Financial Services Manual (FIN)

Effective: 3/18/1985

Revised: 7/1/2020

FIN 303: Gift Deposits and Special Event Receipts with a Gift Component

Purpose

To deposit gift receipts properly and to comply with federal tax regulations

Sources

Internal Revenue Service

University policy

Policy

Gifts to the university, including special event receipts with a gift component, must comply with applicable tax laws and be processed through the ASU Foundation (ASUF) (serving under contract as ASU Development Office).

All cash, checks, securities, insurance policies, letters, and legal documents for in-kind gifts to the university must be brought to the:

ASU Foundation
300 E. University Dr., Tempe
(No U.S. mail can be received at the street address.)

for crediting to the appropriate cost center/program/project/gift/grant.

It is vital that the originals of all correspondence, including but not limited to, the postmarked envelope in which a gift is mailed, and all other relevant paperwork be brought to the ASUF along with the gift.

The preferred mailing address of the ASUF for any correspondence is:

ASU Foundation
P.O. Box 2260
Tempe, AZ 85287-2260

The ASUF oversees the financial management aspects of development at ASU and therefore is responsible for processing all gifts to ASU.

Note:

Gifts donated directly to the university must be spent through a university account for the intended purpose even though the gifts must be processed by the ASUF, and may not be transferred subsequently to an off-campus bank account or an organization financially related to ASU, such as the ASUF (financially related organizations are listed in FIN 301–02). University gift monies may, however, be used to: reimburse an organization related to ASU for expenses incurred by that organization, if the expenses do not require competitive bidding or proposals or pay for a banquet or luncheon being sponsored by the financially related organization, when such expenses are within the purpose of, or further the purpose of, the gift and the university.

All solicitation material for gifts must be preapproved, before printing, by the ASUF’s director of communication and marketing or his or her designee, to ensure that the following elements of the solicitation material comply with ASU policy and IRS requirements:

1. wording about the deposit of the gifts
2. benefits provided to the donor
   

   and

3. notification whether any of the solicited payment is considered a charitable contribution.

There are sometimes events where there is the desire for a portion of the event admission charge to be designated as a gift. The above-mentioned policy also applies to these special event situations.

Gifts are not to be used for purchases from the donor or the donor’s owned firm unless the purchase is pursuant to competitive bidding and approval is obtained from the director of Purchasing and vice president responsible for the area receiving the gift.

Pursuant to IRS regulations, special procedures apply to any gifts restricted for facilities that are funded wholly or partially from a tax-exempt bond financing. Gift funds are applied to projects based on the project funding plan and tax regulations.

In order to provide enhanced flexibility to ASU, it may be preferable for departments and development representatives to have donors consider restricting gifts for specific programs as opposed to a facility, especially a facility that will be or is tax-exempt financed. This approach allows the departments maximum flexibility.

Any department receiving gifts restricted for a facility that is tax-exempt financed needs to notify, in writing (or by e-mail), Financial Services of the gift receipts as they occur.

Cross-Reference

For additional information regarding Gifts in Kind see,

Property Control System Policies and Procedures Manual—PCS 206, “Acceptance of Property, Gifts and Donations to the University.”

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