If a nonprofit organization has committed to a plan that involves utilizing membership as part of a larger funding scheme, the IRS will need some evidence of this on subsequent filings of the organization.
The money collected from membership fees may be in exchange for a tangible object, such as a magazine subscription or some other type of physical “gift,” and is reported on IRS Form 990 as “membership dues.” However, membership dues for which no such items are received are reported under the heading of “gifts, grants and contributions.”
