Auctions & Raffles | Alumni Association of the University of Michigan                            

A club will ordinarily solicit gift-in-kind donations from alumni and organizations in their community to use as items for a club's silent auction. For rules regarding the tax implications of gifts in kind, click here.

If the winning bid for an item at a silent auction is greater than the item's fair market value (FMV), the difference between the bid and the item's FMV can be considered a donation, thus making it tax-deductible to the purchaser. To ensure that winning bidders are properly receipted for their donation by the Association, a club must follow these guidelines:

• In preparing to host the silent auction, the club should document the FMV of each item.
• Upon completion of the silent auction, for each item purchased for an amount greater than its FMV, the club should inform the winning bidder to make his/her check payable to "The University of Michigan" if he/she wishes to receive a receipt for the donation (only funds made payable to U-M are tax-deductible).
• Following the silent auction, for each item purchased for an amount greater than its FMV, the club should forward payment for the item to the Association's global engagement team and enclose a letter with the following information for each item: (1) the name, address, and phone number of the donor (winner of the item); (2) a description of the item purchased; (3) the FMV of the item; and (4) the winning bid.
• Upon receipt of the funds and information, the Association will coordinate the deposit of the funds into the club's designated scholarship fund and receipt the donor for the difference between the purchase price and the FMV.