Purpose
The Central Nebraska Lutheran School Foundation accepts responsibility for the careful stewardship of all gifts according to generally accepted accounting principles. The purpose of this Gift Acceptance Policy is to provide equitable protection for the interests of The Foundation and the interests of those who support its programs through charitable gifts. This policy is established to assure that each gift to, or for the use of, The Foundation is structured to provide maximum benefits to both donor and donee. Furthermore, this policy is intended to serve the best interests of both parties in any particular gift planning opportunity.
Care will be taken that gift solicitation will be an agreeable experience for the donor and reflect positively on The Foundation. All prospective donors will be encouraged to seek the advice of their own legal advisors when considering matters relating to tax and estate planning.
Except where stated, this policy is intended as a guideline, since The Foundation must be capable of responding quickly and affirmatively where possible, to all gifts offered. Since some gift situations can be complex, requiring consideration of a number of interrelated factors, the merits of a particular gift may require consideration by the Development Committee with a final decision made by the Foundation’s Board of Directors.
This policy addresses both current and deferred gifts, with emphasis on specific types of deferred gifts and gifts of non-cash property.
Types of Property
- Cash Gifts in the form of currency and checks may be accepted in any amount. All checks must be made payable to The Foundation and shall in no event be made payable to an employee, agent, or volunteer for credit to The Foundation. Transfers of currency in the amount of $10,000 or more shall be reported to the Internal Revenue Service as required by law.
- Marketable Securities These are Securities which are traded on any recognized stock exchange or other publicly reported market may be accepted by The Foundation. It may be anticipated that such securities will ordinarily be sold by The Foundation immediately upon receipt, unless otherwise directed by the Foundation’s Board of Directors. Employees and volunteers of The Foundation may not represent to a donor that a particular security will be held for investment by The Foundation.
- Closely Held Securities Non-publicly traded securities may only be accepted after approval of the Development Committee.
- Real Property No gift of residential, commercial, industrial agricultural real estate (defined as land and generally whatever is affixed to land as well as those rights which issue out of land) shall be accepted without prior approval of the Development Committee, regardless of the purpose of the gift. No gift of real estate shall be accepted without first being appraised by a party chosen by the Foundation’s Board of Directors who shall have no business or other relationship with the donor. Donor(s) shall give evidence of title to the property in the form of an owner’s policy of title insurance in the amount of the appraised value on a current ALTA form issued by an insurer licensed to write title insurance in Wisconsin. The cost of the title insurance is to be paid by the donor(s), unless otherwise determined by the Development Committee.
In general, gifts of commercial or residential real estate with a value estimated at $50,000 or greater may be considered if there is reason to believe that the property is highly marketable. Real estate shall not be accepted to fund a charitable gift annuity.
Special attention shall be given to the receipt of real estate encumbered by a mortgage, the transfer of which to the ownership of The Foundation may create unrelated business income for The Foundation and adverse consequences for certain donors unless handled properly.
A Phase I, and if necessary, a Phase II, Environmental Site Assessment, be performed by qualified environmental professionals selected and directed by The Foundation. The cost of such an audit is to be paid by the donor, unless otherwise determined by the Development Committee. An environmental professional is an individual who, through academic training or occupational experience, can objectively conduct such an audit. The purpose of the Environmental Site Assessment is to determine, or to discover and document, the presence or likely presence of a release or threatened release of hazardous substances on the property and shall be conducted in general accordance with standards set forth in the ASTM document E 1527-00: Standard Practice for Environmental Site Assessments: Phase I environmental Site Assessment Process.
In the event the environmental audit discloses the presence or likely presence of a release or threatened release of a hazardous substance on the property, the transfer of the property to The Foundation will not be accepted until satisfactory documentation is provided that Federal, State, and local environmental authorities have determined that such condition has been remedied.
Real estate encumbered by a mortgage shall be given special attention by the Development Committee. - Tangible Personal Property Jewelry, artwork, collections, and other personal property shall be considered for acceptance by the Development Committee if the property has a value, determined by a qualified appraisal under the terms of the Internal Revenue Code, of $5,000 or more and there is reason to believe that the property can be disposed of quickly. Only the Development Committee can accept such a gift on behalf of The Foundation.
No personal property shall be accepted under conditions which obligate The Foundation to ownership of the property in perpetuity. Donors will be informed at the time of receipt of a gift that The Foundation will, as a matter of policy, cooperate fully in all matters related to IRS investigations of non-cash charitable gifts. - Other property not otherwise described above, whether real or personal, such as mortgages, notes, copyrights, trademarks, royalties, and easements, shall only be accepted by the Development Committee. Gifts of property (i.e., art, furniture, etc.) must be approved by the Development Committee and cannot have name plates attached to the gift.
Gifts-in-kind (defined as equipment, books, software, and the like that may be put to immediate use for educational or other purposes related to the mission of The Foundation) are included in the definition of other property. In kind donations of gifts and services may be accepted providing they reflect the needs and mission of the organization. It is the donor’s responsibility to provide a written estimate of the fair market value of the articles or services. - Bequests Gifts through wills shall be actively encouraged by The Foundation. Gifts of bequests will be accepted for restricted and non-restricted purposes under the same policy guidelines as cash gifts. Non-restricted bequests will be held in Good Shepherd’s general fund and transferred to the Foundation’s Fund bi-monthly based upon review and recommendation by the Development Committee.
- Any gift of property from the estate of deceased donors, which is not acceptable, shall be rejected only by the action of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. The legal counsel of The Foundation shall expeditiously communicate the decision to the legal representative of the estate. Any indication that the legal representative of the estate or any member of the deceased family is dissatisfied with the decision shall be communicated to the Foundation’s Board of Directors as quickly as possible.
- Life Insurance Life insurance is defined as a contract between the owner of a policy and an insurance company whereby the company agrees, in return for specified premium payments, to pay a specified sum to the beneficiary upon the death of the insured.
The Foundation will encourage donors to name The Foundation to receive all or a portion of the benefits of life insurance policies which they have purchased. Gifts of insurance will be accepted when The Foundation is named primary, secondary, or last beneficiary of the insurance policy. No insurance products may be endorsed for use in funding gifts to The Foundation without Development Committee approval. In no event shall lists of The Foundation members be furnished to anyone for the purpose of marketing life insurance for the benefit of donors and/or The Foundation.
Payment of Fees Related to Gifts
The Foundation will pay no fee to any person as consideration for directing a gift to The Foundation. The Foundation will not pay a commission of finder’s fee of any type to any party in connection with the completion of a gift to The Foundation.
The Foundation will pay reasonable fees for professional services rendered in direct connection with the completion of a gift to The Foundation. Such fees will be paid only with prior written approval of the Development Committee and approval by the donor.
Such fees shall be limited to appraisal fees by persons who are competent and qualified to appraise the property involved and who have no conflict of interest, legal fees for the preparation of documents or other legal advice, accounting fees for service related to the transaction, and fees of “fee for service” financial planners. Financial planners must have in writing that they are compensated only through fees for services rendered and that they are not compensated for the sale of products to clients.
An attempt shall be made by the Development Committee to ascertain the reasonableness of legal, accounting, and other professional fees prior to payment. An hourly breakdown of time should be requested.
If The Foundation is asked to pay fees to people initially employed by the donor, the donor shall be notified that the payment of such fees may result in taxable income to the donor in the amount of the fees paid.
In situations where advisers retained by The Foundation prepare documents or render advice of any kind to The Foundation and/or a donor to The Foundation, the donor shall be informed that the professional involved is in the employ of The Foundation and is not acting on behalf of the donor and that any advice given or documents prepared should be reviewed by counsel for the donor prior to completion of the gift.
Restrictions
All deferred and outright gifts, including restricted funds, are subject to the policies outlined above. The Foundation’s Board of Directors reserves the right to change the designated purpose or purposes of any restricted gift if the restriction does not seem to fulfill the donor’s intentions or becomes impractical, unnecessary, or undesirable.
Approval of such a change shall be dependent on a two-thirds affirmative vote of the Foundation’s Board of Directors. To the extent possible, potential donors will be made aware of this discretion, and no changes will be made without discussion with the donor or, if then deceased, his or her surviving spouse or children, or those people designated by the donor.
A permanently restricted named or unnamed endowment for a restricted purpose may be established with a minimum gift of $25,000. Up to five years may be taken to reach full funding.