Gift Acceptance Guidelines

Restrictions

The Foundation, consistent with the University policy, will not accept any gift that contains restrictions based on race, color, religion, creed, sex, or national origin.

The Foundation cannot accept any funds transferred from the University of Maryland, Baltimore or intended for deposit to the University of Maryland, Baltimore.

The Foundation cannot accept any funds from the State of Maryland or Federal office.

With regard to gifts designated for scholarships, fellowships, or other student financial aid, the Foundation will not accept any:

  • Restrictions that permit the donor to designate an individual recipient, or relative of the donor as a recipient.
  • Restrictions related to the future employment of the recipient; except where such restrictions are consistent with the purpose of the establishment of the award and does not inure to the benefit of the donor or any other private individual or corporation;
  • Restrictions by the donor regarding conditions or terms of repayment, including interest, of loans to students from the donated funds or their proceeds.

With regard to rare and unique gifts (e.g., art, stamp collection, real estate, etc.) a tiered review will be conducted in the Office of UMB Foundation Operations. Initially, the Office of Foundation Operations will consider gift acceptance. If required, the Foundation’s Finance Committee will consider the gift.

This list is intended to be illustrative and not inclusive. Please consult the Office of Foundation Operations with any questions.

Policy on Accepting Gifts from Faculty and Staff

UMBF welcomes gifts from UMB employees. It also recognizes the donor’s right to designate a preferred, restricted purpose for his or her gift.

Under IRS regulations, however, a charitable deduction must not fall under the control of the donor, and the donor cannot “receive or expect to receive a benefit from the use of the funds” (IRS Publication 526‐Charitable Contributions ). Therefore, all gifts from faculty and staff members must be credited to either departmental or school accounts that are controlled by an individual other than the donor. If members of the immediate family also work at the University, this prohibition also extends to any accounts that those immediate family members may control.

Employees can designate their gifts to a departmental discretionary fund that is fully controlled by the chair of the department and can be used to support the activities of all faculty and staff members, including the donor. However, to ensure appropriate financial controls, if a faculty or staff member contributes to an account for which they have signature authority, the immediate supervisor of the employee must also sign the disbursement form.

As with all gifts, donations from faculty and staff members must be routed through the UMB Foundation Office of Gift Administration.

Philanthropic Gifts-in-Kind

The Foundation will not accept any gifts that will obligate the University to further expense unless agreed upon by the Foundation and the University.

Gifts-in-kind are accepted on a case-by-case basis and receipted as such. Gifts of real estate are not covered by this policy. To be accepted, a gift-in-kind must serve the mission of the School or administrative unit accepting the gift and be approved before acceptance. Internally, and for tax reporting purposes, a gift-in-kind is valued at its face or fair market value (the amount a willing buyer would pay a willing seller in an arm’s length transaction).

Please consult the UMB Policy on Accepting Gifts in Kind for the policy statement and additional guidance.

If there are questions about a gift-in-kind UMB Foundation Office of Gift Administration should be consulted for more information about next steps before making a determination about the gift: GiftAdmin@umaryland.edu.

USM Policy on Private Fundraising and Stewardship

Please also see the USM Policy for additional information.

Definitions

Gifts - A voluntary contribution received by an institution for either unrestricted or restricted use in the furtherance of the institution and for which the institution has made no commitment of resources or services other than, possibly, committing to use the gift as the donor specifies. The contribution is a nonreciprocal transfer, in that there is no implicit or explicit statement of exchange, purchase of services, or provision of exclusive information. If the donor receives benefits in return for the contribution, the true value of the gift is the amount over and above the fair market value of any benefits received.

Gift Receipts - Tax substantiation required by the Internal Revenue Service for a charitable contribution. Gift receipts are generated by the Office of Gift Administration and mailed to the donors. Online credit card gifts receive an immediate, automatic electronic receipt.

Gift-in-Kind - Non-cash donation of materials or long-lived assets, for example, equipment, real estate, furniture, or art work. The in-kind gift should serve the mission of the institution or be readily converted to cash and should be reported at fair market value. Gifts-in-kind are valuable to the University and carry tax implications for the donors. It is the donor’s responsibility to determine the fair market value of the gift and fees paid by the donor to determine the fair market value of donated property are not tax-deductible as contributions by the donor. IRS regulations dictate that the gift receipt only describe the items contributed and do not include a dollar value.

Restricted Gifts - Assets or contributions that are restricted in use by the donor for a specific purpose or program (e. g., scholarship, program, grant, research, etc.).

Unrestricted Gifts - Assets or contributions that are not designated to a specific use by the donor.

Current Use Funds - Also known as operating funds. Monies donated to support current operations with intention to expend them in near future or short term. Donors may make an unrestricted gift or may designate their gift for a specific purpose or program.

Endowed Funds - Gifts that are accepted subject to the requirement that the principal be maintained and invested to create a stream of income. Endowments are intended to exist in perpetuity. Only a portion of the earnings are normally expended to benefit the program or activity designated by the donor. UMBF requires $25,000 as the minimum funding level for an endowment.