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  • 1.  Gifts paid on employee personal card

    Posted 06-26-2023 03:08 PM
    At a recent golf fundraising event, several hole sponsors paid their hole sponsorships to the coach in cash.  The coach then used her personal credit card to issue payment for the total amount collected to the College (keeping the cash).

    I'm assuming that even though the coach was acting on the College's behalf when she accepted the money and then issued the payment, that because it came via her personal credit card, that we have to give her hard credit for the gift and the sponsors would just receive soft (recognition) credit for their portions, in which case no tax receipt could be issued to them.  Is that correct?

    Would it be any different if the coach had used a personal check?

    My thought is we'll need to refund the coach's credit card payment and require that the coach provide the sponsorship payments to our office in cash.  Is there any other appropriate alternative?

    Thanks!



  • 2.  RE: Gifts paid on employee personal card

    Posted 06-26-2023 03:16 PM

    This seems to be a topic where I may be an outlier, but to me this is different from some random person collecting gifts.  I would see the coach as acting as a representative/agent of the organization, and therefore the organization received the cash from the individuals.  The coach is an employee of the organization, approached in this instance (I infer) in that capacity.

     

    The method of then delivering that cash for recording/deposit might not be optimal, and there is probably an opportunity to clarify (or establish) policies and procedures and to do some training.  It would certainly have been clearer if the donors had written a check instead (some people still do that).  But, that better option aside, this is really an internal issue of handling cash that has been received by the organization.

     

    My US$0.02 worth; the usual disclaimers apply.

     

    Good luck!

    Alan

     

    Alan S. Hejnal (he/him)

    Data Quality Manager

     

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  • 3.  RE: Gifts paid on employee personal card

    Posted 06-26-2023 03:17 PM
    I think that working with either Counsel or the CFO or both (you must get one involved), they can document the coach was operating as your agent for these transactions. They won't be thrilled, but I have seen that happen.

    Another option is for the coach to return the cash and let the individuals write you checks.

    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




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  • 4.  RE: Gifts paid on employee personal card

    Posted 06-26-2023 04:12 PM
    This is a regrettable situation, but a few things seem clear to me:
    1. The donation via credit card ought to be reversed. It is not a bona fide contribution, and receipting the coach, with the facts as they are, could even be illegal. The coach received the money as an employed agent of the university. The cash never belonged to them, and making the credit card donation doesn't make the coach into the owner of the cash. 
    2. The coach has almost certainly violated the university's cash acceptance and processing rules, which would typically call for a cash log to have been created to even accept cash gifts, and for cash gifts to be received in sealed envelopes, and to be brought to the university as soon as possible after receipt. That piece of this issue is a matter for internal training and discipline.
    3. The best alternative is to get the original cash contribution, alongside a concurrent record of who contributed which amount, so that each donor can be receipted correctly. Alongside that, alerting counsel and the finance office is appropriate, as they will need to know that this happened, and will need to sign off on how to cure it.



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    Isaac Shalev
    Data Strategy Expert
    Sage70, Inc.
    (917) 859-0151
    isaac@sage70.com

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