Boat Donations...To Pursue or not to Pursue

Hello,

My wife and I operate the tax exempt nonprofit SeaLah Expedition, Inc. (sealah.org) and we are currently looking for an SF. Our nonprofit is dedicated to getting church groups, church leaders, and youth groups out on the water fishing free of charge. We have been doing this for a couple of years now and it has been awesome. However, our 42 GB Classic is not the best suited for our mission hence our search for an SF.

Our plan was to purchase an SF as soon as we sold our GB. However, as some of you may recall last month we were approached by someone in Costa Rica who wanted to donate his 1981 50C. He has a business in Miami and was looking for a write off. We confirmed his intent before investing in an unscheduled trip to Central America. Long story short, my wife and I ventured to CR, looked at the boat and everything looked great. I began to shop different shipping companies. However, no sooner had we returned to the US that we learned that the owner had decided it was not in his interest to donate.

Needless to say, we were heartbroken.

When we discussed this with a broker friend (who had remembered our nonprofit and orchestrated the above and was just a disappointed as we were) he told us that it is not uncommon for people to donate to a charity, especially given that often times the fair market value of an SF exceeds what it can be sold for. So there is a real benefit for some folks who do not need the cash.

So my specific question is how would I go about soliciting a donor for an SF? I have approached brokers with variable responses ranging from extremely supportive to extremely irritated. The last thing I want to do is alienate people! In our case we would actually use any boat that we actually accepted so indeed the donor could write off the fair market value as determined by a licensed and reputable marine surveyor.

We are not looking for boats. We are seeking a single vessel to serve our nonprofit and our clients for years to come. I would be grateful if someone had any knowledge in such a matter, particularly some of you brokers.



Thanks,

John