Acceptance of any contribution, gift or grant is at the discretion of The Yunion Inc. The Yunion will not accept any gift unless it can be used or expended consistently with the purpose and mission of the The Yunion Inc. No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.
When considering whether to solicit or accept gifts, the organization will consider the following factors:
- Values—whether the acceptance of the gift compromises any of the core values of The Yunion Inc.
- Compatibility—Whether there is compatibility between the intent of the donor and the organization’s use of the gift
- Public Relationships—whether acceptance of the gift damage the reputation of The Yunion Inc.
- Primary Benefit—whether the primary benefit is to The Yunion Inc., versus the donor
- Consistency—is acceptance of the gift consistent with prior practice?
- Form of Gift—Is the gift offered in a form that The Yunion Inc. can use without incurring substantial expense or difficulty?
- Effect on Future Giving—Will the gift encourage or discourage future gifts?
Gifts Generally Accepted Without Review—
- Cash. Cash gifts are acceptable in any form, including by check, money order, credit card, or on-line. Donors wishing to make a gift by credit card must provide the card type (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, American Express), card number, expiration date, and name of the card holder as it appears on the credit card.
- Marketable Securities. Marketable securities may be transferred electronically to an account maintained at one or more brokerage firms or delivered physically with the transferor's endorsement or signed stock power (with appropriate signature guarantees) attached. All marketable securities will be sold promptly upon receipt unless otherwise directed by The Yunion’s Investment Committee. In some cases marketable securities may be restricted, for example, by applicable securities laws or the terms of the proposed gift; in such instances the decision whether to accept the restricted securities shall be made by the Executive Committee.
- Bequests and Beneficiary Designations under Revocable Trusts, Life Insurance Policies, Commercial Annuities and Retirement Plans. Donors are encouraged to make bequests to The Yunion under their wills, and to name The Yunion as the beneficiary under trusts, life insurance policies, commercial annuities and retirement plans.
- Charitable Remainder Trusts. The Yunion will accept designation as a remainder beneficiary of charitable remainder trusts.
- Charitable Lead Trusts. The Yunion will accept designation as an income beneficiary of charitable lead trusts.
Gifts Accepted Subject to Prior Review
Certain forms of gifts or donated properties may be subject to review prior to acceptance. Examples of gifts subject to prior review include, but are not limited to:
- Tangible Personal Property. The Executive Committee shall review and determine whether to accept any gifts of tangible personal property in light of the following considerations: does the property further the organization’s mission? Is the property marketable? Are there any unacceptable restrictions imposed on the property? Are there any carrying costs for the property for which the organization may be responsible? Is the title/provenance of the property clear?
- Life Insurance. The Yunion will accept gifts of life insurance where the organization is named as both beneficiary and irrevocable owner of the insurance policy. The donor must agree to pay, before due, any future premium payments owing on the policy.
- Real Estate. All gifts of real estate are subject to review by the Executive Committee. Prior to acceptance of any gift of real estate other than a personal residence, The Yunion shall require an initial environmental review by a qualified environmental firm. In the event that the initial review reveals a potential problem, the organization may retain a qualified environmental firm to conduct an environmental audit. Criteria for acceptance of gifts of real estate include: Is the property useful for the organization’s purposes? Is the property readily marketable? Are there covenants, conditions, restrictions, reservations, easements, encumbrances or other limitations associated with the property? Are there carrying costs (including insurance, property taxes, mortgages, notes, or the like) or maintenance expenses associated with the property? Does the environmental review or audit reflect that the property is damaged or otherwise requires remediation?
All decisions to solicit and/or accept potentially controversial gifts will be made by the Executive Committee of the Board in consultation with the Executive Director. The primary consideration will be the impact of the gift on the organization.
Donor Acknowledgement
The Yunion Inc. will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting IRS substantiation requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by The Yunion.
Restricted Gifts
The Yunion Inc. will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, the Yunion will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.
Temporarily restricted funds are not released for use until there has been full compliance with the restrictions.
The Executive Director or another person designated by the Board shall perform this procedure. This policy may not be needed by small organizations, however, as revenues increase, donor-imposed restrictions may occur and must be followed.
Restricted funds are funds received by the organization that are subject to restrictions imposed by the donor as to how and/or when the funds may be used. There are two types: Permanently Restricted and Temporarily Restricted.
Permanently restricted funds are basically an endowment fund in which the principal is never available for operating use by the organization. Income generated by such funds is frequently available for use. Temporarily restricted funds may be restricted as to time (i.e., a grant made to fund a multiple year program) or purpose (i.e., to fund a particular project, purchase a building, etc.).
PROCEDURE:
- Temporarily restricted funds cannot be used for any purpose other than that which was imposed by the donor.
- Temporarily restricted funds are released to unrestricted status when the donor-imposed time or purpose restrictions are fulfilled. Separate bank accounts are not required but separate accounting of expenditures is maintained. The Executive Director shall assure that funds are used as required and reported to the appropriate funder.
- When temporarily restricted funds cannot be used as prescribed by the funder, the Executive Director shall contact the funder to determine alternate uses for funds or to refund unused amounts to the donor.
- Permanently restricted funds cannot be used except for investments and are not co-mingled with temporarily restricted funds or unrestricted funds. The interest earned from the investments is available for unrestricted use unless the donor has placed a restriction on that also. The Board of Directors determines the investments to be made with permanently restricted funds.
Use of Legal Counsel
The Yunion Inc. will seek the advice of legal counsel in matters relating to acceptance of gifts when appropriate. Review by counsel is recommended for:
- Gifts of securities that are subject to restrictions or buy-sell agreements.
B. Documents naming The Yunion as trustee or requiring The Yunion to act in any fiduciary capacity.
C. Gifts requiring The Yunion to assume financial or other obligations.
D. Transactions with potential conflicts of interest.
E. Gifts of property which may be subject to environmental or other regulatory restrictions.
Restrictions on Gifts
The Yunion will not accept gifts that (a) would result in the organization violating its corporate charter, (b) would result in The Yunion losing its status as an IRC § 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, (c) are too difficult or too expensive to administer in relation to their value, (d) would result in any unacceptable consequences for The Yunion or (e) are for purposes outside organization’s mission. Decisions on the restrictive nature of a gift, and its acceptance or refusal, shall be made by the Executive Committee, in consultation with the Executive Director.
