Guidelines

1. General                      

1.1  The College may accept charitable gifts in the form of cash or cheque, gifts-in-kind, or gifts of service. Ownership of all gifts shall vest with the College, whether they be for the benefit of the College in general or for a specific purpose.

1.2  The College (as per Section 2 “Consultation”) maintains the right to refuse any gift that it judges not to be in the best interests of theCollege.

1.3  The gift shall be such that it can be retained as a College asset and used in connection with College activities, with discretion as to its use and management, or disposed. The College reserves the right to dispose of items received asgifts.

1.4  Gifts may be accepted if there are no usage restrictions set by the donor(s), or if the restrictions set by the donor(s) allow the gift(s) to be used in a manner consistent with the needs and goals of the College as judged by theCollege.

1.5  Nothing shall be done which might be construed as an acceptance of a gift until the College has made a decision to accept (as per section 2). In considering a gift, the College shall first agree to accept the terms and conditions, including associated costs, upon which the gift has beenoffered.

1.6   The College shall consider the following when accepting a gift orgift-in-kind:

• Potential liabilities, including environmentalissues
• Potential acquisition, installation, usage, storage, or maintenancecosts
• Condition and repair of theitem
• Instructional, aesthetic or other value to the College or potential users

2. Consultation 

2.1  The VP Finance will be consulted prior to the acceptance of any gifts of real property, royalty agreements (provided that they are in accordance with the terms of Collective Agreements), and securities

2.2  The appropriate manager will be consulted prior to the acceptance of donations to a particular department. Where, in the opinion of said manager, the acceptance of the gift would prove administratively difficult and/or not in the College's best interest, the terms of the gift may be revised or the offer declined.

2.3  The VP Finance shall be consulted where the donor has requested that conditions be place on the donation, such as restrictions on sale, leaseback, life interests, and life estates or in situations where the asset is difficult to appraise.

3. Appraisals

3.1  Gifts valued at less than $1,000.00:

Canada Revenue Agency will accept the appraisal of a College staff member, provided the staff member is knowledgeable in the field of the gift and qualified to appraise the gift for its fair market value. The appraisal and rationale shall be provided in writing to the VP Finance with the completed Charitable Gift Acceptance  Form.

3.2  Gifts valued over $1,000.00:

Gifts valued over $1000.00 must be appraised by and a written appraisal received from an independent appraiser. Written, third-party appraisals must be received by the VP Finance with the completed Charitable Gift Acceptance Form.

3.3  Appraisals:

The donor shall bear the cost for appraisal unless otherwise agreed. Donors and departments should confirm the College's willingness to accept a gift-in-kind before initiating an appraisal if costs are involved.

4. Documentation

4.1  Charitable Gift Acceptance Form

4.1.1  The manager of a department to which a donation is being offered will complete and submit a Charitable Gift Acceptance Form to the VP Finance for approval, whether or not an income tax receipt is requested.

4.1.2  The Accounting Department will generate a tax receipt and provide required information for year-end Financial Statements and government reporting. All donations shall be recorded in the financial records of the College.

5. Budget Form

5.1  Budget Form

5.1.1  If cash is donated for a specific purpose, a proposed budget will be prepared and approved by the manager of the recipient department and will be submitted to the Accounting Department. Upon receipt, the donation will be credited to the appropriate department.

6. Receipts

6.1  The VP Finance shall determine whether or not a gift meets Canada Revenue Agency's definition of a donation and is eligible for a Charitable Donation Tax Receipt.

6.2  The Accounting Department shall issue charitable donation tax receipts for all eligible donations, and non-tax receipts for non-eligible donations. Donation receipts shall be signed by the VP Finance or designate and returned to the receiving department for delivery with a letter of thanks from the receiving department.

7. Sponsorship and Charitable Giving

7.1  The Development & Communications Manager shall provide central support for coordinating requests of the College for donations to others.

7.2  In general, as the College is itself a charitable organization which receives donations, it does not contribute financially to other charities. However, the College promotes itself as a supporter in the community and as a result is often asked for promotional items, gifts-in-kind or monetary donations to various charitable, not-for-profit political organizations. Allowable financial contributions to not-for-profits or charities include, but are not limited to:

• Community events that support education, research and / or the cultural development of our community may be supported subject to budget and / or merchandise availability.
• Academic and administrative units may pay for items like corporate tables at fundraising events where it is important for the College to be present and show their support, but not if it is a benefit to a federal, provincial or municipal politicalgroup.

2.6 - Charitable Gift Acceptance - Appendix A