FundSvcs Community

Hi,

We have a donor who is establishing a scholarship endowment.  Her father authored a book that aligns with the major of the scholarship recipients, and she wishes for the first 45 recipients to receive a copy of his book.  She proposes that the University purchase 45 books at an academic discount, after which she would reimburse the University for our cost.  She would also like this reimbursement to be recognized as a charitable donation.

I understand that the more straightforward approach would be for her to purchase the books herself and donate them to the University as a gift-in-kind.  However, in this scenario, she would be paying the full price instead of benefiting from the academic discount.  I may be overthinking this, but does her proposed method still qualify as a charitable donation?

Colleen

Colleen Hobson

Associate VP Advancement Services

Tel : 435-797-1285 Cell: 435-770-4155

890 E 700 N | USU Alumni Center, Room 201A

Utah State University

1590 Old Main Hill

Logan UT 84322-1590

http://www.usu.edu/advancement

Hi, Colleen.

If the scholarship endowment was established independent of the request to distribute books, and the book idea is more of an afterthought, then I don't see any issue treating the endowment as a gift. If establishing an endowment is contingent upon distributing the books, it negates the gift.

I don't see any scenario where the books are a gift and I would stay away from the purchase and donate situation. Simply being aligned with the major is not a high enough standard to consider something as supporting the mission of the university.

Even if you decide to take the book without treating it as a charitable donation, it should be presented your gift acceptance committee beforehand since most gift acceptance policies protect against incursions on academic freedom or reputational considerations. It could be pretty valuable to someone to be able to say their book is being used at (University of Fill In The Blank). Again, being aligned with a major does not mean the University aligns with the books contents or even wants to be associated with it.

Best,

John Smilde

Director of Gifts and Records Administration

Advancement and Alumni Relations

George Mason University

4400 University Drive, MSN 1A3

Fairfax, VA 22030

703.993.8680

jsmilde@gmu.edu

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