Best Practices
➢ Departmental policies and procedures for the activity should be formally documented. This should include authorized activity, workflow, responsibilities, documentation requirements and step-by-step instructions for processing activity.
➢ Documented policies and procedures helps ensure departmental personnel understand expectations and requirements, and promote accountability and consistency in activities.
➢ Department personnel should comply with Kentucky State University’s donations policies and procedures.
➢ In the event a department receives a gift, the department should deliver the gift to the Bursar Office for deposit (if necessary) and notify External Relations on the same day received. Cash should be discouraged as a gift or donation. If a donor wishes to provide cash they should be encouraged to provide a check or money order instead.
➢ Individual donations / contributions should be processed and reported in accordance with established policies and procedures. This is imperative since the donation should be intended for a public purpose and must be accounted for. This includes in-kind donations of goods or services.
➢ Ethical considerations, including perceptions and disclosure requirements, should be considered when determining the appropriateness of soliciting and receiving donations.
➢ When goods or services are received in exchange for a donation, the acknowledgement letters should include a disclosure statement that the donor’s tax deduction is limited to the amount of the donation less the value of the goods or services received.
➢ Due to the potential of misuse, especially of donated goods, distribution plans are imperative. There should be sufficient documentation to determine the ultimate recipients of donations, especially goods.
➢ Distribution plans should include the donors intended use of the donation and a description of how the distribution will meet that use.
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