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Palmdale Community Foundation Donation Policy and Procedure APPROVED 06-07-2018 1. PURPOSE The purpose of this policy is to provide adequate and consistent procedures for acceptance and documentation of donations made to the Palmdale Community Foundation (Foundation). It is the Policy of the Foundation to encourage and support the pursuit of donations to provide supplemental financial support for community programs in the City of Palmdale. This Policy is intended to support the ability to increase revenue and partnerships and does not limit the Foundation’s ability to apply for grant funding. Further, these policies and procedures promote the foundations’ compliance with established standards for accounting and charitable giving. The Foundation does not have adequate staffing to conduct fundraising events for individual funds, but must be involved when public fundraising occurs to ensure the above purposes can be carried out. When individuals or groups conduct fundraising activities and solicitations on behave of component funds at the Foundation, they must keep in mind that such fundraising is being done on behalf of the Foundation. These policies and procedures outline the requirements for any fundraising activity benefiting a component fund of the Foundation. 2. POLICY Types of Donations Donations may be received in the form of cash, in-kind services, materials or sponsorships. Designated donations are those donations that the donor specifies for a particular community program, or purpose. Undesignated donations are those donations that are given to the Foundation for unspecified use. Acceptance of undesignated donations of cash or tangible items. A. Based on the value of the donation as outlined below, the appropriate officer of the Foundation will review the acceptability of any donation and determine if the benefits to be derived warrant acceptance of the donation. Criteria for evaluation include consideration of any immediate or initial expenditure required in order to accept the donation, the potential and extent of the Foundation’s obligation to maintain the donation, and the community benefit to be derived from the donation. B. All undesignated or unfettered donations of cash may be accepted by the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer. ---PAGE BREAK--- Palmdale Community Foundation Donation Policy and Procedure APPROVED 06-07-2018 C. Designated donations of cash or items valued at $10,000 or below may be accepted by the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer. D. Designated donations of cash or items valued more than $10,000 and up to $50,000 may be accepted by the President or the Vice President. A copy of the signed donation acceptance form shall be forwarded for information to the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer. E. Donations of cash or items valued more than $50,000 must be reviewed and accepted by the Board of the Foundation. A copy of the signed donation acceptance form shall be forwarded for information to the Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer. Declined donations The donation must have a purpose consistent with the Foundation goals and objectives. The Palmdale Community Foundation reserves the right to decline or return any donation if, upon review, acceptance of the donation is determined to be not in the best interest of the Foundation. Misdirected Donations Donation checks made payable to the City of Palmdale or one of its subsidiary departments are not considered tax deductible under current charity guidelines; therefore, such checks will be returned to the donor with a request a replacement check and an explanation of tax restrictions. Fundraising 1. Types of Fundraising a. Direct/Component Fund Fundraising Fundraising conducted by the foundation or in partnership with an endorsed organization for the direct benefit of the foundation or one of its component funds. This type of fundraising may include direct solicitations, i.e. mailings, social media campaigns, etc. as well as fundraising events. The Foundation must approve the activity a minimum of 90 days prior to event date. Campaigns/activities conducted on behalf of an existing component fund will be expended in accordance with the approved budget for the component. ---PAGE BREAK--- Palmdale Community Foundation Donation Policy and Procedure APPROVED 06-07-2018 Campaigns/activities planned for a proposed component fund must receive approval for project/component before commencing campaign/activity and must include a proposed “sunset” condition in the event the project is not fully funded. The Foundation maintains majority approval for all activities and materials produced in relation to a partnership event. Foundation must approve, in advance of printing, production or posting all related marketing materials including, but not limited to the following: letterhead, brochures, posters, flyers, print advertising, press releases, website and social media content and radio and television announcements. Publication requirements and standards may be requested from the City of Palmdale Communication Department. Foundation must approve all subsequent modifications to above mentioned materials. All expenses for the activity will be the responsibility of the Foundation but must be approved in advance. All individual donors will receive acknowledgement for their donation from the Foundation. Acknowledgement of donations included in a lump sum will be the responsibility of the collecting partner. All donations must be payable to the Palmdale Community Foundation. b. Indirect Fundraising Unsolicited donations made to the foundation, may be for the general benefit of the foundation or a specific component fund. This type of donation or fundraiser may include memorial donations, individual donations, small community collections, service organization events, church donations, etc. All individual donors will receive acknowledgement for their donation from the Foundation. Acknowledgement of donations included in a lump sum will be the responsibility of the collecting partner. All donations must be payable to the Palmdale Community Foundation. Unsolicited donations made to non-existent component funds will be deposited in the administrative fund until such time as the donor may be contacted to discuss approval of proposed fund or redirection of donation to existing fund. In the event that the donor cannot be contacted within a reasonable time period, donation will remain available for general Foundation use with priority to a use comparable to the donor’s original intent. ---PAGE BREAK--- Palmdale Community Foundation Donation Policy and Procedure APPROVED 06-07-2018 c. Independent Fundraising Fundraising activity conducted by an outside party or organization without the endorsement or involvement of the foundation. Generally, the outside party plans and executes a fundraiser and then makes a lump sum donation. May be for the general benefit of the foundation or a specific component fund. This type of fundraiser may community fundraisers, car washes, etc. Campaign/activity may use the Foundation logo only with the written approval of the Foundation. If use of the logo is approved, Foundation must approve, in advance of printing, production or posting all related marketing materials including, but not limited to the following: letterhead, brochures, posters, flyers, print advertising, press releases, website and social media content and radio and television announcements. Publication requirements and standards may be requested from the City of Palmdale Communication Department. Foundation must approve all subsequent modifications to above mentioned materials. Campaigns/activities conducted on behalf of an existing component fund will be expended in accordance with the approved budget for the component. Campaigns/activities planned for a proposed component fund must receive approval for project/component before commencing campaign/activity and must include a proposed “sunset” condition in the event the project is not fully funded. All expenses will remain the responsibility of the sponsoring agency. All individual donors will receive acknowledgement for their donation from the Foundation. Acknowledgement of donations included in a lump sum will be the responsibility of the collecting partner. All donations must be payable to the Palmdale Community Foundation. Requirements of Sponsoring Agent Proposal Per policies outlined above, proposals for direct/partnership fundraising or independent fundraising require a written proposal to the Palmdale Community Foundation Board. The proposal should include: Name of Sponsoring Organization Tax ID Number Contact Personnel Day Time Contact Number ---PAGE BREAK--- Palmdale Community Foundation Donation Policy and Procedure APPROVED 06-07-2018 Email address Brief outline of proposed fundraiser o Date of fundraiser o Location o Intended activities o Description of entrance/participation/sponsorship fees o Description of anticipated expenses o Organization’s capacity to staff fundraiser o Timeline o Beneficiary Component fund Proposals will be reviewed by the Event Committee for acceptance or clarification. Acknowledgement of donations Acknowledgement of donations should be in writing and all donations made through the Palmdale Community Foundation will be the responsibility of the City of Palmdale’s Finance Department. All letters of acknowledgement shall be signed by the President of the Foundation. A written acknowledgment is required to substantiate a charitable contribution of $250 or more and must contain the following information: Name of the Foundation; Amount of cash contribution; Description (but not value) of non-cash contribution; Statement that no goods or services were provided by the Foundation, if that is the case; Description and good faith estimate of the value of goods or services, if any, that organization provided in return for the contribution; and Statement that goods or services, if any, that the organization provided in return for the contribution consisted entirely of intangible benefits, if that was the case. Administrative Fees The Foundation does not have dedicated staff but does incur limited operational costs including insurance premiums, annual auditing costs and third party processing fees. In order to defray these costs, the Foundation sets aside 3% of each donation except where prohibited by grant restrictions. Donors will receive full credit for their donation amount. ---PAGE BREAK--- Palmdale Community Foundation Donation Policy and Procedure APPROVED 06-07-2018 Fiscal Management All donations will be recorded and deposited by the City of Palmdale Finance Department in accordance with established fiscal policies and procedures. Foundation expenditures will be approved by the Foundation Board and executed in accordance with City of Palmdale procurement policies. The Foundation accounts will be audited annually by an independent auditor contracted by the City of Palmdale. Public Postings The annual audited financials, annual tax forms, by-laws, donations policies and procedures and list of current component funds will accessible on the City of Palmdale website at www.cityofpalmdale.org/foundation.