GIFT ACCEPTANCE POLICIES
By Larry C. Howlett CPA The following policies intend to provide guidance to a charity in accepting gifts in setting standards in evaluating various kinds of gifts. The types of gifts, the limitation/restrictions placed on the gifts and the charity’s administration of the gifts should be considered in accepting gifts. The members of the board of directors, officers and staff should determine how these points apply to the charity, make changes as needed and operate within these guidelines to best deal with donors and protect the charity. Gifts should only be accepted if the donor intends to benefit the charity and not seek personal financial gain from the gift. Gift acceptance policies may be used to preserve relationships with donors, a valuable asset of a charity. Established written policies provide a means for the contact person of the charity to defect the rejection of an offered gift on the policy, not a personal choice. The donor may observe the charity is professional in its operations and maintains a high level of integrity. A gift acceptance policy provides a means of consistency and communication with donors. The mission statement should be stated to remind everyone of the purposes of gifts must conform to the purposes of the charity. The charity should primarily only accept unrestricted gifts so the donated items may be used as the organization wishes for its purposes. Donor imposed restrictions should conform to the mission of the charity. One of the recognized restrictions may be endowment for board established purposes. Restrictions that are beyond the mission of the donor or for the private benefit of the donor should be declined. Donors must retain no control over the gifts. Any offers of gifts, where the donors retain any degree of control should be rejected. The organization must accept only gifts when they have free and unencumbered control to the gifts. In evaluating if the charity should accept real estate gifts, it must request the donor secures an environmental clearance of the property. The organization should also consider if it can manage the property or dispose of it properly if it chooses.
2 Comments
10/8/2022 03:06:49 am
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