Tax receipt

Every donation through a Koolay-powered nonprofit generates a tax-deductible receipt. Here's how to get yours and what to expect.

When you'll receive it

Per-donation receipt — emailed automatically within minutes of your donation.
Year-end summary receipt — emailed in early January, listing every donation you made in the previous calendar year on one PDF.

Both are sent to the email you used when donating.

What's on the receipt

A compliant tax receipt for a U.S. 501(c)(3) donation includes:

The nonprofit's legal name and EIN (employer identification number — proof they're tax-exempt).
Your name and donation amount.
The donation date.
A statement that no goods or services were provided (or, if they were, the fair market value).
The IRS-required tax-deductibility statement.

This PDF is what you give to your accountant or attach to your tax filing.

If you don't see your receipt

Check spam — first-time emails from new domains often land there.
Verify your email — did you donate using the right address?
Log in to the donor portal — at the nonprofit's website, log in (or claim your account) and download from there.
Contact the nonprofit — they can resend any receipt directly.

Year-end summary

The single most useful thing for tax-time donors. Sent in early January (typically the first week), the year-end summary lists:

Every donation you made in the prior calendar year.
Total deductible amount.
The nonprofit's contact info.
A combined tax-deductibility statement.

If you donated via Zelle, check, or another off-platform method, those donations may not appear automatically. Contact the nonprofit to add them to your summary.

If you donated by Zelle, check, or cash

These don't auto-trigger receipts. Email the nonprofit:

Your name and contact info.
Approximate donation date and amount.
Payment method (e.g. "Zelle from check.account@email.com on Oct 15").

They'll match your donation to their records and email a receipt directly.

Goods or services

If you bought a gala ticket, raffle entry, or any product where you got something in exchange:

Only the portion above the fair market value of what you received is tax-deductible.
The receipt will say e.g. "Donation: $200 / Fair market value of dinner: $50 / Tax-deductible: $150."

Common questions

Can I deduct the full amount? Only the portion not exchanged for goods. For pure donations (no ticket, no product), yes — the full amount.

Do I need to itemize? Yes. Charitable deductions only matter if you itemize on your federal return. Most filers take the standard deduction; in that case, donations don't directly reduce your taxes (though they're still good to make).

State tax deductions? Many states (CA, NY, others) also allow charitable deductions on state returns. Check with your state's rules.

International donors? U.S. tax deductibility only applies to U.S. taxpayers. If you're filing taxes in another country, your country's rules apply. Most countries don't recognize U.S. 501(c)(3) status; you'd need a local equivalent.