FundSvcs Community

A donor recently issued us a check along with a letter. In the letter she said that she had received memorial gifts (checks and cash) from other individuals that she was going to pass on to us, but unfortunately had misplaced the gifts and hasn't been able to find them. In the letter, she listed the detailed names and amounts given by each of the individuals which she had recorded (the total of which matched her personal check to us), and asked us to thank each of the donors for their gifts to the memorial. Is there any way that we can do this in whole or part? Thanks, Gwen -- *Gwen Donev* Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu Office: 507.933.6515

You could certainly write the individuals and thank them for their thoughtfulness. But you cannot issue a receipt. You couldn't have issued a receipt for the cash anyway as it was not received by an employee. But you cannot issue a receipt for the checks since you never received the funds. John John H. Taylor Principal, John H. Taylor Consulting 2604 Sevier St. Durham, NC 27705 johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com 919.816.5903 (cell/text) Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987 On Mon, Jan 14, 2019 at 5:46 PM Gwen Donev <gwendonev@gustavus.edu> wrote: > A donor recently issued us a check along with a letter. In the letter she > said that she had received memorial gifts (checks and cash) from other > individuals that she was going to pass on to us, but unfortunately had > misplaced the gifts and hasn't been able to find them. In the letter, she > listed the detailed names and amounts given by each of the individuals > which she had recorded (the total of which matched her personal check to > us), and asked us to thank each of the donors for their gifts to the > memorial. > > Is there any way that we can do this in whole or part? > > Thanks, > Gwen > > -- > *Gwen Donev* > > Director of Advancement Services > > Gustavus Adolphus College > > 800 West College Avenue > > Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 > > > > Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu > > Office: 507.933.6515 >

Hi John, Thanks for your reply! Can I ask a follow-up question on this: Can you help point me in the right direction to regulations as to what/why we aren't able to accept her payment to replace the donor checks that she lost (and record the gifts in the name of the original donors)? She followed a similar process with other non-profits who didn't raise the same concern, and I'm not able to find language to clarify our position. Thanks! On Mon, Jan 14, 2019 at 5:09 PM John Taylor <johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com> wrote: > You could certainly write the individuals and thank them for their > thoughtfulness. But you cannot issue a receipt. You couldn't have issued > a receipt for the cash anyway as it was not received by an employee. But > you cannot issue a receipt for the checks since you never received the > funds. > > John > > John H. Taylor > Principal, John H. Taylor Consulting > 2604 Sevier St. > Durham, NC 27705 > johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com > 919.816.5903 (cell/text) > > Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987 > > > On Mon, Jan 14, 2019 at 5:46 PM Gwen Donev <gwendonev@gustavus.edu> wrote: > >> A donor recently issued us a check along with a letter. In the letter she >> said that she had received memorial gifts (checks and cash) from other >> individuals that she was going to pass on to us, but unfortunately had >> misplaced the gifts and hasn't been able to find them. In the letter, she >> listed the detailed names and amounts given by each of the individuals >> which she had recorded (the total of which matched her personal check to >> us), and asked us to thank each of the donors for their gifts to the >> memorial. >> >> Is there any way that we can do this in whole or part? >> >> Thanks, >> Gwen >> >> -- >> *Gwen Donev* >> >> Director of Advancement Services >> >> Gustavus Adolphus College >> >> 800 West College Avenue >> >> Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 >> >> >> >> Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu >> >> Office: 507.933.6515 >> > -- *Gwen Donev* Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu Office: 507.933.6515

Simply because there is no proof of those payments. We are required to issue a receipt to the legal donor who made a gift to our institution. With no proof of those payments, we would not be legally able to produce that receipt. Doing so, in fact, and subsequently finding that we were misled would get US in hot water with the IRS! John John H. Taylor Principal, John H. Taylor Consulting 2604 Sevier St. Durham, NC 27705 johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com 919.816.5903 (cell/text) Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987 On Wed, Jan 16, 2019 at 1:53 PM Gwen Donev <gwendonev@gustavus.edu> wrote: > Hi John, > Thanks for your reply! > Can I ask a follow-up question on this: Can you help point me in the right > direction to regulations as to what/why we aren't able to accept her > payment to replace the donor checks that she lost (and record the gifts in > the name of the original donors)? She followed a similar process with other > non-profits who didn't raise the same concern, and I'm not able to find > language to clarify our position. > Thanks! > > On Mon, Jan 14, 2019 at 5:09 PM John Taylor < > johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com> wrote: > >> You could certainly write the individuals and thank them for their >> thoughtfulness. But you cannot issue a receipt. You couldn't have issued >> a receipt for the cash anyway as it was not received by an employee. But >> you cannot issue a receipt for the checks since you never received the >> funds. >> >> John >> >> John H. Taylor >> Principal, John H. Taylor Consulting >> 2604 Sevier St. >> Durham, NC 27705 >> johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com >> 919.816.5903 (cell/text) >> >> Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987 >> >> >> On Mon, Jan 14, 2019 at 5:46 PM Gwen Donev <gwendonev@gustavus.edu> >> wrote: >> >>> A donor recently issued us a check along with a letter. In the letter >>> she said that she had received memorial gifts (checks and cash) from other >>> individuals that she was going to pass on to us, but unfortunately had >>> misplaced the gifts and hasn't been able to find them. In the letter, she >>> listed the detailed names and amounts given by each of the individuals >>> which she had recorded (the total of which matched her personal check to >>> us), and asked us to thank each of the donors for their gifts to the >>> memorial. >>> >>> Is there any way that we can do this in whole or part? >>> >>> Thanks, >>> Gwen >>> >>> -- >>> *Gwen Donev* >>> >>> Director of Advancement Services >>> >>> Gustavus Adolphus College >>> >>> 800 West College Avenue >>> >>> Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 >>> >>> >>> >>> Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu >>> >>> Office: 507.933.6515 >>> >> > > -- > *Gwen Donev* > > Director of Advancement Services > > Gustavus Adolphus College > > 800 West College Avenue > > Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 > > > > Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu > > Office: 507.933.6515 >

As John said, the written acknowledgment is a tax document, and we need to be able to substantiate the document that we provide. In this sort of case, we can’t verify that the other person made the gift, so we can’t issue the receipt saying that the other person did. The only way that we could take the intermediary’s word is if the intermediary was the agent of one of the parties. If the intermediary had been our agent, we would have direct knowledge of the donor, since the donor provided the gift to us directly in the person of the agent, so when we issue the receipt we are basing it on information that we ourselves have, in the person of our agent. If the person is not our agent, then we would be basing the receipt on essentially hearsay by some third party. What the third party is telling us is very likely correct, but we don’t have direct knowledge or evidence to be able to issue a receipt on that basis. The intermediary could also be acting as the agent of the third party, but we don’t have anything in this scenario that would document that either. A good rule of thumb is that if you wouldn’t record a pledge if the intermediary came in and told you that someone else had made a pledge, you really can’t receipt a gift based on what the intermediary told you either. If the intermediary wants to make this good, one possible remedy would be for the intermediary to return the money to the assorted donors, giving them the option of contributing it directly. My US$0.02 worth; the usual disclaimers apply. Good luck! Alan Alan S. Hejnal Data Quality Manager Smithsonian Institution - Office of Advancement 600 Maryland Avenue SW, Suite 600E P.O. Box 37012, MRC 527 Washington, DC 20013-7012 •: 202-633-8754 | •: HejnalA@si.edu<mailto:HejnalA@si.edu> [SNAGHTML5cbfa34]<https://www.si.edu/> [AASP_FundSvcs_LOGO-01(040pct)(mark)] From: Advancement Services Discussion List <FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG> On Behalf Of John Taylor Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2019 2:01 PM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG Subject: Re: [FUNDSVCS] Check for memorial gifts Simply because there is no proof of those payments. We are required to issue a receipt to the legal donor who made a gift to our institution. With no proof of those payments, we would not be legally able to produce that receipt. Doing so, in fact, and subsequently finding that we were misled would get US in hot water with the IRS! John John H. Taylor Principal, John H. Taylor Consulting 2604 Sevier St. Durham, NC 27705 johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com<mailto:johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com> 919.816.5903 (cell/text) Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987 On Wed, Jan 16, 2019 at 1:53 PM Gwen Donev <gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu>> wrote: Hi John, Thanks for your reply! Can I ask a follow-up question on this: Can you help point me in the right direction to regulations as to what/why we aren't able to accept her payment to replace the donor checks that she lost (and record the gifts in the name of the original donors)? She followed a similar process with other non-profits who didn't raise the same concern, and I'm not able to find language to clarify our position. Thanks! On Mon, Jan 14, 2019 at 5:09 PM John Taylor <johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com<mailto:johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com>> wrote: You could certainly write the individuals and thank them for their thoughtfulness. But you cannot issue a receipt. You couldn't have issued a receipt for the cash anyway as it was not received by an employee. But you cannot issue a receipt for the checks since you never received the funds. John John H. Taylor Principal, John H. Taylor Consulting 2604 Sevier St. Durham, NC 27705 johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com<mailto:johntaylorconsulting@gmail.com> 919.816.5903 (cell/text) Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987 On Mon, Jan 14, 2019 at 5:46 PM Gwen Donev <gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu>> wrote: A donor recently issued us a check along with a letter. In the letter she said that she had received memorial gifts (checks and cash) from other individuals that she was going to pass on to us, but unfortunately had misplaced the gifts and hasn't been able to find them. In the letter, she listed the detailed names and amounts given by each of the individuals which she had recorded (the total of which matched her personal check to us), and asked us to thank each of the donors for their gifts to the memorial. Is there any way that we can do this in whole or part? Thanks, Gwen -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515 -- Gwen Donev Director of Advancement Services Gustavus Adolphus College 800 West College Avenue Saint Peter, Minnesota 56082 Email: gwendonev@gustavus.edu<mailto:gwendonev@gustavus.edu> Office: 507.933.6515