FundSvcs Community

I'm familiar with past conversations on the list serv regarding the IRS' stance on tax deductibility of gifts made to student clubs and organizations.

I'm wondering if anyone is willing to share their policy, guidelines or best practice on how you determine which student clubs or organizations may fundraise with alumni, or what guidelines or limits you have in place.

Whether a gift is a tax deductible gift to the College, or just a non-tax deductible gift to support the student orgs' fundraiser, these student orgs often would like to utilize the College's alumni communication network for outreach.  While we've been supportive of this kind of outreach in the past with limited requests, it seems that it could quickly become a slippery slope, so we'd like to put some sort of guidelines or policy in place as to when/how/if those requests will be approved. 

I'd love to hear from others if you've got something in place we could consider or model our plan after.

Thank you!

Gwen, I do not think this should be a "beauty contest" where you must decide who can engage and raise money for the college - not the club. 

Instead, every organization should develop and maintain a "Third Party Fundraising Protocol" to be followed by any groups outside the Advancement Office considering a fundraiser. This protocol would apply to faculty considering a crowdfunding campaign and external groups like parent's councils or alumni groups.

The protocol outlines the circumstances where it can be appropriate for the group to raise money and offers an application they must complete (and have approved by Advancement) in advance of the activity. The application states the campaign's purpose, who will be solicited and when, how the solicitations will be secured, estimates of total expense and anticipated ROI, and more.

John