It sounds like these were Qualified Charitable Distributions as part of a Required Minimum Distribution from the IRA.

Did you alert the charities involved in advance to inform expect what they would be receiving? If not, it may be that the check or transfer received from the financial institution wasn't well identified. Or, it may be that the people on the receiving end may not have been as competent as might be hoped for.

Edit to add:

If these were Qualified Charitable Distributions, I'm not sure there's a need for you to get an acknowledgement because the point of concern under the tax law is the distribution from the plan. There's no deduction on your reutrn. I think the administrator has some obligation to be sure the recipient is appropriate to give it the intended treatment as an in lieu distribution under the RMD rules. But I may be wrong.

If that isn't what it was, then you can ignore this comment.

Yes, they were QCDs.

I don’t contribute that way, but if I were worried, I wouldnt hesitate to contact to make sure it was received. Waiting until the end if the year to find out it may have been misdirected would be too late. It could be corrected, but they wouldn’t have the $ until next year.

I wish there were a way to opt out of thank yous from charities. I no longer itemize, so don’t need a receipt. I really don’t want them using their precious resources to send me a thank you.

It's annoying not to have any contribution acknowledged. It's also shortsighted for a charity not to use any opportunity to remind you they exist. I blame volunteer boards for this. People want their names on boards but don't want to actually meet or perform tasks like sending thank-you's.

I have some work experience in the world of philanthropy - the receiving end and in a ”Major Gifts” group. There were two acknowledgement processes. One, the required proof of a tax deductible contribution. The second was the thank you to the donor acknowledging their gift. The larger the donation, the more personalized the thank you that was sent. Major Gifts were considered $5K and above. From the business perspective, it’s good business practice to thank donors. We all want some acknowledgement that our gifts were not only received but were appreciated. Also from the business perspective, thanking a donor is a great way to cultivate the donor and be able to present them with another Ask. So, my thought on @jrb451 donation is that a solid thank you should have been received and if not, a call or letter to that organization is not out of line or shouldn’t be treated as unexpected. It could be that the qualified charitable distribution was made as a bulk wire transfer or bulk pay check & so is taking awhile to wind its way through internal reporting and processing. Two months is more than sufficient time.

Why would you feel awkward? These are businesses. It's not like you are hounding down a family member and saying, 'Why didn't you thank me.'

It is just plain stupid of them to not acknowledge your gift. It is called cultivating donor relationships. It is often the job of an intern or junior development staff to crank these notes out. They should want you to give to them again next year when you are in the same position.

" My question is more along the line of "we received your contribution, thanks". Just to let you know it got there. "

No I don't expect it, and I really don't want it. All I want or need is my receipt for tax purposes.

However, if you are concerned, please call them.

@chisue None of the board members of any if the non-profits I worked for or volunteered for ever wrote thank yous. It was a task that fell on already overworked staff or volunteers which is why I don’t want them spending time writing thank yous instead of doing the work I’m giving them money to do.

@KW PNW Z8, FWIW, all of these donations, individually, exceed the ”Major Gift” threshold given in your post. My main concern is to ensure that the funds reached their destination. Earlier this year, we had another donation, we’d mailed, that was never delivered. It was returned with an ”Unable to forward” label from the post office. We contacted that organization and were told the address on the envelope was correct. So, it was later hand delivered. Go figure.

A lot of good feed back for the OP except for the first one. Don't feel awkward, most financial advisors recommend a follow up after 3 to 4 weeks if the gift hasn't been acknowledged, but don't wait until years end encase something went wrong. The IRS explicitly requires written acknowledgment from the charity for a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD).
What bugged me was the first comment from someone who pretends to be a high profile financial professional, which was misleading and incorrect, turning your question into blame, condescension and incorrect. I'm glad others were able to ease your concern with correct information.
The problem, First; " I'm not sure there's a need for you to get an acknowledgement because the point of concern under the tax law is the distribution from the plan." If he's not sure why would he make a misleading comment for something this important to begin with? .
The second issue is suggesting "Did you alert the charities involved in advance to inform expect what they would be receiving?" So it may be your fault he is saying? Notifying the charity first is rare and not required. So it's just another day pretending as a career to get a dopamine release through attention from under the bridge.

My entire career was spent in the field of development. I never worked anywhere that we did not send a thank you note. For very large gifts, the president of the organization would sign them. We had a specified time limit in which the letter had to go out, usually within two weeks.

We often called and thanked the donorfor a more generous gift.. This was a great way to find out more about their relationship with the organization. If they had given every year for a number of years,we thanked yhem for their ongoing support.

There was no need for a year end letter. When we sent the acknowledgement letter there was always a statement such as ” your gift is entirely tax-deductible” or if there were benefits such as a membership the letter would state the tax-deductible share of the donation.

I would not hesitate to call and ask.

The process @dedtired describes is exactly the procedure followed by the Major Gifts group I worked with adhered to. It’s the process of cultivation and development for fundraising.

kevin, yet again you're predictable and amusing.

I have NO DOUBT that you began the day yesterday not knowing what a QCD is, not knowing what an RMD is, and likely will never have the need to know anything about QCDs.

It wasn't an area of the law I worked with myself though I've done both for myself personally. I caveated my comments because I don't tend to focus on minor details. Oops, that's a word you may not know.

You can do me and others a favor - you can assume I know nothing at all and only pretend to, by doing internet searches just like you do. Then, no need for YOU to pretend you know anything and you free up some time for yourself. It's clear you don't.

Ever hear the quip (maybe another word you don't know)

"Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt".

"It wasn't an area of the law I worked with myself though I've done both for myself personally."

Well isn't that swell, You've done both RMD's and QCD's personally but had NO clue how they work so threw out guesses? And now the classic default disclaimer pops up, that it wasn't an area you worked in, just like in so many other threads your lies were exposed in concerning finance. Shrek, I guess you had another melt down from under the bridge, and using CAPS to establish creditably in a false statement is only loud and condescending as I told you before. Do you ever learn?

You should of followed your own advice and remained silent, because all doubt you're a fool has been removed.

"It wasn't an area of the law I worked with myself though I've done both for myself personally."
Well isn't that swell, You've done both RMD's and QCD's personally but had NO clue how they work so threw out guesses? And now the classic default disclaimer pops up, that it wasn't in an area you worked in, just like in so many other threads when your lies were exposed concerning finance. Shrek, I guess you had another melt down from under the bridge, and using CAPS to establish creditably in a false statement is only loud and condescending as I told you before. Do you ever learn?
You should have followed your own advice and remained silent, because all doubt you're a fool has been removed.

"You should of"

You should have

I thought of this thread yesterday, when I received (emailed) letters of thanks from 2 charities where I had donated stocks - each was essentially a cover letter for the tax receipt that was attached. That doesn't bother me so much, since it's part and parcel of the same email I'd get with a tax receipt.

" You've done both RMD's and QCD's personally but had NO clue how they work "

It may be a good idea for you to work on your reading comprehension. I didn't use big words but you've not correctly understood what I wrote.