Can we donate nights of our DVC??

[smacky1]

We have a distant relative who was recently diagnosised with cancer. He is 25 and has a new family and new baby. They are having a penny sale fundraiser for him and I am seriously considering donating 4 or 5 nights in a studio from our DVC points. Im just wondering if this is something we are allowed to do and if anyone has any experience or advice to offer on doing something like this.

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

You most certainly can do this. Just make sure you are very clear on your auction description about what size accomodations are involved, what travel dates are available, how many people are allowed to occupy the room, and what the cancellation penalties are. All you need to do is make the reservation for whoever the winner is. You will need the names of everyone occupying the room, address/phone number, and ages of any children.

Also, keep in mind that you can't claim what you perceive the "value" (based on CRO prices) of the room to be as a charitiable deduction on your taxes as if would only apply if you were giving up the actual membership...not just temporary use of the points. I'm sure there are other members that can explain this better.

Best wishes to your relative.

 

[zumbergc]

You may want to consider donating the nights to your relative. Depending on the cancer and stage, and length of treatment. Maybe setting them up with a place to stay for the trip would be a great thing for the family to look forward to at the end of treatment.

Of course, since cancer treatment is so expensive, and your point is to help raise money to pay for the expense, that is a super great thing to do too.

I think i asked about this before. You have to make the reservations, etc like the PP mentioned. You would have to be specific with dates or locations, and size because that would all vary the number of points. I would think as an auction item, it would be hard for someone bidding to understand x amount of points, unless they were a current dvc member.

 

[Dean]

Also, keep in mind that you can't claim what you perceive the "value" (based on CRO prices) of the room to be as a charitiable deduction on your taxes as if would only apply if you were giving up the actual membership...not just temporary use of the points. I'm sure there are other members that can explain this better.

You can't deduct anything on taxes related to usage of condo's or timeshares.

We do wish your family well wishes.

 

[toocherie]

Ok--not trying to be too "cute", but if someone "rented" the reservation from the member and that person donated the reservation, could that person claim a deduction on THEIR taxes? After all they actually paid value, just as if they went out and bought a gift certificate and donated it.

 

[smacky1]

Thanks for all of your replies. Im not even considering using this as a tax deduction. I was just hoping to help raise a little money for a family in need. I know their health insurance isnt great and the primary provider of the family is no longer working. The good news is his prognosis is good...he has early stages of hodgkins lymphoma which they have had incredible success in treating.
My thoughts are to actually make a reservation using the number of points Im willing to donate. I would put the ressie under my name and specify the date and location for the donation. After getting in touch with the winner, I could then change the name on the reservation to their partys name. Am I making this too simple? Is there more involved?

 

[Dean]

Ok--not trying to be too "cute", but if someone "rented" the reservation from the member and that person donated the reservation, could that person claim a deduction on THEIR taxes? After all they actually paid value, just as if they went out and bought a gift certificate and donated it.

No, the only way to get a deduction out of this would be to rent it out then donate the money. Even then, it's have to be a donation to a legal charitable entity which is unlikely in this case. Sometimes charities will act as pass through's for this type of thing to allow deductions and to make those considering donating feel more comfortable there is some oversight.

 

[CarolAnnC]

Ok--not trying to be too "cute", but if someone "rented" the reservation from the member and that person donated the reservation, could that person claim a deduction on THEIR taxes? After all they actually paid value, just as if they went out and bought a gift certificate and donated it.

Not sure about that, but it seems that the owner would then have to claim the "income" from the rental on their Federal taxes as well.....I bet that whole thing would raise a big red flag with the IRS....who wants to get audited yikes?!?

 

[toocherie]

Not sure about that, but it seems that the owner would then have to claim the "income" from the rental on their Federal taxes as well.....I bet that whole thing would raise a big red flag with the IRS....who wants to get audited yikes?!?

good point--not me!

 

[smacky1]

Ok, so Im not interested in getting a tax deduction. Im interested in helping out this family. Anyone else have any advice on the best way to go about donating a few nights?

 

[lizanne]

My thoughts are to actually make a reservation using the number of points Im willing to donate. I would put the ressie under my name and specify the date and location for the donation. After getting in touch with the winner, I could then change the name on the reservation to their partys name. Am I making this too simple? Is there more involved?

I've never done this but have seen similar items at auctions. I think this is the way to do it.

I hope you raise a ton of money and wish your relative a full recovery.

 

[smacky1]

I've never done this but have seen similar items at auctions. I think this is the way to do it.

I hope you raise a ton of money and wish your relative a full recovery.

Thank you for your well wishes. I think this is what we are going to do. I would like to book for the period of October since I think a lot of people would be interested in the food and wine festival and this may be a good selling point since you can walk to Epcot from BWV. Thanks again for everyones help in working this out!

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

I still think you'd be better off just offering the auction as a bank of windows that includes dates in the value season (or whatever you decide). That way more people would be willing to bid knowing there's some flexibility on when they can book. Most of the people attending your auction probably won't even know what the food and wine festival is...however, they do know when their kids are out of school, etc. You want to make it appealing to as many people as possible -- not just the few that would be able to travel during the dates you've preselected.

 

[spiceycat]

Thank you for your well wishes. I think this is what we are going to do. I would like to book for the period of October since I think a lot of people would be interested in the food and wine festival and this may be a good selling point since you can walk to Epcot from BWV. Thanks again for everyones help in working this out!

thanksgiving would be a better choice - most kids get out of school now if not for the whole week at least 3 days of it.

make sure you say no tickets are included.

 

[Anal Annie]

I still think you'd be better off just offering the auction as a bank of windows that includes dates in the value season (or whatever you decide). That way more people would be willing to bid knowing there's some flexibility on when they can book. Most of the people attending your auction probably won't even know what the food and wine festival is...however, they do know when their kids are out of school, etc. You want to make it appealing to as many people as possible -- not just the few that would be able to travel during the dates you've preselected.

OP - I totally agree that if you make a reservation beforehand that you could eliminate potential bidders who have children in school or something and who may not be able to go in October. I would maybe just offer it as "Sun-Thurs accomodations in a deluxe studio that sleeps 4 at a (generic) DVC resort". I would select 2 or 3 dates within the season you have in mind and not even specify the exact resort. Just give a range of dates and leave it open for the bidder to select. That way you would have a better chance of getting a studio at any DVC resort for the dates the winning bidder chooses and I think your odds will be better. I might even go to Disney.com and find out how much they would charge for the unit and put an "estimated value" on it to encourage higher bids. And as Spiceycat said, make sure you specify this is for accomodations only!

 

[Dean]

The problem with offering as a potential reservation is that it might not be available for any times they want to travel. I'd reserve and offer specific dates. You can always change it for them later if available and they prefer.

 

[JimMIA]

I would recommend renting the points and donating the proceeds. If you rent 50 points at $10 per point, that's $500 which is a very nice donation.

I'd try to offer the points for transfer to another member rather than renting a reservation, because that is a much quicker, simpler, and easier transaction. They pay you, you transfer the points, you donate the proceeds, and you're done...no longterm involvement with someone's vacation plans.

The other option is to offer a future reservation as a silent auction item, or even better, as a raffle prize. The problems with that approach are that they involve much more effort, and you are still only offering a small part of the cost of a vacation. If you could put your points together with airfare, and possibly tickets, you'd have a very marketable raffle prize, but I wonder how well lodging alone would sell.

 

[Mickey'sApprentice]

I would recommend renting the points and donating the proceeds. If you rent 50 points at $10 per point, that's $500 which is a very nice donation.

I'd try to offer the points for transfer to another member rather than renting a reservation, because that is a much quicker, simpler, and easier transaction. They pay you, you transfer the points, you donate the proceeds, and you're done...no longterm involvement with someone's vacation plans.

The other option is to offer a future reservation as a silent auction item, or even better, as a raffle prize. The problems with that approach are that they involve much more effort, and you are still only offering a small part of the cost of a vacation. If you could put your points together with airfare, and possibly tickets, you'd have a very marketable raffle prize, but I wonder how well lodging alone would sell.

I agree with Jim.

IF you do put this in the auction, I would consider putting a minimum sale price on the auction. I would really hate to see you lose your points for a $50 bid - especially since you could make more by renting.

I agree that putting together a package with tickets, and then having a raffle would be more ideal especially if you have a lot of people willing to go out and sell the raffle tickets, and have access to good free media. Another idea for a raffle would be to ask a car dealership to donate a used car to give away. The free press might be worth the price of the car to them.

Just remember if you go for nickels, you get nickels...if you go for dollars, you get dollars. FYI - #1 rule of fundraising is KIA. Knowledge, Interest, Ability. Who knows about it? Who has interest in the problem? Who has the ability to give?

We wish the family well wishes, and pray that you will be able to make up a lot of money for your relative.

 

[smacky1]

I would recommend renting the points and donating the proceeds. If you rent 50 points at $10 per point, that's $500 which is a very nice donation.

I'd try to offer the points for transfer to another member rather than renting a reservation, because that is a much quicker, simpler, and easier transaction. They pay you, you transfer the points, you donate the proceeds, and you're done...no longterm involvement with someone's vacation plans.

The other option is to offer a future reservation as a silent auction item, or even better, as a raffle prize. The problems with that approach are that they involve much more effort, and you are still only offering a small part of the cost of a vacation. If you could put your points together with airfare, and possibly tickets, you'd have a very marketable raffle prize, but I wonder how well lodging alone would sell.

I had not thought of this option. Great idea. I may do this. I just got off the phone with the person running the fundraiser and told them I would donate a $50 LLBEAN gift card for this fundraiser. I need to put more thought into this before I make any decisions. Thank you everyone for your help. Its always so nice to get different perspectives here on the disboards. Especially since everyone here is so smart and always thinks of things Im forgetting! Thanks again everyone.

 

[Dean]

I agree with Jim.

IF you do put this in the auction, I would consider putting a minimum sale price on the auction. I would really hate to see you lose your points for a $50 bid - especially since you could make more by renting.

I agree that putting together a package with tickets, and then having a raffle would be more ideal especially if you have a lot of people willing to go out and sell the raffle tickets, and have access to good free media. Another idea for a raffle would be to ask a car dealership to donate a used car to give away. The free press might be worth the price of the car to them.

Just remember if you go for nickels, you get nickels...if you go for dollars, you get dollars. FYI - #1 rule of fundraising is KIA. Knowledge, Interest, Ability. Who knows about it? Who has interest in the problem? Who has the ability to give?

We wish the family well wishes, and pray that you will be able to make up a lot of money for your relative.

Or you bid yourself up to a certain level to make sure it doesn't go too low. Then you just give the bid amount as a cash donation if it doesn't meet the criteria and do with the points as you want.