A member of your church recently inherited some land located close to your church. He has no use for the land and would like to donate it to the church. The catch is that there’s an abandoned warehouse on the property. Should you accept the gift?
This question can be difficult to answer without a Gift Acceptance Policy to guide your decisions.
A robust policy addresses many areas of risk that could lead to unintended consequences for your church and the donor. It also helps your team plan for how to handle various types of gifts that could require additional effort to convert into cash, such as real estate or personal property.
In addition to outlining how cash gifts will be handled, a Gift Acceptance Policy helps ministries navigate complex and sometimes risky donor gifts. A policy helps you consider gifts that may or may not align with your mission, vision, and values. It can also help you avoid receiving non-monetary gifts that could be costly to maintain or difficult to dispose. Finally, a policy can help you avoid potential legal and public relations issues, and it helps your staff understand how to graciously turn down offers that could carry an unacceptable amount of risk.
Having a Gift Acceptance Policy especially helps when gifts fall outside what is typical for your church. For example, would your ministry accept lottery winnings? Would you accept donations from someone with a tarnished reputation, or property that was used to store hazardous chemicals? Your gift acceptance policy helps address potential issues before the gift is accepted.
A gift acceptance policy also addresses IRS and SEC laws, making sure non-profits comply with Federal Law and file the appropriate forms.
A baseline policy addresses whether or not following gifts will or will not be accepted and how your ministry will handle the following types of gifts if they are:
- Cash, securities, digital currencies
- Real estate, land
- Annuities, trusts, life insurance
- Personal property
- Alternative assets
- Deferred gifts
We have a robust Sample Gift Acceptance Policy available in our Safety Library that includes handling the above gifts and more: www.brotherhoodmutual.com/gift-policy
NOTE: Please work with a locally licensed attorney and CPA when developing your own policy or when making changes to an existing policy. This helps ensure you’re following state and federal laws.
Publishing Gift Acceptance Guidelines for Potential Donors on Your Website
If your ministry has a Giving or Support Us webpage or does fundraising digitally, you could add a set of Gift Acceptance Guidelines to it. Having this info publicly available helps potential donors know the types of gifts that are or are not acceptable and how your ministry uses the gifts to benefit its activities. While we mention the website as a spot to publish your guidelines, you could also publish them in other public facing communications.
Guidelines also inform donors of the potential IRS rules, tax implications, and appropriate forms to file when making a gift. For example, IRS form 990 asks nonprofits to confirm they have a policy when reporting non-cash contributions or in-kind gifts. IRS publication 590-B discusses distributions from individual retirement arrangements (IRAs). IRS form 8283 is required for a noncash gift with a value in excess of $5,000, and it must be signed by someone from your ministry.
We have sample Gift Acceptance Guideline language in our Safety Library that ministries can use to get started:
www.brotherhoodmutual.com/gift-guidelines
The information provided in this article is intended to be helpful but does not constitute legal or financial advice and is not a substitute for the advice from a licensed attorney or CPA in your area. We strongly encourage you to regularly consult with a local attorney as part of your risk management program.
Brotherhood Mutual is a national property and casualty insurance company with a heart for helping ministries and Christian schools thrive. As a leader in the industry, Brotherhood Mutual provides innovative insurance coverage and risk management resources, specifically designed to help ministries and schools operate safely and effectively. Additionally, Brotherhood Mutual provides access to payroll and tax filing services, commercial auto insurance, worker’s compensation insurance, mission travel insurance, and employee health benefit options.
www.brotherhoodmutual.com