ST ANDREW S CHURCH Newcastle, ME. Gift Acceptance Policies

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1 ST ANDREW S CHURCH Newcastle, ME Gift Acceptance Policies I. Introduction The Vestry, as the governing body of St. Andrew s Church, Newcastle, Maine, (the Church ), in keeping with its stewardship and fiduciary responsibilities for all assets of the Church, adopt the following Gift Acceptance Policies (the Policies ) to address issues with respect to gifts offered to or given to the Church and to establish procedures for the handling of such gifts, including documentation, potential investment and operational considerations and appropriate recognition of the generosity expressed by such gifts. The Vestry is responsible for implementing these Policies and may amend them at any time. II. Gift Definition A gift is defined as a voluntary transfer of assets to the Church from a person, a trust, a foundation or an organization where no goods or services are expected, implied or forthcoming in return from the Church to the donor, other than intangible religious benefits. A gift may be made during a person s life or by reason of a person s death and may be received presently or on a deferred basis. A gift generally is motivated by charitable intent and represents an irrevocable transfer of assets III. Acceptance of Gifts The Vestry may accept or negotiate gifts consistent with the Policies and enter into gift agreements or other documentation or written arrangements to implement the Policies. The Vestry may authorize an officer of the Church to sign on its behalf any documentation with respect to a gift transaction. The Church reserves the right to refuse any gift that the Vestry determines is not in the best interests of the Church. The Vestry will accept only gifts that (i) the Vestry determines are consistent with the mission and values of the Church; (ii) do not jeopardize in any way the tax status of the Church under then current Internal Revenue Code and other federal statutes, regulations, rulings, or court decisions; and (iii) comply with statutes or regulations of the State of Maine and other state or local government that stipulate the conditions under which contributions can be given and received. The Vestry may consult with legal counsel or other professionals for advice with respect to particular gifts. IV. Gift Restrictions A gift may be either unrestricted or restricted to a general area of use that contributes to the benefit of the Church. The Church will make every reasonable effort to carry out the terms of restrictions to a gift consistent with the donor s expressed intent. However the Vestry may refuse to accept a gift if it deems that for any reason a restriction is unreasonable or may not be able to be fulfilled or sustained or the designated purpose is no longer consistent with the objectives of the Church. In order to avoid situations where a restriction raises an issue described above, the Vestry in all cases requests an opportunity to review the terms of a restriction before the gift is completed. 1

2 V. Sale of Gifted Property The Church will generally immediately direct the sale of readily marketable securities. The decision to hold or sell all other gifted property will be made by the Vestry taking into account the liquidity of the market for that property, market conditions and costs of holding that property. VI. Appraisals Except in the case of publicly traded securities for which there is a readily determinable market value, the Church will not provide an appraisal or valuation of gifted property. The donor is responsible for obtaining an appraisal of the gifted property and for paying the costs thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Church may require, as a condition of acceptance of any gift, receipt of an appraisal required by the Internal Revenue Service of gifts of such property, particularly the appraisal required in order to complete IRS Form 8283 relating to non-cash gifts. VII Gift Acknowledgement The Church will acknowledge the receipt of all gifts in writing and in a manner that satisfies the substantiation requirements of the Internal Revenue Code for the deduction of charitable gifts by individual donors. VIII. Pledges and Memoranda of Understanding The Church will ask all donors who make pledges of gifts to the Church to sign a pledge form or other written documentation indicating their intention to satisfy the pledge. Gifts and pledges that require performance on the part of the Church, such as establishment of a fund for a specified purpose, will be formalized in a memorandum of understanding between the donor and the Church. X. Acceptance of Certain Types of Gifts A. Present Outright Gifts 1. Closely-Held and Restricted Securities The Church may accept gifts of closely-held, non-publicly traded or restricted securities sole proprietorships, general or limited partnership interests, S-Corporation securities and limited liability company interests provided that the Vestry is satisfied that receipt of such securities will not impose any unreasonable burden on the Church and that there are no unreasonable limitations on the Church s ability to sell such securities. The Church may require as a condition to accepting the gift of such securities that the donor provide an appraisal report prepared by a qualified appraiser. 2. Gifts of Real Property The Church may accept gifts of real property, both improved and unimproved, provided that as a condition for acceptance the Church may require the donor to provide at the donor s expense an environmental impact study, title search and related studies. Under special circumstances, the Church may choose to share in these expenses. Prior to acceptance of real estate, the Church must minimally have evidence of good marketable title, subject to any acceptable encumbrances, liens, or restrictions, a recent (within the last 60 days) qualified fair market appraisal, evidence of carrying costs (such as association dues and taxes) and an environmental audit if there is reason to believe one is appropriate. 2

3 3. Gifts of Real Estate with Retained Life Estate The Church may accept a gift of real property with a retained life estate. Such property must be free of any mortgage at the time of conveyance to the Church. The agreement creating the life interest must provide that the donor and/or life tenant shall remain responsible for the payment of taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance/repairs and other costs associated with the property, unless other specific provisions are made for the payment of these expenses. Donor(s) shall not violate or allow to be violated any environmental laws/ordinances covering the property. 4. Tangible Personal Property The Church may accept gifts of tangible personal property that can be retained for use by the Church in furtherance of its mission or that can be sold for the benefit of the Church. 5. Bargain Sale The Church may purchase real estate, securities, or other property on a bargain sale basis provided that there are no restrictions on the ability of the Church to sell the property. The excess of the value over the sales price represents a contribution. Ordinarily the purchase price for the property should not exceed 60 percent of its appraised value. 6. Other Personal Property The Church may accept other personal property of any description, including mortgages, notes, copyrights, royalties, partnership interests, closely held business interests, undivided interests in property, future and partial interests and other illiquid financial assets subject to such conditions as the Vestry may determine. 7. IRA Assets The Church may accept qualified charitable distributions from IRA retirement accounts consistent with applicable provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and in accord with the timeframe and restrictions permitted by such provisions. 8. Gifts from Donor Advised Funds The Church may accept grants made from donor advised funds of charitable gift funds or community foundations provided that such grants will not be treated as payments on existing or new pledges. B. Deferred Gifts The Church will advise donors to seek independent legal and financial counsel when negotiating deferred gift agreements. 1. Bequests The Church may accept unrestricted or restricted bequests made in the donor's will or trust or other gift instrument provided that they are consistent with the foregoing provisions. See page for suggested language for a will. 2. Charitable Gift Annuities The Church may accept gifts in the form of a charitable gift annuity. The rates of return payable to the annuitant(s) will generally follow, or be less than, those recommended by the American Council on Gift Annuities as of the date of contribution. Annuity payments are limited to two lives. The annuity contract is a general obligation of the Church. Outright charitable gift annuities will be limited to donors who are 60 year of age or older; deferred charitable gift annuities will be limited to donors who are 50 years of age of older. The Church may employ agents and advisors to assist with the administration and investment of gift annuities or may reinsure the gift annuities. 3

4 3. Charitable Remainder or Lead Trusts The Church may accept gifts in the form interests in a charitable remainder trust or charitable lead trust. The trust must be administered by a qualified third party fiduciary; the Church will not act as a fiduciary. The Church reserves the right to disclaim or decline any interest that would be inconsistent with the Policies 4. The Church as Beneficiary The Church may accept any proceeds it receives as a designated beneficiary (or an alternate beneficiary) of a life insurance policy retirement provided that if the designation imposes restrictions prior approval is required. 5. Life Insurance Policies The Church may accept gifts of life insurance policies provided that the policy is paid-up and that the Church is designated as owner and sole beneficiary of the policy. XI. Use of Gift Proceeds Unless the Vestry otherwise determines, the proceeds of an unrestricted gift of less than $5,000 shall be applied to the Church s normal operating income in the year of receipt; any gift in excess of that amount shall be held in a designated fund subject to the control of the Vestry or shall be added to endowment funds subject to the control of the Vestry. In all cases restrictions of the use of gift proceeds will be honored provided that they are consistent with the Policies. XII. Documentation The Vestry shall assure proper acknowledgement of each gift received within the purview of the Policies and retain in the confidential files of the Church full documentation of each agreement, acknowledgement of receipt and acceptance, memorandums of understanding, original documents, signed pledges and pertinent records of decisions taken, financial reports and at least annual recording of the application/use of each restricted fund and endowment XII. Recognition The programs and facilities of the Church have been significantly enhanced over the years with the generosity of many individuals. The Vestry pledges to celebrate the impact of this philanthropy, encourage it going forward, and assure appropriate recognition be accorded each gift that is accepted for unrestricted or restricted purposes. A donor's request for anonymity will be fully honored. The Policies are hereby adopted by the Vestry this 19 th day of August, For the Vestry: Clerk 4

5 Suggested language for a gift by will to St. Andrew s Church, but in all cases this language should be made in consultation with one s legal and financial advisors: I give to St. Andrew s Church of Newcastle, Maine [the sum of $ ][an amount equal to % of my estate], such amount to be used for the general purposes of St. Andrew s Church as may be determined by its Vestry. 5