UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT PROSPECT CLEARANCE POLICY AND PROCEDURES

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1 UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT AND PROCEDURES INTRODUCTION A key part of USC s development process is a clearance procedure administered by University Advancement and designed to help in the careful management of fundraising activity, especially with respect to current and potential major donors. A similar process is in place at virtually all private research universities. The term clearance refers to one internal step in the total process of individual, foundation, and corporate fundraising. The clearance process seeks to avoid damaging collisions among USC proposals in a funder s review process. All University Trustees are cleared to the President and may not be submitted for clearance. A select group of foundations require presidential approval before being cleared. For more information about these individuals and organizations, see the note later in this document. It is a University requirement that all solicitations of individual prospects at $50,000 or more, or foundation and corporate prospects at $100,000 or more, need to be formally cleared prior to a solicitation taking place. The University clearance system is the formal system of record for each solicitation that is planned, and/or has taken place. There are three primary reasons that the clearance system is required: 1) The university wants the prospect to consider carefully each request without being confused by multiple, and potentially competing, requests. 2) The university does not want significant solicitations made of individual prospects who are currently paying on large pledges. 3) The university wishes to ensure that the impending solicitation seeks the prospect s largest possible donation to USC at this time with the highest probability of success. Once established, clearance grants exclusive rights to the cleared school or unit to solicit the prospect for a specific project, amount, and time period. While other schools or units may continue to cultivate the prospect (e.g., inviting them to events, visiting them, etc.), they should keep the clearance-holder fully informed of any activity. No attempts should be made to initiate first-time contact with prospects during the period that they are cleared to another unit. Clearance is granted until a gift or denial is received, but for no more than six months. At the end of that time, the clearance will expire, and the prospect will be available for other solicitations or clearance requests unless the school or unit requests and receives a renewal. The following information describes why, when, and how to request clearance for the purpose of a individual, foundation, or corporate prospect solicitation. 12/10/ of 5 Prospect Clearance Policy

2 THE CLEARANCE PROCESS Requesting clearance is a four-step process: STEP 1: Prepare to request clearance STEP 2: Submit a Clearance Request STEP 3: Review the Clearance Agenda STEP 4: Receive Notification of Action on a Clearance Request STEP 1: PREPARE TO REQUEST CLEARANCE Schools and units should request clearance only when they have gathered sufficient evidence of the prospect s interest and capacity. The requesting school or unit should be able to demonstrate that: a number of contacts have taken place; a solicitation at this time has a high probability of success and that it will occur within six months. Before submitting a request for clearance, the requesting department should check CRS to be sure that: 1) The prospect has not already been cleared by a different school or unit at USC 2) The prospect does not have any large open pledges STEP 2: SUBMIT A CLEARANCE REQUEST A. Clearance of Foundation Prospects (1). Foundations that Require Presidential Approval There are foundations that have a special historic or corporate relation with the university. These foundations (1) have long histories with USC, (2) are related to trustees, or (3) have asked the President to submit a limited number of proposals at a time to the foundation. Any proposal to these foundations has to be approved by the President and he must confirm that the gift purpose represents the University s institutional priorities. The minimum proposal request for these foundations is $100,000. The clearance of these foundations must be coordinated through the Office of the Senior Vice President of University Advancement. To request the clearance of these preferred foundations please complete the questions below and directly to Lauren Sherrell at sherrell@usc.edu. The foundations requiring special Presidential approval are: Carrie Estelle Doheny Foundation Hedco Foundation John Stauffer Charitable Trusts The Ahmanson Foundation The Annenberg Foundation The Fletcher Jones Foundation 12/10/ of 5 Prospect Clearance Policy

3 The H. Leslie and Elaine S. Hoffman Foundation The James Irvine Foundation The Kenneth T. and Eileen L. Norris Foundation The Kresge Foundation The Ralph M. Parsons Foundation The Rose Hills Foundation The Thomas & Dorothy Leavey Foundation W.M. Keck Foundation Weingart Foundation Clearance Questions: Foundation Name Name of Project Name of faculty member preparing the proposal Have Board members or Volunteers been involved in this proposal? Who? Short Description of Project Which of the foundation s interests or programs applying under? Why do you think your proposal is appropriate for that program? Have you had contact with the foundation to discuss the proposal? Amount to be solicited Why do you think this is an appropriate amount? Name of volunteer or staff member who will make the solicitation When do you plan to make the request? Has your dean approved this clearance request? Is this a request for re-clearance? 2. Foundations That Do Not Require Presidential Clearance Foundation prospect clearance is requested prior to any gift solicitation of $100,000 or more. It is not appropriate to ask for clearance before attempting to make initial contact with a newly identified foundation prospect. Clearance should be requested only when there is sufficient information about the prospect s interest and ability to suggest that a solicitation has a good chance for success and will occur in the near-term (6 months). To request a foundation clearance complete answers to the questions below and your answers to Lauren Sherrell at sherrell@usc.edu. Foundation Name Which of the foundation s interests or programs applying under? Why do you think your proposal is appropriate for that program? Name of faculty member preparing the proposal Have you had contact with the foundation to discuss the proposal? Have Board members or Volunteers been involved in this proposal? Who? Amount to be solicited 12/10/ of 5 Prospect Clearance Policy

4 Why do you think this is an appropriate amount? Does the foundation require a letter of endorsement from the President or Provost to accompany the application? Name of volunteer or staff member who will make the solicitation When do you plan to make the request? Has your dean approved this clearance request? Is this a request for re-clearance? B. Clearance of Individual Prospects Submit a Clearance Request by sending an to Lauren Sherrell at sherrell@usc.edu. Requests are due the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of each month by 5 p.m. Clearance Requests should include: The name of the prospect CRS ID#, or complete address of the person or organization, if the prospect does not have a CRS record Amount of anticipated solicitation Purpose of solicitation (scholarships, research, chair, etc.) Criteria used to support the solicitation and amount (i.e., research, meetings with dean or development officer, interest in a particular program) Names of solicitors (dean, staff, volunteer) Indication of approval from appropriate dean or unit head Time frame for solicitation (if known) STEP 3: REVIEW THE CLEARANCE AGENDA University Advancement compiles the clearance requests into a Clearance Agenda. This agenda is ed to each dean and chief development officer or designee on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month. Deans and development officers should review this Clearance Agenda. If they believe they have a legitimate claim on a prospect who is being requested for clearance, they should contact the chief development officer of the requesting unit and attempt to resolve the conflict. If that fails, the Prospect Clearance Advisory Panel will meet on the 1st or 3rd Wednesday of the month to make a recommendation to the Senior Vice President, University Advancement, as to which school or unit should be granted the clearance. The Prospect Clearance Advisory Panel is made up of up to four chief development officers who each serve one year. Members of the panel serve as impartial advisors, excusing themselves from panel deliberations when their own unit has a stake in a clearance. The Associate Senior Vice President, University Advancement, selects, convenes and chairs the group. Note: the Prospect Clearance Advisory Panel may never meet, since almost all conflicts are resolved among the deans and chief development officers. 12/10/ of 5 Prospect Clearance Policy

5 STEP 4: RECEIVE NOTIFICATION OF ACTION ON A CLEARANCE REQUEST Deans and chief development officers and/or designees are notified via of clearance decisions approved by the Senior Vice President, University Advancement. After this notification, University Advancement enters the clearances into CRS CLEARANCE RENEWALS Since clearance should be sought only when there is strong evidence that the prospect is (or very shortly will be) ready to be solicited, renewals should only be sought in the case that a solicitation has been made but an answer has not yet been finalized. A renewal request should contain the following information: Status of the solicitation (pending, not yet started, revised or being revised as to amount or purpose). Projected completion date A brief narrative detailing the steps taken with the prospect during the previous six months and what steps need yet to occur before the solicitation can be completed. For additional information about USC s clearance policy and procedures, please contact Lauren Sherrell at sherrell@usc.edu. 12/10/ of 5 Prospect Clearance Policy