I have been donating cakes and cookies to the local schools this year. I was wondering if anyone knows "the ropes" about donations. Is there a special form that you fill out? What is the best way to document the donation, pricing, who it is going to? Can I just keep a simple excel spreadsheet or is there a formal way of bookeeping?

Any help or advice would greatly be appreciated.

Happy Baking!!

Are you talking about taking a tax deduction for charitable contributions? If so, any time I've donated to an event, I've rec'd a letter from the organization with their tax exempt ID# documenting their status as a bona-fide charity.

If you're not talking about a charity donation deduction, then the ingredients can be deducted under your advertising budget. I don't think you can deduct the total retail value of the items, just the ingredients cost, but I'll ask any CPA's or tax folks on here to verify that.