UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH POLICY 03-01-01

CATEGORY:              DEVELOPMENT

SECTION:                  Gifts and Grants

SUBJECT:                 Noncash Donated Gifts

EFFECTIVE DATE:   January 7, 1994

PAGE(S):                   3

I.    SCOPE

      This policy establishes requirements for accepting and recording noncash donations,

      any voluntary, nonreciprocal, and unconditional transfer of noncash assets to the

      University by a person or nonrelated entity.  This policy does not apply to cash donations.

      It also does not apply to vendor discounts on assets purchased by the University, which

      are treated as educational discounts rather than donated revenue.

      Gifts of publicly and non-publicly traded securities, deferred gifts, and other financial or

      investment assets are handled according to the separate internal guidelines established

      by the Office of Finance, in conjunction with the Office of Planned Giving within

      Institutional Advancement.

      Donations of services which require specialized skills (such as those performed by

      doctors, lawyers, accountants, architects, carpenters, electricians, and other

      professionals and craftsmen), and which would typically need to be purchased if not

      provided by donation, are handled according to the separate internal guidelines

      established by the Office of Institutional Advancement, in conjunction with the Office of

      General Accounting/Financial Reporting.

II.   POLICY

      Noncash donations may be accepted only with the prior approval of the Office of

      Institutional Advancement, except that, in support of the needs within each department

      to maintain its relationships with donors and potential donors, nominal gifts may be

      accepted at the discretion of the departments, provided that Institutional Advancement is

      given appropriate and timely notification thereafter.

      The Office of Institutional Advancement is responsible for determining, in consultation with

      the appropriate departments indicated below, whether a gift offered meets the definition of

      a noncash donation, and for evaluating the needs, costs, and implications of accepting or

      refusing the gift

      -     Gifts of fine art, historical treasures, and collection items are evaluated in consultation

            with the University Art Committee (or designee), or the Library Chief Collections

            Management Officer.

      -     Gifts of real estate and land are evaluated in consultation with the Offices of General

            Counsel, Risk Management, and Facilities Management.

      Information Provided by Donor 

      The Office of Institutional Advancement will provide a potential donor of a gift with a

      Noncash Donation Information letter requesting the donor's name, address, telephone

      number, gift value, intended use, and any restrictions on use or disposal.

      For gifts of property exceeding $500 per item or group of similar items, the Office of

      Institutional Advancement will request IRS Form 8283, Noncash Charitable Contributions,

      from the donor.  This form must be completed by the donor in order to claim a charitable

      contribution deduction on the donor's tax return.  The Office of Institutional Advancement

      is authorized to sign the Donee Acknowledgement section of IRS Form 8283 on behalf of

      the University.

      In accordance with Internal Revenue Service requirements, donated property of more than

      $5,000 per item or group of similar items must be appraised by a qualified, independent

      appraiser, and the arrangements and cost for the appraisal are the responsibility of the

      donor.  The IRS establishes appraisal requirements in Instructions for IRS Form 8283.

      (See Procedure 03-01-01.)

      Information provided by the University

      The acceptance of an appraised gift by the University does not in any way represent or

      imply concurrence with the donor's claimed fair market value.  In exceptional circumstances,

      the donor may be unable or unwilling to provide a qualified and independent appraisal. 

      The University, as the donee, has no liability under the tax law to obtain such an appraisal.

      However, standards of financial accounting and reporting which apply to the University

      require that certain contributions be recognized in the financial statements at their fair

      values.  In rare and exceptional circumstances, when the donor is unwilling or unable to

      provide a qualified and independent appraisal, and a major uncertainty of value exists or

      reasonable value cannot otherwise be determined, the receiving department will be

      responsible for obtaining an appraisal.

      The Office of Institutional Advancement is responsible for filing IRS Form 8282, Donee

      Information Return, when certain donated property specified by federal guidelines is

      disposed of within two years of the date contributed.  (See Procedure 03-01-01).

      The Office of Institutional Advancement acknowledges gifts in accordance with tax law

      charitable contribution substantiation and disclosure requirements.  The

      acknowledgement shall include a description, but not the value, of contributed property.

      Recording Donated Assets

      Upon taking possession of an approved gift, the receiving department must complete

      and submit FORM 0091, Donated Assets Received, to the Office of Institutional

      Advancement.

      Capital gifts exceeding $500 with an expected useful life of two or more years must be

      recorded in the Asset Management System and tagged with a University asset tag.  The

      Office of Institutional Advancement is responsible for informing Asset Management in

      accordance with Procedure 05-10-01, Capitalization of Fixed and Movable Assets, when

      a donated capital asset is received.

      Insurance

      The Office of Risk Management, upon notification from the Office of Institutional

      Advancement, is responsible for scheduling insurance for gifts of fine art, historical

      treasures, collection items, and any other gifts for which insurance is necessary and

      appropriate.

      Change of Status

      The receiving department is responsible for maintaining gifts of a capital nature and

      ensuring adherence to donor-imposed restrictions.  Any change to the status of donated

      capital gifts (maintenance, transfer, sale, or other retirement) must be reported to the

      Office of Institutional Advancement. The Office of Institutional Advancement must inform

      Asset Management of the change in accordance with Procedure 05-10-01, Capitalization

      of Fixed and Movable Assets.

      Public Notice

      The Office of Institutional Advancement is formally authorized to inform the community of

      donations made to the University.  Noncash donations should not be publicly posted until

      the Office of Institutional Advancement has verified receipt of the gift.

III.  REFERENCES

      Procedure 03-01-01, Noncash Donated Gifts

      Procedure 05-10-01, Capitalization of Fixed and Movable Assets