[K12OSN] Tax Deductions

[Barry Solof]

Hi,

How do you handle contributions made to your school so the contributor 
can get tax credits?

I've been trying to get a local school setup with k12ltsp for about two 
years.  We've found enough old computers, monitors and keyboards for our 
project from a local government agency. We had a little money set aside 
and it looked like we were just about set to go.  Then there was a 
problem with the schools budget and many, many things got axed.  The 
monies for the k12ltsp servers were in the cuts.  So we have terminals 
but no servers.

I can't blame them for the cuts, either. Money is so tight that they 
have to worry about a lot more than computer systems right now.  But I'd 
still like to figure out how to get them started with K12ltsp.  It would 
change their world.

So it looks like we're going to have to go begging for donations of good 
equipment to the school.  I think the only real chance for success with 
this approach would be to offer tax deductions for the contributors.  
What sort of red tape or accounting is required to be able to do this 
properly?  How do you handle contributions?  Have you had any success 
going out into the local private sector to ask for this sort of donations? 

Many thanks,
Barry