If I remember correctly, I believe the other requirement is that they also have to be open for any student to join -- not just specific students. But in general, my experience has been as John mentions: the purpose of the club/group has to be educational in nature.
Student clubs might have a staff/faculty sponsor, but in general we classified them as "student-led organizations that offer members opportunities to explore shared interests, develop skills, and engage in activities beyond the formal curriculum." They were open to all currently-enrolled students, regardless of academic discipline.
Are they planning to offer any credit hours for those who participate in the program? If not, I'm inclined to agree that it errs more on the side of a club with volunteered participation versus a truly formal program/"course."
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Taylor Dine
Trust for Public Land
taylor.dine@tpl.org------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 04-16-2026 05:42 PM
From: John Taylor
Subject: Intramural/"Club" sports
I think you should look at this a bit differently. The IRS prohibition on charitable gifts to student clubs and groups is not do much about the "student" component, as it is about the "social" aspect. More specifically, the IRS wants to know whether the group exists exclusively for "educational purposes."
You may need to involve University Counsel to determine whether the educational purpose requirement is being met.
John
John H. Taylor, PrincipalJohn H. Taylor Consulting, LLC
2604 Sevier Street
Durham, NC 27705
919.816.5903 (cell/text)
Serving the Advancement Community Since 1987
Original Message:
Sent: 4/16/2026 6:20:00 PM
From: Amber Gichard
Subject: Intramural/"Club" sports
We have a university that is interested in establishing a formal program within the university's student services unit for "club sports" The term club not meaning its a student club, but they are considering it an intramural sports program for their students.
I'm struggling to find guidance on if we can accept donations for and create a fund for these club sports, as the university tells us this will be a formal program within their student services unit, but it still sounds very student organization-y to me. I'm struggling to find much guidance on intramural sports at all...
The question has also been raised of how do we define a "student organization"? Is it only those orgs run by students...?
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Amber Gichard
University of Alaska Foundation
argichard@alaska.edu
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