Gift Acceptance Policy

Responsible Unit: Development | Executive lead: Exec. Dir. Development 
Created: 5/28/2008 | Reviewed/Revised: 12/8/2017; 6/6/2019; 1/27/2023 | Effective: 1/27/2023 
Compliance: NWCCU 2.E.1, 2.E.2, 2.E.3 
Approving Body: BOT | Classification: Institution-wide  

Policy:  
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences (PNWU) encourages the solicitation and acceptance of gifts for purposes which will help the University fulfill its mission. PNWU Board of Trustees and staff solicit outright and deferred gifts from individuals, foundations and corporations to secure the future growth of the University. The goal of this gift acceptance policy is to uniformly treat donors and their gifts with full disclosure and provide guidelines for the acceptance and stewardship of gifts. 
 
Responsibility for the preservation and enhancement of philanthropy shall be retained by the Board of Trustees and/or the PNWU Development Office. A Gift Acceptance Committee (GAC) shall be established through this policy. The role of the GAC shall be to review the appropriateness of accepting certain gifts and recommending said gifts to the Board Foundation Committee. The GAC will advise the Board Development Committee of gifts under consideration. GAC members shall consist of the following voting members: 

  1. Board Development Committee Chair 
  2. BOT Finance Committee Chair 
  3. PNWU President 
  4. PNWU Executive Director of Development 
  5. PNWU Chief Financial Officer 

Definitions:  
N/A 

Procedure:  
Gift Acceptance Procedures 

  1. Use of Legal Counsel 
  2. Conflict of Interest 
  3. Restrictions on Gifts 
  4. Types of Gifts 
  5. Miscellaneous Provisions 
  6. Changes to Gift Acceptance Procedures 

Related Documents: 
Model Standards of Practice of the Charitable Gift Planner 
Environment Review Forms – please check www.irs.gov/forms-instructions for updated forms, (the following forms are current as of 12/06/2022): 

  1. IRS Form 8282 and instructions 
  2. IRS Publication 561 Determining the Value of Donated Property 
  3. IRS Publication 526 Charitable Contributions 
  4. Conflict of Interest Policy 
  5. Post-Issuance Compliance for Tax-Exempt Bonds policy 

Policy Resources

For assistance with policies and procedures contact:

Lori Fulton
lfulton@pnwu.edu