what are in kind donations

In-kind donations (also called “gifts in kind”) are non-cash contributions of goods, services, or other assets that support a nonprofit or charitable cause instead of giving money.

What are in-kind donations?

When someone makes an in-kind donation, they give something the organization can use directly rather than cash the organization would have to spend.

Common donors include individuals, companies, and other organizations, and the donation can be physical items, professional services, or access to resources.

A quick way to remember it: cash stays in your wallet; in-kind is the “stuff” or “skills” you hand over.

Typical examples

• Goods: food, clothing, medicines, furniture, office equipment, building materials.

• Office and program supplies: computers, desks, sports gear, books, program materials.

• Professional services: legal advice, accounting, consulting, graphic design, web development, marketing.

• Use of space or equipment: free meeting rooms, event venues, storage, or equipment rentals.

• Other non-cash assets: advertising time, intellectual property rights, stocks or other securities.

How they help nonprofits

In-kind donations reduce what nonprofits would otherwise have to buy, freeing up limited cash for other priorities.

They can also deepen relationships, because donors often feel more connected when they give valued items or skills rather than a purely “impersonal” cash transfer.

For example, if a web designer donates a full website build, a nonprofit that budgeted several thousand dollars for this project can redirect that money to programs or staff.

Key points to remember

• In-kind = non-cash gifts (goods, services, or other assets), not money.

• They must usually be recorded at fair market value for accounting and tax purposes.

• Good communication about what’s needed (lists of desired items, in-kind pages on websites) helps ensure the donations are actually useful.

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In-kind donations are non-cash gifts of goods, services, or other assets that support nonprofits by reducing costs and freeing up funds for mission-critical work.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.