FundSvcs Community

It sounds to me like the donor is using you to "wash" a payment in order to get money from an employer that does not benefit the organization but the faculty member. In other words, it is not a gift and I would not even accept the payment from the faculty member. 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, Apr 1, 2019 at 5:36 PM Chelsea Hanson < Chelsea.Hanson@usiouxfalls.edu> wrote: > Hello, > > > > I have a not-so-common-to-me scenario to present to you all. > > > > One of our professors has written a book and is asking to the university > to help with the publishing costs. It is about our history and therefore > as a university we see value in this and would like this book to be > published. > > > > The initial cost of the project is $7500, of which $2500 would go to > pre-purchased books at a discount. I imagine we would use these for mostly > promotional/cultivation/stewardship purposes and possibly sell some of them > in our campus store. The university would not receive any of the profits > from sales of the books except profits from reselling the pre-purchased > books. The author would retain copyright to the book. I do know that it is > not uncommon for universities provide grants for faculty publications, but > I have no idea where those funds come from typically. > > > > We do have some funds in a restricted account to help pay for the > pre-purchased books. My initial understanding was that the professor was > going to cover the additional expense. However, in order to take advantage > of his spouse’s employer’s matching gift, he would like to donate $2500 to > the university so that it would get matched since the university qualifies > as a matching entity. > > > > Would this be a charitable contribution if the professor would retain all > rights to the book and potentially profit from the sales of the book? Could > this be a charitable gift if the university shared or had all rights to the > book or if we received any profits from the book? > > > > Can anyone offer any insight or are there other factors that I should be > considering? > > > > Thanks, > > > > Chelsea > > > > > > *Chelsea Hanson * > > Office of Institutional Advancement > > University of Sioux Falls > > 1101 W 22nd St > > Sioux Falls, SD 57105 > > 605.331.6590 > > [image: Email Signature_PurpleUSF (2)] > > >

Hello, I have a not-so-common-to-me scenario to present to you all. One of our professors has written a book and is asking to the university to help with the publishing costs. It is about our history and therefore as a university we see value in this and would like this book to be published. The initial cost of the project is $7500, of which $2500 would go to pre-purchased books at a discount. I imagine we would use these for mostly promotional/cultivation/stewardship purposes and possibly sell some of them in our campus store. The university would not receive any of the profits from sales of the books except profits from reselling the pre-purchased books. The author would retain copyright to the book. I do know that it is not uncommon for universities provide grants for faculty publications, but I have no idea where those funds come from typically. We do have some funds in a restricted account to help pay for the pre-purchased books. My initial understanding was that the professor was going to cover the additional expense. However, in order to take advantage of his spouse's employer's matching gift, he would like to donate $2500 to the university so that it would get matched since the university qualifies as a matching entity. Would this be a charitable contribution if the professor would retain all rights to the book and potentially profit from the sales of the book? Could this be a charitable gift if the university shared or had all rights to the book or if we received any profits from the book? Can anyone offer any insight or are there other factors that I should be considering? Thanks, Chelsea Chelsea Hanson Office of Institutional Advancement University of Sioux Falls 1101 W 22nd St Sioux Falls, SD 57105 605.331.6590 [Email Signature_PurpleUSF (2)]

Since the faculty member retains a business interest in this activity, which is basically a business financing activity, there is no charitable component. Additionally, there is an ethics issue if this is mis-represented to the faculty member spouses' employer as a charitable contribution in order to obtain a match. That match is simply additional business financing and may have unforeseen repercussions if the spouses employer views it in that manner. Even if the faculty member only retains a partial interest, it would not change the nature of these related actions. For these types of business activities, it may be best to leave them on the university side of the house if they have an economic development department. Bob Swanson, CPA Controller Bowling Green State University 1851 N. Research Drive Bowling Green, Ohio 43403 rswanso@bgsu.edu<mailto:rswanso@bgsu.edu> w 419.372.8597 From: Advancement Services Discussion List <FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG> On Behalf Of Chelsea Hanson Sent: Monday, April 1, 2019 5:36 PM To: FUNDSVCS@LISTSERV.FUNDSVCS.ORG Subject: [EXTERNAL] [FUNDSVCS] Is this a charitable gift? Hello, I have a not-so-common-to-me scenario to present to you all. One of our professors has written a book and is asking to the university to help with the publishing costs. It is about our history and therefore as a university we see value in this and would like this book to be published. The initial cost of the project is $7500, of which $2500 would go to pre-purchased books at a discount. I imagine we would use these for mostly promotional/cultivation/stewardship purposes and possibly sell some of them in our campus store. The university would not receive any of the profits from sales of the books except profits from reselling the pre-purchased books. The author would retain copyright to the book. I do know that it is not uncommon for universities provide grants for faculty publications, but I have no idea where those funds come from typically. We do have some funds in a restricted account to help pay for the pre-purchased books. My initial understanding was that the professor was going to cover the additional expense. However, in order to take advantage of his spouse's employer's matching gift, he would like to donate $2500 to the university so that it would get matched since the university qualifies as a matching entity. Would this be a charitable contribution if the professor would retain all rights to the book and potentially profit from the sales of the book? Could this be a charitable gift if the university shared or had all rights to the book or if we received any profits from the book? Can anyone offer any insight or are there other factors that I should be considering? Thanks, Chelsea Chelsea Hanson Office of Institutional Advancement University of Sioux Falls 1101 W 22nd St Sioux Falls, SD 57105 605.331.6590 [Email Signature_PurpleUSF (2)]