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ABAC 7.5 – Gift, grants, and contracts

Policy goal – define, compare, contrast, and delineate gifts, grants, and contracts and set forth practice and procedure for accepting, recording, and managing.

Gifts 

A gift is the voluntary, non-reciprocal transfer of money, property, or tangible asset from a donor to the recipient, which can be Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College [College], the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Foundation, Inc. [Foundation], or the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Advancement Foundation, Inc. [Advancement Foundation].  The donor may be an individual, a corporation, or a non-profit organization.

Characteristics of a gift:

·         Lack of consideration - the donor does not expect anything of value in return other than acknowledgement/recognition and does not have control over the use, expenditure, or disposition of the gift except as related to reasonable restrictions that may be codified in the gift agreement.  More specifically, gifts do not:

o   Require reporting or results or outcomes.
o   Make claim for patents, copyrights, or intellectual property rights.
o   Establish a timeline for spending or performance.

·         Restriction – a gift may be classified as restricted or unrestricted by the donor. A restricted gift is one that is designated for a specific purpose. If the donor does not specify restrictions, the gift is unrestricted.  Unrestricted gifts can be used at the discretion of the recipient.

Processing of gifts:

The College.  Ordinarily, gifts should be accepted by and processed through the Foundation, as it serves as the non-profit 501c3 affiliate of the College.  If a donor makes, or attempts to make, a gift to the College, the gift will be processed by the Vice President for Finance and Operations in accordance with ABAC and USG business procedures.   If the VP for Finance and Operations determines that a gift would be more appropriately received by the Foundation, the VP for Finance and Operations shall work with the Chief Operating Officer of the Foundation to resolve processing of the gift.

The Foundation.  Except for annual gifts, payroll deductions, etc., gifts received by the ABAC Foundation, Inc. shall be accompanied by a gift agreement, which shall be subject to approval by the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs.  Gift agreements shall also be subject to policy, practice, and approval of the Chair of the Foundation Board of Trustees, and/or his/her designee.  Reasonable effort should be made to obtain review and approval of gift agreements in advance of receipt of the gift. 

The Advancement Foundation.  Ordinarily, gifts should not be processed through the Advancement Foundation, as it is established for the primary purpose of processing and managing grants.  If a donor makes, or attempts to make, a gift to the Advancement Foundation, the Director of the Advancement Foundation shall determine if the gift could be more appropriately received by the Foundation.  With such determination, the Director of the Advancement Foundation shall work with the Chief Operating Officer of the Foundation to resolve processing of the gift.  Likewise, if the Director of the Advancement Foundation determines that a gift would be more appropriately received by the COLLEGE, the Director shall work with the VP for Finance and Operations to do so.

Grants

Grants are instruments of financial assistance awarded for the performance of a specified activity for which there are expectations, considerations, and/or deliverables.  Grants may be received in support of research, hosting of special events, conducting educational programs, or training.  Grants typically involve an applicant, project leader, grantee, and grantor.

Characteristics of a grant:

·         Grants typically are awarded in response to a proposal, request, or solicitation of funding by an applicant for a specified purpose.  The ideas, goals, and proposed outcomes expressed in the application are typically the work of the applicant. 
·         Expectations, considerations, and/or deliverables are outlined in the application and are typically acknowledged by the grantor in the award document to the grantee.
·         Grants involve a contractual relationship between the grantor and the grantee.  The grantee may be the College or the Advancement Foundation.

Processing a grant:

·         Applications for grants shall be prepared by the applicant and/or project leader and shall be reviewed and approved by the grantee (the College and typically the Advancement Foundation) before they are forwarded to the grantor, as follows:
Because grants are for the purpose of supporting “work” (research, teaching, development, programs, etc.) by the College, grants must be reviewed and approved as follows:

o   Programmatic.  Prior to submission all grant proposals require a review and approval by the dean, Sponsored Programs, and the Provost and VPAA.  The purpose of the review process is to ensure that the proposed “work” is aligned with the College’s mission. 

o   Financial review.  Upon approval by the Provost and VPAA, proposals must be reviewed by the VP for Finance and Operations.  This is necessary to ensure that the College can conform with compliance requirements of the grantor and to fulfill any financial obligations that may result from an award from the grantor.

Conflict of opinion

Because the terms “contract” and “gift” are not universally defined and are used interchangeably at times, in the case of disagreement the VP for Finance and Operations, the Chief Operating Officer of the Foundation, and the Provost and VPAA shall make a final determination.  Final decision shall rest with the President. 

Contractual authority

 General applicability.  All contracts that commit the COLLEGE in any way must be reviewed by the Vice President for Finance and Administration.  This includes contracts with the Advancement Foundation, as the Director of the Advancement Foundation is the Provost and VPAA, who does not have contractual authority according to Board of Regents Policy.

All contracts that commit the FOUNDATION in any way must be reviewed by the Chief Operating Officer of the FOUNDATION.

The College.  Pursuant to policy of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia, contractual authority for the COLLEGE is limited to the Vice President for Finance and Operations and the President.

The Foundation.  Contractual authority resides with the Chair, ABAC Foundation Board of Trustees and the Chief Operating Officer of the ABAC Foundation, Inc.

The Advancement Foundation.  Contractual authority resides VP for Finance and Operations (when the Director of the ABAC Advancement Foundation, Inc. is the Provost and VPAA) because the Provost and VPAA does not have contractual authority according to Board of Regents Policy.