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Generate Year-End Tax Statements

Goal: Produce the annual giving statement every donor expects in early January — summarizing all of their prior-year giving in one document — so they can file taxes accurately and feel taken care of.

What an annual statement is​

An annual statement consolidates a donor's full prior-year giving:

  • Every gift, dated, with amount and fund/campaign
  • Total tax-deductible giving
  • A separate section for in-kind gifts (described, no values)
  • Affiliate legal name, address, EIN, 501(c)(3) statement

It supplements per-gift receipts — donors keep the per-gift receipts for record-keeping, but the annual statement is what most file with their taxes.

When to send​

Best practice is to send annual statements between January 5 and January 15. Earlier than that and donors haven't yet thought about taxes; later and you're behind their tax-prep cycle.

For donors who give late in December, this also resolves any timing questions ("Was my December 30 gift counted in 2025 or 2026?") — your statement is the authoritative answer.

Generating the statements​

Under Fundraising → Tax Documents, run the Generate Annual Statements flow:

  • Choose the tax year (typically the prior calendar year)
  • Confirm the donor segment (usually "all donors who gave in the year")
  • Preview a sample statement
  • Generate and send

Ayuna creates a PDF for each donor, attaches it to their record, and emails it out per their communication preferences.

What the statement contains​

Standard content:

  • Affiliate name, address, and tax-exempt statement
  • Donor name and address as on file
  • A list of every donation (date, amount, fund) for the tax year
  • Subtotal of tax-deductible cash giving
  • A separate section for in-kind gifts (description only, no value)
  • A line stating that no goods or services were provided in return (or, for events/sponsorships with FMV, the deductible portion broken out)
  • Statement that this letter consolidates and replaces individual receipts for tax purposes

Donors who don't have email​

Statements still generate and save to their record. Print and mail those — Ayuna can output a print-ready batch for your mail-merge process.

Edge cases​

  • Donors who passed away — generate to their estate / executor when known
  • Donors with marriage / name changes — make sure the name on the statement matches what they need for tax filing
  • Donors with multiple addresses — use the most recent
  • Donors with refunded gifts — net out the refund; the statement reflects net giving
  • Donors who only gave in-kind — their statement is the in-kind acknowledgment-letter style (no values)

Donor-side access​

Donors can also download their annual statement directly from their dashboard at /donor/documents. Useful when they ask for a fresh copy mid-year or lose the original.

Compliance reminders​

  • The IRS requires written acknowledgment for any single gift of $250+ — annual statements satisfy this for donors who gave individual gifts under $250 throughout the year, but the per-gift receipts are also satisfactory for the $250+ gifts
  • Quid-pro-quo gifts (event registrations, sponsor benefits with FMV) need the deductible portion stated — confirm the statement template handles this correctly
  • Vehicle donations have separate Form 1098-C requirements — those are handled in the in-kind flow, not consolidated into the annual statement

Have your legal counsel review the template annually before the January batch.

Audit before sending​

Before triggering the batch:

  • Pull a sample of 10 statements and review manually
  • Confirm totals match the donor profile's lifetime / current-year giving
  • Check that in-kind sections appear correctly for donors who gave non-cash gifts
  • Confirm name and address are current

Catching one issue in the sample saves a thousand "my statement is wrong" emails after the batch sends.