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In kind

Goods, services, and transactions not involving money

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  • 3 chapters

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Through Goods, Service (economics) and Money

In-kind contributions

An in-kind contribution is a non-cash contribution of goods or a service. Those are either offered free or at less than usual charge for them. Similarly, when a person or entity pays for services on the committee’s behalf, the payment is also considered as an in-kind contribution. In-kind services and contributions are valued at their fair market value or at their actual cost. In other words, they are valued at what you would pay for them if they were not donated. There are two types of receivers of in-kind contributions: individuals and companies. For individuals, the provider of in-kind contributions is either another person or government. But for companies, those are partners or an external organisation.

Examples

  • voluntary labour (for example, painting work)
  • donated goods (for example, kitchen equipment)
  • donated services (for example, professional advice from an architect)
  • free use of equipment (for example, usage of cars or tools)

Voluntary workers should be entered under the staff costs budget line.

General rules for in-kind contributions for companies

  • The partners must not have paid for the works, goods, services or land claimed as a contribution. It is not allowable to purchase works, goods services or land with the intention of using them to implement the project of a company and then to “donate” them as an in-kind contribution,.
  • The value of the contribution claimed must not exceed the normal market costs, and the rationale for the value given in the claim must be capable of being verified. For example, where a project receives the donation of a vehicle, it would be expected that prices for vehicles of a similar model, age, and condition would be sourced for comparison.

Calculation of the value of in kind contributions

  1. Voluntary labour is calculated at the minimum hourly wage for the country the voluntary workers are working in. An individual's time should be valued at what the organization would pay someone to perform the work if it were not performed by a volunteer.
  2. Donated goods at the price you would pay for them if they were not donated. A common guideline is to consider how much the organization would reasonably expect to pay if it were to purchase the item.

Reporting and documenting in-kind contributions

The contributed services have to be recognized in the financial statements if the services received:

  • create or enhance non-financial assets;
  • require specialized skills;
  • are provided by individuals possessing those skills, and
  • would need to be purchased if not provided by donation.

It is necessary for in-kind contributions to be documented, accounted for and valued. All in-kind contributions should have supporting documentation, including why the transaction is allowable for the grant purposes.

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