Gift acceptance and due diligence

September 2021

Major gifts can be critical to your fundraising success. However, you also need to take steps to mitigate the potential risks they can bring.

Having clear polices on the types of major gifts your organisation accepts will allow potential donors to know what gift is right for your charity. Perhaps the costs outweigh the benefits of a gift, or a gift goes against your charity’s values. Whatever the issue, having a clearly defined policy give you the framework to assess the value and risk of any potential gift.

What might you include In your Gift Acceptance Policy?

• Types of support - Donations, partnerships, commercial arrangements, in-kind

 

• Types of supporters:  
  • Individuals
  • Trusts and foundations
  • Companies
  • Legacies
  • Governments/agencies

A few more points you should consider:

• Are there specific industries or activities that are not aligned with your charitable objectives?  E.g. health charity/alcohol and tobacco
• What types of donations will the policy apply to? Eg in-kind, pro bono, sponsorships
• Does it apply in all circumstances eg disaster appeal vs regular giving
• Threshold value for gifts for policy to apply
• Geography – are there specific countries that would trigger a review eg those known for bribery and corruption
• The costs of accepting the donation – especially restricted gifts
• Donor recognition

This is just a starter but taking the time to have an up to date Gift Acceptance Policy, and implementing it alongside your due diligence procedures will enable you to fundraise with the security of knowing that the checks are in place to minimise financial and reputational risks to your charity.

 

Get in touch

Are your data protection practices up to date?  Have you got a clear and up to date gift acceptance policy? At Prospecting for Gold, we specialise in major gifts fundraising and have over 20 years’ experience of developing procedures and policies to attract the right donors. For more information about what we do or for help with this, get in touch with us at info@prospectingforgold.co.uk or 01491577311.