Reason for Policy
To provide information relating to IRS rules that govern charitable giving to UO employees wishing to contribute to the University of Oregon.
Entities Affected
All CAS faculty and staff.
Enactment & Revisions
Enacted: prior to 12/20/2004
Updated: 10/12/2015
Policy Statement
A donor may claim a tax deduction for a charitable contribution but must obtain written acknowledgement for any contribution over $250 from the recipient organization. The UO issues such acknowledgments routinely upon receipt of a gift and thus enables the donor to claim a tax deduction.
A UO employee may not benefit directly from or retain control of a contribution to the UO or UO Foundation (UOF). Further, the UO and UOF may not take any action that could be construed as assisting employees in such a practice.
Units should adhere to the following guidelines when making allocations to faculty from funds under the units’ control:
- Any funds, especially unrestricted gift funds, shall be allocated following an established allocation process.
- The allocation process shall be overseen at a minimum by the department head.
- The allocation process should specifically assure that no one who will benefit, either directly or indirectly, from a specific decision controls the decision and that donors do not benefit from their own gift.