GUIDELINES FOR GIVING TO QUUF'S
DEVELOPMENT OR ENDOWMENT FUNDS
Quimper Unitarian Universalist Fellowship
Adopted into the Operations Manual on November 9, 2005
by the QUUF BoardThank you for considering a substantial gift to the QUUF Special Funds.
There are two types of Special Funds, established by a Resolution approved at the Annual Meeting in June 2000. Please consider giving to either of the two types. QUUF has a Development Fund where both the principal and the income can be spent on current programs and long-term plans. We also have an Endowment Fund where only the income earned from a gift can be spent and the money spent cannot be used for the annual operating budget except in a severe emergency.
We will assume that before considering a gift to the QUUF Special Funds you have consulted with a financial or legal professional to discuss alternatives and the potential impacts of those alternatives on you and your loved ones. For tax purposes, a gift is defined as a payment made without conditions and free of the donor receiving an anticipated economic benefit. If you have not obtained expert advice, we urge you to do so before giving. The SFC and the QUUF are not equipped to provide such advice and for us to give advice would be imprudent.
Special Fund contributions are usually valued at $10,000 or more for ease of management, although smaller gifts will be accepted and then directed into an appropriate fund. A gift will be accepted only if it promotes the mission of the fellowship. QUUF cannot and will not accept a donation targeted for a particular person, instead the SFC encourages you to send that donation directly to the intended recipient. Because QUUF is a non-profit organization, we are required to adhere to strict Internal Revenue Service tax law. As far as the IRS is concerned, a contribution is not considered to be a tax-deductible gift if the donor determines who receives the gift. The donor can describe the class of potential recipients but not the ultimate recipient. That decision must be made by the non-profit institution.
The Special Funds Committee (or "SFC") will be your first contact if you choose to make such a gift and will ultimately help you decide how any Special Funds money should be spent. The SFC makes recommendations to the QUUF Board of Trustees (or "BOT"). The BOT, as the elected governors of QUUF, will make all decisions regarding accepting and disbursing gifts to and from either Special Fund. Final decision-making authority will rest with the BOT whether the gift has restrictions or not. The BOT also reserves for itself the right to determine the asset class where it will keep your gift, meaning, for example, it may choose to sell real estate or equities for their cash value. Regardless of which fund your gift is placed into, the SFC and the BOT are committed to managing the gifts in a conservative and appropriate manner.
When you contribute to either type of Special Fund you may choose to place conditions on your gift and those conditions will determine how the QUUF will distribute your money in the future. For example, a person could limit expenditures from their gift to paying for the professional development of QUUF staff.
If the donor chooses to place restrictions on the gift, then the SFC will contact the donor to make sure it, and ultimately the BOT, fully understands the restrictions suggested and the intent of those conditions. If your gift has conditions, only after the conditions are mutually acceptable to you and the BOT, and you have signed an agreement that reflects those agreed-upon conditions will QUUF accept your gift.
When you choose to go ahead with a gift to the QUUF Special Funds, you may choose to place the money in an existing special fund, or to create a new fund. For new funds, the SFC will request that you choose a name for the Fund you want to create that is, ideally, concise and self-explanatory, for example, the Bob Smith Lay Development and Training Fund.
In the absence of restrictions, the gift will be placed into the Development Fund to be expended at the direction of the Board of Trustees.
Thank you for your generous gift to the QUUF Special Funds!