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  • 1.  Gift Designation Limitations

    Posted 07-20-2023 03:20 PM

    Good afternoon,

     

    I realize there are restrictions on scholarships, and one cannot be given gift credit for monies received for a scholarship of which they have a deciding factor on the recipient.

     

    I've got a couple other situations that have arose recently, and I am questioning whether or not these should be processed as gifts.

    1. A campus member sent out an e-mail advising anyone interested in helping with another member's medical bills to gift money to their discretionary fund. It goes to that discretionary fund and then most likely to that individual, with whom most of the contributors work.
    2. We have a regular donor that writes a check to a specific department and usually for a very specific amount, and is designates the monies for things such as carpeting or furniture. He has no vested interested in where any of these things are purchased.

     

    Are either of these not considered gifts for any reason?

     

    If the answer is that one or both of these should not be considered gifts, where is the line drawn? If, for example, someone writes a check to biology to purchase a microscope, can they specify the microscope (not vendor)? I can see this snowballing into endless examples, so I'll leave it at that.

     

    Thank you.

     

    Denise Mattie

    Director of Advancement Services

    T: 325.793.4750   |   M: 720.480.9369   |   mattie.denise@mcm.edu

    Institutional Advancement

    1 McMurry University

    #938

    Abilene, TX 79697

    give.mcm.edu

    McMurry University

    1400 Sayles Blvd.

    Abilene, TX 79697

    www.mcm.edu

       

     

     



  • 2.  RE: Gift Designation Limitations

    Posted 07-20-2023 03:54 PM
    The first example is clearly not a gift per IRS Publication 526.

    In the second case, your gift acceptance policy should ensure that the advancement office handles all solicitations for gifts for a specific property. There, you should ensure that the equipment selection is completely at the organization's discretion and there is no actual or implied donor control or influence. The new CASE Standards go into good detail in this area!

    John

    John H. Taylor
    Principal
    John H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
    2604 Sevier St.
    Durham, NC   27705
    919.816.5903 (cell/text)

    Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987