Yes, unless token (cost ≤ $13.90, gift ≥ $69.50) | Template 2, version B with value and deductible amount |
| Dedication reception open to campaign donors; hard-hat tour | No — recognition events | "No goods or services" |
| Tickets to a separate paid gala | Yes | Quid pro quo disclosure (gala page) |
| Corporate name on the gym, logo only | No — qualified sponsorship (§513(i)) | Treat as contribution (sponsorship page) |
| Corporate name plus banner ads, suite, free tickets | Yes for the extras | Value and disclose the extras |
| Gift of land or a building | No | Describe the property, no value, 8283/8282 sentences (template 3) |
| Bargain sale of property to you | You paid a price | State the price paid; gift portion is the donor's to value |
| Pledge signed, nothing paid yet | n/a | Confirmation that is clearly not a receipt (pledge page) |
| Pledge payment from a DAF | n/a | Acknowledge the sponsor; do not call it a pledge payment (DAF page) |
The rule of thumb: if the thing lives on your property or in your program and exists to say thank you, it is recognition and goes unvalued. If the donor can take it home, use it up or sell it, value it.
Capital gift acknowledgment with naming recognition
The main letter for a campaign gift: amount, date, the restriction to the campaign, a plain description of the naming or donor-wall recognition as acknowledgment with no fair market value, the required no-goods statement, EIN and 501(c)(3) line, plus an optional pledge-payment paragraph with cumulative and remaining balance.
[Organization name] [Mailing address] EIN [00-0000000] [Date] Dear [Donor name], Thank you for your gift of $[amount], received on [date], to the [Building Our Future] Capital Campaign of [Organization name]. Your contribution is restricted to the campaign and will be used for [construction of the new community center at 12 Elm Street / renovation of the sanctuary / the new learning wing]. In recognition of your generosity, [the children's reading room / the east entrance / seat 14, row C] will be named "[The Rivera Family Reading Room]" and your name will appear on the campaign donor wall in the main lobby. This recognition is our way of saying thank you; it is public acknowledgment of your gift, not a purchase, and it has no fair market value. No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution. [Organization name] is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (EIN [00-0000000]). Please keep this letter with your tax records. [Optional, if the gift fulfils a pledge:] This payment is applied to your campaign pledge of $[pledge total] made on [pledge date]. Payments received to date total $[cumulative]; the remaining balance is $[remaining], scheduled for [dates]. A pledge is deductible when each payment is made, so please keep each year's acknowledgment. We will invite you to the dedication on [date]. Thank you for building this with us. With gratitude, [Signer name] [Title]
Engraved brick or paver receipt (two versions)
Version A for the usual case where the brick is installed on your property and is recognition only. Version B for campaigns that also send the donor a duplicate brick or certificate — a quid pro quo item that must be valued and, over $75, disclosed under IRC 6115. Pick one version before the order form goes out and print the same statement on the form.
[Organization name] [Mailing address] EIN [00-0000000] [Date] Dear [Donor name], Thank you for your gift of $[amount], received on [date], to the [Legacy Walk / Memorial Garden] of [Organization name]. An engraved [4x8 brick / 8x8 paver] reading "[THE NGUYEN FAMILY — 2026]" will be installed in the [front walkway] before [date], where it will remain as part of our campus. VERSION A — brick stays on our property (most campaigns): No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution. The engraved brick is a permanent public recognition of your gift on [Organization name]'s property; it is not an item delivered to you and has no fair market value to you as the donor. VERSION B — donor also receives a keepsake: In exchange for this contribution you received a [duplicate 4x8 engraved brick / framed certificate] with an estimated fair market value of $[35]. The amount of your contribution that is deductible for federal income tax purposes is limited to the excess of your payment over the value of the goods you received: $[amount] − $[35] = $[deductible amount]. [Use A or B, never both.] [Organization name] is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (EIN [00-0000000]). Please keep this letter with your tax records. Sincerely, [Signer name] [Title]
Gift of real estate acknowledgment (with bargain-sale option)
Describes the property by address, parcel and deed recording, states the date of transfer and your intended use, says no goods or services were provided (or states the price you paid in a bargain sale), explains that value is the donor's responsibility with Form 8283 Section B, your Part V signature and the Form 8282 three-year rule — and never states a dollar value.
[Organization name] [Mailing address] EIN [00-0000000] [Date] Dear [Donor name], Thank you for your gift to [Organization name] of the real property described below, which was conveyed to us by [warranty deed / quitclaim deed] recorded on [date] in [County] County, [State], Book [___], Page [___]: [Approximately 2.1 acres of unimproved land at 4400 County Road 9, Fairview, parcel no. 12-345-678] [/ the single-family residence and lot at 118 Oak Lane] [Organization name] intends to [use the property for the new campus / hold the property / sell the property and apply the proceeds to the Building Our Future Capital Campaign]. No goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution. [Bargain-sale version instead: In connection with this transfer, [Organization name] paid you $[price] on [date]. Apart from that payment, no goods or services were provided in exchange for this contribution.] Because the law requires it, this letter describes the property but does not state its value. Establishing fair market value is the donor's responsibility: for a deduction over $5,000 you will need a qualified appraisal and Form 8283, Section B, which we will sign as donee (Part V) on request. If we sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of the property within three years of [date of gift], we are required to file Form 8282 with the IRS and send you a copy. [Organization name] is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (EIN [00-0000000]). Please keep this letter with your tax records. With deep appreciation, [Signer name] [Title]
Campaign-close cumulative statement
For the end of a multi-year campaign: the pledge, every payment with its date, the total, the recognition, the no-goods statement covering each payment, and a note that DAF or IRA gifts are listed for completeness but acknowledged separately. Donors file this with the dedication photo; auditors like it too.
[Organization name] [Mailing address] EIN [00-0000000] [Date] Dear [Donor name], As the [Building Our Future] Capital Campaign closes [and we prepare to dedicate the new building on [date]], here is a complete record of your gifts to the campaign. Campaign pledge: $[pledge total], made [pledge date] Payments received: [03/15/2024] $[5,000.00] [03/10/2025] $[5,000.00] [03/12/2026] $[5,000.00] Total paid: $[15,000.00] Pledge fulfilled in full. Thank you. Recognition: "[The Rivera Family Reading Room]" and the lobby donor wall. This recognition is public acknowledgment of your gifts and has no fair market value. No goods or services were provided in exchange for any of these contributions. Each payment was acknowledged in the year it was received; this statement is a summary for your records and repeats the required information for each payment listed above. [Organization name] is a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (EIN [00-0000000]). [Optional:] Your gifts of [date] were made from [a donor-advised fund / an IRA]; those are acknowledged separately to [the sponsoring organization / as a qualified charitable distribution] and are listed here for completeness only, not as deductible gifts from you. Thank you for building this with us. We hope to see you at the dedication. With gratitude, [Signer name] [Title]
Capital campaign rows in the generator
Paste one row per payment with a Notes column. When Notes mention a brick, paver, plaque, named room, donor wall or the building fund, the generator adds an informational flag confirming that recognition is not a good or service and the letter keeps the no goods or services sentence. If Notes mention a duplicate brick, framed certificate or other keepsake, it warns you to add a Goods value column; if a Goods value is present on a recognition row, it reminds you to clear it when the only benefit is the name on your property. Campaign and building-fund rows are not treated as gifts earmarked for a person.
Capital campaign questions
A donor gave $100,000 and we named the library after her. Did she receive goods or services?
No. The IRS treats public recognition of a donor — a name on a building, room, bench or donor wall, a listing in the program — as an incidental benefit with no fair market value. Rev. Rul. 73-407 held that even renaming an entire charity for a donor's family was an 'incidental and tenuous' benefit, and Rev. Rul. 77-367 treats recognition the same way; Treasury said as much when it finalized the written-acknowledgment regulations. The letter states that no goods or services were provided and can describe the naming as recognition, as template 1 does. The exception is a business sponsor who receives advertising-style benefits — see the sponsorship page.
Do engraved bricks and pavers count as goods or services?
If the brick is installed on your property and the donor never takes possession, the mainstream view is that it is donor recognition like a plaque, not an item received, and the acknowledgment says no goods or services were provided (template 2, version A). If the donor also receives something to keep — a duplicate brick, a framed certificate, a miniature — that is goods, and it must be valued unless it fits the 2026 token-item rule (your cost $13.90 or less and the gift $69.50 or more). A $150 brick payment with a $35 keepsake is a quid pro quo payment over $75 and needs the disclosure in version B. Decide which you are doing before the order form goes out and say so on the form.
Is a gift to our building fund deductible even though it is restricted?
Yes. A restriction to a purpose of the charity (the building, the campaign, the endowment) is fine; the organization still controls the money and uses it for its exempt purposes. Rev. Rul. 70-47 lists building-fund assessments among the ordinary ways of contributing to a church. What is not deductible is a gift earmarked for a particular person — see the designated-gifts page.
A donor pledged $50,000 over five years. What do we acknowledge, and when?
Acknowledge each payment in the year it is received, with the amount, date and no-goods statement, and (helpfully) the cumulative total and remaining balance. The pledge itself is not deductible when made — a promise is not a payment (Treas. Reg. §1.170A-1(b)) — so the pledge confirmation should say plainly that it is not a tax receipt. The pledge page has the confirmation, reminder and pledge card; template 1 here has the pledge-payment paragraph for capital gifts.
Can the donor pay a capital pledge from a donor-advised fund?
A DAF grant may not satisfy a legally binding pledge of the donor (IRC §4967), although under Notice 2017-73 the IRS will not treat it as a prohibited benefit if the sponsoring organization makes no reference to the pledge and the donor receives no other benefit. Practically: do not record a DAF grant as a pledge payment in your letters, acknowledge the grant to the sponsor as described on the DAF page, and consider writing pledge forms as non-binding statements of intent. Naming recognition tied to a DAF-funded gift is still fine — recognition is not a prohibited benefit.
A donor is giving us land. What does our letter say about its value?
Nothing. The acknowledgment describes the property (address, parcel, acreage, deed recording) and the date of transfer, states that no goods or services were provided, and leaves valuation to the donor. For a deduction over $5,000 the donor needs a qualified appraisal and Form 8283 Section B; you sign Part V as donee (which acknowledges receipt, not value). If you sell the property within three years you must file Form 8282 within 125 days and send the donor a copy. Template 3 covers all of this. For publicly traded stock gifts to the campaign, see the stock page.
We bought a parcel from a supporter for less than it is worth. Is that a gift?
A bargain sale: the difference between fair market value and the price you paid can be a charitable contribution for the seller (IRC §1011(b); Treas. Reg. §1.170A-4(c)). Your letter should state exactly what you paid and when, describe the property, and say that apart from that payment no goods or services were provided. The seller still needs an appraisal and Form 8283 for the gift portion.
A business gave $25,000 and gets its name on the gymnasium. Is that a sponsorship or a gift?
Both can be true. Naming a facility for a corporate donor is acknowledgment, not advertising, as long as the display is the name or logo without qualitative or comparative language, prices or calls to action (IRC §513(i)). Your letter can treat the full amount as a contribution with no goods or services. If the company also receives banner ads, free tickets or a hospitality suite, value those and disclose them. The sponsorship page has the detailed rules and the 2% disregarded-benefit test.
What about the dedication reception, the hard-hat tour and the commemorative book?
A reception open to all campaign donors, a tour, a thank-you call from the board chair and a listing in the dedication program are recognition and go unvalued. A commemorative book or gift mailed to major donors is goods: if your cost is $13.90 or less and the gift was at least $69.50 it is a token item and can be ignored; otherwise value it. Tickets to a separate paid gala are always valued (see the auction and gala page).
Our campaign has a challenge gift: a donor will give $100,000 if we raise $200,000 by June. How is the challenge donor acknowledged?
When the challenge is met and the money arrives, acknowledge it like any other gift, with the date received; the condition does not change the deduction once it is satisfied. Do not issue a receipt when the challenge is announced — nothing has been given yet. Donors who gave because of the challenge are acknowledged normally; you may mention that their gift was matched, but you never add the match to their letter.
A donor wants to change or remove their name later, or asks for a refund because the project changed.
Naming agreements should be in writing and spell out what happens if the building is sold, renamed or demolished, and what conduct would let you remove a name. Refunds are the real danger: returning a gift that was acknowledged as a completed contribution undercuts the donor's deduction and can be a private benefit issue for you. If a campaign is abandoned, your gift-acceptance policy should say gifts are redirected to a similar purpose; if you must return money, tell the donor in writing that the earlier acknowledgment no longer applies to that amount and that an amended return may be needed.
How do we lay out a capital campaign spreadsheet for the generator?
One row per payment, not per pledge: Name, Amount, Date, Notes. Put the recognition in Notes (brick — Legacy Walk; named reading room; donor wall) and the generator adds an informational flag confirming that recognition is not a good or service; if Notes mention a keepsake the donor takes home (duplicate brick, framed certificate) it warns you to add a Goods value column. Rows whose Notes name the campaign or building fund are not treated as earmarked for a person. Keep a separate Pledge Total column in your own records; the letters acknowledge payments. For the campaign-close summary (template 4), filter the sheet to one donor and use the year-end statement mode, then paste the recognition sentence.
General information based on Internal Revenue Code §§170(f)(8), 170(f)(11), 513(i), 1011(b), 4967 and 6115; Treas. Reg. §§1.170A-1(b), 1.170A-4(c), 1.170A-13(f); Rev. Rul. 70-47, 73-407 and 77-367; Rev. Proc. 2025-32; Notice 2017-73; Forms 8283 and 8282; and IRS Publications 526, 561 and 1771. Not legal, tax or accounting advice.