Philanthropic Gift Acceptance Policy

This policy applies to all University staff members and only applies to gifts made to the University charities.

This policy does not cover gifts made personally to staff; for information on these please refer to our Sensitive expenditure policies and guidelines.

To provide clarity and guidance on the solicitation and acceptance of gifts and certain sponsorships for the University to ensure they can be accepted properly, legally and to ensure consistent and equitable relationships with donors.

1. Council has the sole power to accept gifts made to the University whether on trust or otherwise, except where the Council has delegated its power to do so, and subject always to the terms of that delegation, as per Education and Training Act 2020.
2. Sponsorships and the granting of them where they involve the use and potential alienation of University assets or interests in assets, oblige the Council or its delegate to express an opinion recording that the function of granting sponsorships will not disadvantage the University's characteristic functions.
3. In cases where an asset is charged with an obligation, or a lease may be involved, the University may be obliged to seek the consent of the Chief Executive of the Ministry of Education.

Delegation

4. Council delegates to the Vice-Chancellor the powers of Council in relation to gifts upon terms of reference as determined by Council and in accordance with this policy.
5. The power to grant and accept sponsorships may be delegated and managed by the Vice-Chancellor in line with this policy and the asset disposal requirements of the Act.
6. The Vice-Chancellor may elect to be advised by persons of their choosing who may also assist them to:

• negotiate
• assess
• approve
• accept
• or set the terms of any gift or sponsorship.

7. The Vice-Chancellor and any sub-delegate must report regularly to Council on the exercise of the delegation set out in this policy. The report to Council must detail:

• the origin
• the amount and nature of gifts or sponsorships accepted by the University charities
• such other details as Council may request from time to time provided that only gifts or sponsorships valued at greater than $25,000 must be reported
• any gifts or sponsorships not accepted due to concerns about the nature of the donor or their motivation.

Gift acceptance framework

8. Staff who are not part of Alumni Relations and Development (ARD) and are approached by a potential donor must seek advice on how to best manage a gift at the earliest opportunity from their faculty Development Manager (DM), or, in their absence the Foundations General Manager.
9. All gifts must be assessed against this framework to establish whether the gift can be accepted and, if so, who can accept the gift on behalf of the University and what level of acceptance checks should be applied.
10. DMs in ARD working with prospective donors must consider the Gift Acceptance Framework in all their discussions and must formally initiate background checks, as prescribed when the gift moves into solicitation phase.
11. Auckland UniServices Limited (AUL) Funds Advisor Team must initiate background checks when establishing new schemes provided by philanthropic funders. Similarly, AUL Business Development teams must liaise with ARD as required when working with new philanthropic funders.
12. Gifts are typically of the form:

• cash (including bank transfers, credit and debit card payments)
• pledges to make future payments, including the matching of other gifts
• planned gifts (bequest intentions)

13. Less commonly, gifts of other forms of property can be accepted but must be approved by the Foundations General Manager. These may include:

• real estate
• gifts in kind
• rights
• stock (see clause 33)
• cryptocurrency.

14. Certain sponsorships are managed by ARD and are covered by this policy. Typically, these will:

• have a financial value greater than the market value of benefits
• fit into a broader philanthropic relationship between the sponsor and the University.

15. Due diligence checklist approval must be completed before a gift is accepted. Different levels of check and approval are required for gifts which bring the donor’s lifetime giving:

a. Up to and including $10,000
b. Between $10,001 and $250,000
c. Between $250,001 and $999,999
d. $1,000,000 and above

The different requirements and approval required at each level are detailed in the Philanthropic Gift Acceptance Guidelines. Where any concerns are noted through the due diligence process, a Gift Acceptance Committee will consider the findings of the due diligence process and make a recommendation to the Vice-Chancellor.
16. For a gift to be considered philanthropic it must meet the definitions of a donation provided by both IRD and CASE further detailed in the Gift Acceptance Guidelines. No consideration can be received by the donor for example (but not limited to) a contractual relationship, exclusive information, IP or other benefits and control over the expenditure of the gift.
17. For a gift to be considered feasible it must meet the following conditions:

• the faculty or University entity receiving the gift must be able spend the money in a timeframe that would meet the donor’s expectations
• the nature of the gift and area of support must fit with the university’s broad aims, objectives and academic research priorities
• the nature gift must fit the charitable purposes of the entity accepting the gift
• the gift must not incur significant undisclosed or unplanned costs, liabilities or administrative burden for the university
• the purpose of the gift must be clear and must carry sufficient flexibility to adapt its use should the need arise
• if the gift is to be endowed, it must generate a sufficient return to support the prescribed activities

18. Staff donating to the University must declare any conflict of interest. Expenditure of gifts originating from a staff member cannot be controlled by that same staff member.
19. Media and background searches must be conducted to ensure:

• the gift and the donor are compatible with the ethics and standards of the University
• the need to permit public scrutiny
• that they do not affect the University’s autonomy or academic freedom.

20. Where a donor has been previously approved, then no further media and background checks are required provided that:

• previous checks have been carried out to the relevant threshold as the new lifetime giving level
• previous checks have been completed within the last ten years for domestic donors or within the last five years for overseas donors
• no new concerns have been identified or brought to the attention of the ARD prospect research team since previous checks were completed
• the ongoing, proactive monitoring of media making references to major donors and the University, undertaken by the ARD Prospect Research team have not given rise to any new concerns.

21. Gifts from a related entity that has not previously donated must be treated as a new donor.

Gift documentation and recording

22. Clear documentation must accompany the gift to ensure that, as a minimum, the following information is identified:

• the donor
• the purpose
• the amount and timing of payments
• the donor’s preference for anonymity
• and any other special conditions (e.g., reporting requirements).

23. The acceptance of gifts must be recorded on the ARD Fundraising database and its committal approved by the Associate Director Business Intelligence, or their delegate.
24. This process will confirm that the necessary approvals have been granted, which in the case of Director ARD or VC are granted by signature of gift agreement.

Unusual circumstances

Declining a gift

25. Should the decision be taken to decline a gift, whether it be due to the nature of the gift or the profile of the donor, every effort must be taken to inform the donor as quickly as possible, providing transparency for the reasons behind the decision.

Unexpected gifts and gifts without agreement

26. If a gift is received into the foundation bank accounts ahead of the relevant approvals, the acceptance criteria will be applied at the earliest opportunity and in all cases before the gift is committed for expenditure.

Bequests / gifts in wills

27. For both gifts in wills received unexpectedly and for those which had been anticipated, the full gift acceptance checks should be considered when notification is first received from the solicitor or executor.

Gifts in kind

28. For the purposes of donor recognition and calculating fundraising totals, gifts in kind are recorded at the appropriate fair market value for that gift.
29. A tax receipt is never issued for a donation of a gift in kind, although a letter of acknowledgement can be produced to confirm receipt and donors in certain jurisdictions (e.g. United States), may use this to accompany their own valuation submitted as part of their personal tax return.
30. Gifts in kind of property may include works of art, equipment, ornaments, statues and more. Any such gift must be referred to the Risk Office and if appropriate, relevant department of the University that would be responsible for the maintenance, insurance, depreciation and safety of any such gift.

Gifts of stock

31. Gifts of stock may currently only be received via the US Friends charity.
32. Where gifts of stock are received by the US Friends, they must be sold at the earliest possible opportunity.
33. If a donor wishes to donate stock to any other University charity ARD will assess the viability and benefit of accepting that stock or if necessary, request that the donor liquidate that stock and make a gift of cash.

Naming gifts

34. Naming of scholarships, awards and prizes are governed by the Scholarships Committee, which in turn is governed by Education Committee and Council. Note: Naming of facilities, positions or other elements within the University are covered by the Naming Policy.

Refunds

35. Gifts accepted by the University are not refundable except in exceptional circumstances typically where an administrative error has been made by the donor.
36. All refunds must be approved by the Chair of the University of Auckland Foundation’s Audit and Risk committee and will only be made into the originating bank account.

Income from investment or interest

37. Use of income from investment or interest earned on a gift is usually defined in the gift agreement and in such cases will usually be returned to the fund for expenditure on a similar purpose to the original gift.
38. Where the gift agreement does not determine this, the Foundation Trustees have the discretion to allocate the investment income or interest.

The following definitions apply to this document:

Act refers to the Education and Training Act 2020.
Council means the Council of The University of Auckland constituted and continued under S271 of the Act.
Gift means a philanthropic donation of any type of property, including goods, real estate, devises, bequests, rights or monies, where there is no consideration made or paid to the donor in any form for the making of that donation.
Sponsorship means the payment of money or anything having a monetary value, or the provision of services, rights or any type of property including goods and real estate, to the University where the payer or provider receives a consideration for such payment or provision in the form of advertising, logo use, publicity, naming or such similar rights but is not intended to mean or include normal day to day commercial transactions in which the University, in the ordinary course of business, purchases or otherwise acquires goods and services from another party.
Staff member refers to an individual employed by the University on a full or part time basis.
University means Waipapa Taumata Rau – The University of Auckland and includes all subsidiaries.
University charities mean University of Auckland Foundation (CC10985) and University of Auckland Medical and Health Sciences Foundation (CC30871); the University itself (CC20421), Auckland UniServices Limited (CC21514). Overseas, in the US, The Friends of University of Auckland is a 501(c)3 registered charity and in the UK the The UK Friends of The University of Auckland (1090141).

Include the following:

• Education and Training Act 2020
• Conflict of Interest Policy
• Marketing Sponsorship Policy
• Naming Policy
• Sensitive expenditure policies and guidelines
• Gift Acceptance Guidelines

Owner: Registrar 
Content manager:  Associate Director Business Intelligence, ARD
Approved by: Council/Vice-Chancellor
Date approved: 30 May 2023
Review date: 30 May 2028