I think there could be reasons to do accurate cost basis tracking for assets as part of a nonprofit's taxes.
Starting with the float being "placed in service" with the non-profit in December 2022, you would use the cost basis or the fair market value at the time, whichever is less.
Leaving that aside for a bit, are you sure the "embellishments" would be "improvements" which add to the cost basis and are depreciated, or should they really be considered repairs or maintenance, which are expenses. Even if they are "improvements" for the cost basis, I believe there is a safe harbor that would allow you to expense any improvements less than $2500 per year. I would do that, if available.
That just leaves you with the float. I can't imagine a useful life more than a few years, given weather, deterioration during storage, and changing sentiments on design and style that would probably mean it has to be redesigned every few years anyway. In fact, I would be inclined to list only the trailer as an asset, and list the building, repairing and enhancements of the float structure as expenses. After all, the fair market value of a parade float for a specific organization is likely to be zero for anyone else. Only the trailer itself is likely to have value for an unrelated buyer.
