University of Virginia Library

Gift Crediting and Valuation Policy

I. General

A. Gifts received and commitments made during the period of July 1, 1993, to June 30, 2000 will be credited to the campaign, including annual, capital, and endowed gifts; matured bequests; and irrevocable life insurance gifts.

B. Gifts received before July 1, 1993, may, under certain circumstances, be credited to the campaign. These circumstances include:
     l. Endowed and capital gifts to the Darden School and Jefferson Scholars campaigns. These fund-raising efforts constitute the first phase of the Campaign for the University of Virginia.
     2. Gifts received for projects/programs designated as priorities in the "Plan for the Year 2000." The size of the gift should be at the prospect's maximum giving potential.
     3. Selected gifts received where the donor requires the gift to count as part of his/her campaign commitment.
     4. All of the above are to be counted only after review and approval of the President and the Vice President for Development.

C. Pledges exceeding five years will be considered on an individual basis by the Gift Policy Committee.

D. Oral pledges must be confirmed in writing before they are counted. Donors will be encouraged, as much as possible, to state their philanthropic intentions in a letter or memorandum, even though such statements may be informal and non-binding. Failing this, the solicitor will record his/her own understanding of the terms of the oral commitment and submit it via letter to the donor for written confirmation or modification.

E. Gifts are to be valued and credited on the date the University gains control of the assets. The amounts reported are to be arrived at without regard to the donor's personal estimation of the gift value.

F. Naming of commemorative gifts for new construction (or a portion thereof) will be accepted if equal to at least 51 percent of the total private cost of the project. Other naming gift opportunities relating to existing facilities are available and negotiable.

II. Current, Annual, Capital, and Endowed Gifts

A. Cash, securities, written pledges, and gifts of tangible assets are credited at full value. A donor may include in his or her pledge an explicit provision for altering the time period of the pledge if his or her personal circumstance were to change substantially.

B. Gifts of securities are to be credited at market value (mean of high and low) on the date the University gains control of the assets. Neither losses nor gains realized by the sale of the securities after their receipt, nor brokerage fees or other expenses associated with the transaction, are to affect the gift value.

C. Corporate matching gifts will be recorded according to the policies and procedures of the company matching the gift. Matching gifts will be credited to the donor as annual or capital gifts. If a donor wants his or her matching gift to follow the original gift into a restricted fund, every effort will be made to accommodate the request.

III. Gifts of Real Estate and Personal Property

A. Gifts of real estate and personal property with an estimated value of $5,000 or more-such as land, residential housing, incomeproducing property, paintings, antiques, and rare books-are to be valued by an independent, expert appraiser retained and paid for by the donor. The University reserves the right to receive its own independent appraisal for property with a market price of $250,000 or more.

Gifts of equipment such as computer hardware, software, laboratory equipment and other commercially produced items will be valued in accordance with the University's gifts-in-kind policies.

B. Gifts of real estate must undergo an environmental study and zoning assessment before they are accepted by the University.

C. Small gifts of real and personal property-such as rare books or prints-with an apparent worth of less than $5,000 may be valued by someone with knowledge in the field, and that informal valuation may be used for reporting purposes.

D. Gifts of real estate and personal property, if accepted by the University, will be credited to the campaign goals at the appraised fair market value.

E. Gifts of real estate, personal property, or gifts-in-kind that are retained by the University for its own collection are to be counted in a separate column.

F. Gifts accepted by the University that may become part of the University's inventory (generally, property held for sale in the course of the donor's trade or business) will be credited to the campaign at fair market value. Special approvals are required for gifts requiring the execution of a contract with a vendor.

IV. Planned Gifts

A. Gifts to establish charitable remainder trusts, contributions to pooled income funds, and gift annuities will be credited at fair market value (i.e., the full amount of assets given).

1. Regarding trusts administered by others, the value of the assets in trust that the donor has chosen to have administered by others will be included in the gift totals, provided the trust is irrevocable and the University is an irrevocable beneficiary. The University must have a copy of the trust agreement.

B. In crediting charitable lead trusts, only the income received from the lead trust each year during the period of the campaign (or a five-year period) is to be reported in the gift totals.

C. Paid bequests, outright bequests from estates in probate, and any additional payments on previous bequests received during the campaign will be given full credit for the amount received.

D. In crediting gifts of insurance, the University must be named both beneficiary and irrevocable owner of an insurance policy before the policy will be recorded as a gift.

1. The cash surrender value of the policy when given, rather than its face value, is the amount to be credited as a gift. The difference between the cash surrender value and the face value will be credited to Future Support (see page 5).

2. If the donor pays further premiums on the policy, the premiums will be included in the gift totals.

3. If the University elects to pay the premiums, the institution should consider the payments operating expenditures and not report increases in the cash surrender value as gifts.

4. Regardless of whether the donor or the University pays the premiums on the policy it owns, the difference between the cash value and the insurance company's settlement at the death of the donor should not be reported as a gift but rather as a gain on the disposition of assets.

5. In those cases where the University receives the proceeds of an insurance policy in which it was named beneficiary but not owner, the full amount received will be reported as a gift.

6. Gifts of insurance without cash surrender value will be recognized at full value but treated as Future Support (see below).

V. Future Support

• Documented bequest expectancies and some life insurance shall be credited to Future Support as follows.

1. In the case of bequest expectancies, the documented value is credited to Future Support.

2. The difference between the cash surrender value and the face value of a life insurance gift is credited to Future Support.

3. In cases of life insurance without cash surrender value, the full face value is credited to Future Support.

VI. Government and Nongovernment Grants and Contracts

A. A differentiation must be made among gifts, grants, and contracts when reporting. Grant income from private, nongovernment sources should be included in the gift totals; contract revenue should not be included.

8. A private grant is bestowed voluntarily and without expectation of any tangible compensation; it is donative in nature.

1. Whereas II-Va. has the legal responsibility of using funds received as gifts and grants for the purpose specified by its donors, its obligation to the donor usually does not, and probably should not, exceed the limit of the gift.

2. II.Va.'s responsibility under a contract, on the other hand, normally involves the generation of some tangible product or service, such as a report of research, often for the exclusive or proprietary use of the contracting agency and subject to certain standards of performance, and with the expectation of economic benefit to the grantor.

C. Government grants, whether local, state, federal, or foreign, are not to be included in the campaign gift totals.

VII. Exclusions

The following types of funds will be excluded from campaign report totals:

A. Gifts or pledges, outright and deferred, that have already been counted in previous campaigns, even if realized during the campaign or the campaign reporting period.

B. Investment earnings on gifts, even if accrued during the time period of the campaign and even if required within the terms specified by a donor source.

C. Earned-income transfer payments from medical or analogous practice plans.

D. Surplus-income transfers from ticket-based operations.