EGSC Foundation Fundraising and Gift Acceptance Policy
September 25, 2015
The East Georgia State College Foundation, Inc., (“The Foundation”) is a not-for-profit organization established in 1973 to raise and manage private dollars to meet the needs of East Georgia State College that are not funded through state allocations or tuition.
The Foundation is qualified by the Internal Revenue Service as a tax exempt 501(c)(3) corporation.
The Foundation is committed to ensuring that fundraising activities are carried out in an ethical manner.
Purpose
The purpose of this document is to identify the Foundation’s position on fundraising practice and to document the procedure to be followed and the standards expected of East Georgia State College employees and trustees when engaged in fundraising activities from private donors.
General
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia encourages the System’s institutions to seek private support from alumni, friends, corporations, foundations and other organizations. Funds raised from private donations may be used in support of the mission and objectives of the institution, including funds for student scholarships and fellowships, chairs and professorships, construction of physical facilities and for other purposes as may be designated by the donor.
By accepting such gifts, donations, bequests, or declarations of trust, the President of the institution affirms that the gift or donation carries no obligations to the institution that may conflict with state law or Board of Regents policy. The President also affirms that acceptance of the gift or donation will not impose a financial burden on the institution beyond that which can be managed within the institution’s budget.
For purposes of these policies, the term “gifts” refers to private contributions (such contributions are sometimes called “grants” by foundations and corporations). Gifts are outright or deferred contributions received from private contributors sometimes referred to herein as “donors,” in which neither goods nor services (other than general reports and/or fulfillment of donor intent) are expected, implied or forthcoming for the donor.
“In-kind” gifts require special treatment as described in the attached exhibit (A).
Foundation Fundraising Practices
The Foundation acknowledges the importance of honesty and integrity in fundraising. To this end, the Foundation adopts the below ethical standards and Donor Bill of Rights. The Vice President for Institutional Advancement will monitor compliance with the Donor Bill of Rights.
Ethical Standard
Individuals engaged in fundraising on behalf of the college are expected to abide by professional standards adopted by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE). CASE principles of practice for fundraisers involve personal integrity, confidentiality, public trust, disclosure, compensation and conflicts of interest.
Approved by the CASE Board of Trustees in November 2005
Philanthropy is a voluntary exchange in which the values and aspirations of donors are matched with the values and aspirations of those they benefit.
Educational fundraising professionals work on behalf of those served by their institutions during this exchange of values and represent their universities, colleges and schools to donors, volunteers and the larger public. In doing so, they also represent the integrity of the institution and of the fundraising profession. They must, in discharging responsibilities, observe and promote the highest standards of personal and professional conduct and continually strive to increase their knowledge of the profession.
The following principles are consistent with CASE’s position on commission-based compensation developed by the Commission on Educational Fundraising (now the Commission on Philanthropy) in 1991 and reaffirmed in 2005, and the Donor Bill of Rights. They are intended to provide guidance and direction to educational fundraisers and volunteers as they make ethical choices during the philanthropic exchange of values. The principles are not, and cannot be, an exhaustive list of rules to be applied to every decision in which ethical principles may be involved.
These ethical principles go hand-in-hand with the expectation that educational fundraising professionals are expected to comply with the letter and the spirit of all laws relevant to charitable giving.
Ethical Principles
Personal Integrity
Individuals will:
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- be fair and honest and conduct themselves with integrity;
- not maintain any vested interest in a professionally related activity that could result in personal gain without prior full disclosure and approval;
- respect that their relationships with prospective donors, donors, volunteers and employees are professional relationships and may not be exploited.
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Confidentiality
Individuals will:
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- safeguard and respect donor and prospective donor information;
- honor the wishes of an individual and/or organizational constituent with regard to how directory information and/or giving history is used;
- record and keep only information relevant to cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship’
- identify the source of retained information;
- safeguard prospective donor, donor and other constituent lists complied by the institution as the property of the institution; these lists may not be distributed or used for unauthorized purposes or for personal gain;
- make every effort to ensure that volunteers, vendors and external entities with access to constituent information understand and agree to comply with the organization’s confidentiality and public disclosure policies.
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Public Trust
Individuals will:
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- ensure donated funds are used in accordance with donors’ intentions;
- obtain specific instructions from a donor before altering conditions of a restricted gift (consistent with applicable law);
- provide prompt, responsive and truthful replies to donor and public inquiry in accordance with the organization’s stated policies;
- place the mission and interest of the institution and its donors above personal gain;
- pursue only gifts that fall within, or advance, the institution’s mission and/or approved priorities.
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Disclosure
Individuals will:
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- be truthful about the institution’s mission, intended use of funds, and capacity of the institution to use donations effectively for the intended purpose;
- be truthful and specific about the identification of the organization they represent and their employment or volunteer status;
- understand and disclose their areas of expertise and will give appropriate advice regarding the involvement of the donors’ legal, accounting, financial and tax advisors;
- help ensure appropriate and consistent accounting, budgeting, and reporting methodologies.
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Compensation
Individuals will:
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- not accept commission-based compensation or compensation based on a percentage of funds raised;
- not accept external compensation for the receipt of a gift or information leading to a gift;
- not agree to pay compensation to individuals in respect of a gift or information leading to a gift.
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Donor Bill of Rights
The text of the statement below was developed by the American Association of Fundraising Counsel (now known as the Giving Institute), the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP). Adopted by these organizations in November 1993, the statement is widely used by fundraising organizations. Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, East Georgia State College declares that all donors have these rights:
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- To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
- To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
- To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
- To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
- To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.
- To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
- To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
- To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
- To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists than an organization may intend to share.
- To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.
Role of the East Georgia State College Office of Institutional Advancement
All fundraising conducted on behalf of the college must be coordinated through the Department of Institutional Advancement. Any East Georgia State College employee soliciting donations on behalf of the college may solicit, but cannot commit to accept a gift or commit to gift conditions, without first consulting the Director of Institutional Advancement. The coordination with Institutional Advancement will prevent multiple solicitations of the same donor and will ensure a consistent and streamlined approach to fundraising.
All gifts will be recorded in the Office of Institutional Advancement and the Business Office of East Georgia State College. The gifts will be acknowledged by the Office of Institutional Advancement.
The Director of Institutional Advancement is responsible for carrying out the donor’s intent, including public acknowledgment of the gift, compliance with any gift conditions or restrictions and safeguarding donor items on loan to East Georgia State College.
Exhibit A - Gifts of Personal Property or Service/Gifts in Kind (PDF)
