Comments on: Legislation & Donation

By: Zachariah Johanns

Zachariah Johanns — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 09:06:13 +0000

Thanks for your blog post. I would love to say a health insurance broker also works well with the benefit of the coordinators of your group insurance policy. The health insurance professional is given a long list of benefits needed by an individual or a group coordinator. What any broker really does is seek out individuals and also coordinators which often best go with those demands. Then he presents his advice and if the two of you agree, the particular broker formulates a legal contract between the 2 parties.

By: Elijah Hyppolite

Elijah Hyppolite — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 18:12:08 +0000

Hi! I recently desired to uncover you ever have difficulties with cyberpunks? My own last blog (wordpress blogs) has been hacked and that i found themselves sacrificing weeks of hard work due to virtually no information file backup. Have you got almost any answers to control online hackers?

By: pet bottle manufacturer

pet bottle manufacturer — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 06:46:21 +0000

How does Computer Ram make a computer faster and deliver better performance?

By: luteina

luteina — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 06:05:51 +0000

I would like to convey my affection for your kindness supporting those individuals that actually need assistance with this study. Your real dedication to passing the message around was exceptionally interesting and has frequently permitted most people much like me to reach their objectives. Your entire warm and friendly report denotes a great deal a person like me and further more to my office colleagues. With thanks; from all of us.

By: Melissa

Melissa — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 22:56:21 +0000

Hello people! Nice site!t

By: Larry Jewett

Larry Jewett — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:01:07 +0000

Elk hunters, cowboys, fishnet stockings, fine art, high heels, whine (and cheese?)…Any jugglers?

Sounds like an interesting auction.

Where do I sign up?

Then again, maybe I have to go out and shoot an elk first. Would a squirrel do?

By: Julie Chapman

Julie Chapman — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:19:58 +0000

Pat, thank you for stopping by and sharing your perspective! It’s good to hear from ‘the other side of the fence’. One of the (very few) nonprofits that I support with art is my local NPR station, KUFM here in Missoula; they do a phenomenally fun job with pledge week…local folks donate all kinds of premiums that are read on the air, and a donor must pay twice retail value to take home that premium. Plus, the range of premiums donated is outrageous! everything from homemade pies, massages, chef’s dinners, balloon rides, and art prints (like mine) to the ever-popular pickup-load of llama manure (apparently really good for your garden). We all listen in during pledge week to hear the entertaining premiums read, hear our friends listed as donors, and listen for the cowbells that signal another $1000 stairstep. But I digress…

Larry, your comments make a lot of sense from the artist’s point of view. I’m sure the nonprofits count on donations to make silent auctions exciting and worthwhile…but, as Joe’s experience shows, the artist has to be extremely careful where he/she donates work. I am very, extremely leery of the term “exposure” when used by a nonprofit.

There are definitely nonprofits that know how to run a good auction and get top dollar for donations of artwork - the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation comes to mind. The Santa Rosa chapter made sure everyone was very well lubricated before bidding commenced at the annual chapter dinner/fundraiser, and I saw the items in both silent and live auctions go for excellent prices. The national event was even more exciting - there were cute little twenty-somethings running around in fishnet stockings with chaps, a cowboy hat, a halter top, high heels, and nothing else…and they knew how to work a room and get bids! Every elk hunter in that room would offer a bid just to get one of these bombshells to come stand next to him.

My main point (now that I’m finally getting to it) is that it behooves us, as artists, to vet the nonprofit carefully: how do they market the event? the donations? do they allow a reserve to be set? how many attendees usually come to the event? net worth? how are the funds used? do you, the artist, believe in the nonprofit’s mission?…and so on.

By: Joe

Joe — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 16:22:41 +0000

Yeah, you gotta think twice about donating to certain events. Most people that show up don’t know much about art and what it is worth. I was asked to donate a painting to a zoo for their annual fundraiser and in return they said they would mail out 200 postcards to their list of wealthy donators (which I provided) to advertise and invite people to an upcoming show I was having. Well, they lied to me and didn’t mail out any of my postcards and the painting sold in their silent auction for a fraction of what it was worth. So I learned from that little lesson not to just hand work over for “exposure”.

By: Larry Jewett

Larry Jewett — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 05:50:36 +0000

The IRS obviously thinks that if they allow people to deduct the full value of their paintings, everyone will suddenly become a Picasso. They may be right, though I somehow doubt it will be the artists milking the system.

“I’m not really willing to hand over a nice painting that took me several weeks to paint and that might sell in some two-bit animal rescue auction in Outer Timbuktu for pennies on the dollar compared to my retail prices”

Then perhaps it makes the most sense to simply sell the painting at the normal going price and donate the money or even a significant part of it, which might be more than the auction would bring in. That way everyone gets a better deal (except the IRS, of course)

With regard to “artists being tapped for charity” ,I would just note that in our society, it’s usually the people who make the most money (and are the stingiest with it) who expect struggling artists and others to give things away for nothing. The same way that they expect teachers to buy supplies for their students out of their own pocket money.

By: Pat Hoeft

Pat Hoeft — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:17:00 +0000

I’ve recently heard that there is legislation afoot to give artists a deduction for donated works commensurate with what that artist’s works have a track record of selling for on the open market. Hooray! As the volunteer Art Chair for the Rocky Mountain PBS Art Auction, I googled to find out more about this legislation and your blog was the second thing on the list. Your remarks are similar to those we hear all the time from our donors and I respect your willingness to support one particular cause over another. Though non-profits are not in the business of being tax advisors, we sometimes whisper to artists that they might exchange paintings with a friend, who then can take a full deduction for the actual value of the piece, and vice versa. We are grateful to talented people such as you who believe in the mission of public television such that they are willing to donate their work. Everyone has to pick and choose their charity. I’m so glad to hear you’ve found yours.
ps - I love the look in your fox’s eye.