Criteria for Determining if a Contribution is Charitable
WVUF or WVURC Guidelines
The WVU Foundation can only hold certain type of funds.
Typically, the WVU Foundation only hold funds that have charitable intent.
Please review the following images for general guidelines, however, please note
that most of these determinations are decided on a case-by-case basis. If
you have questions, please reach out to the Office of Corporate and Foundation
Relations.
Work flow chart for your reference is here.
Current Facilities and Administration Rates are located
here.
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Criteria for Determining if a Grant Qualifies as a Charitable Contribution
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Charitable
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Voluntary donation to tax-exempt organization exclusively for religious,
charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes
IRC §170(c)(2)(B) and (D); IRS Pub. 526 (2010)
Source: Internal Revenue Manual (IRM)
http://www.irs.gov/irm/index.html
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Not Charitable
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Exchange transaction having potential commercial benefit or profit that
does not support charitable purposes, i.e., accrues to an individual
or a for profit corporation Treas. Regs.
§53.4944-3(a)(1)(ii); Scheidelman
(T.C. Memo. 2010-151); Kaufman
(136 T.C. No. 13)
Other characteristics of non-charitable contributions: Condition precedents
(Treas. Reg. 1.170A-1(e); Rev. Rul. 79-249, 1979-2 C.B. 104) Material
restrictions
(Treas. Reg. 1.507–2(a)(8)(v)) Earmarks (IRC 170. Section 3.03 of Rev.
Proc. 82-39)
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Irrelevant Criteria
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Unexpended funds must be returned
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Financial reporting is required
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Progress/activity reporting required
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A signed grant agreement is required
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Expectation of deliverables
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Scope of work, budget, and timeline
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Requires regulatory approval
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Agreement addresses ownership or license of intellectual property
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Insurance or indemnification is required
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Record keeping, accounting, and disclosure requirements
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Publicity restrictions or requirements
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Prohibited activities or uses of funding
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Enforceable schedule, performance milestones
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Criteria for Selecting the Correct Type of University Account
Gifts, Grants, and Contracts for Research
Criteria for Selecting the Correct Type of University Account
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Criteria for Selecting
the Correct Type of University Account
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Gift
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Grant
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Contract
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Unexpended funds do not revert to the sponsor
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No itemized budget
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No specific period of performance
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Transfer of funds or goods is irrevocable
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No formal financial accounting required beyond a general report of
expenditures
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May be restricted to a specific area of research or unrestricted;
donor may define the purpose
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No requirement regarding disposition of tangible or intangible property
(inventions, copyrights or rights to data)
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Has a budget that details how the funds will be used
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Financial reports are required
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Has a defined period of performance
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Sponsor retains the right to revoke the award and require the return
of unused funds
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Best efforts are used in completing the research
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Benefits the grantee by furthering its own purposes or programs
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PI defines the scope of work or submits a proposal
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Sponsor anticipates a potential commercial benefit as a result of
the work sponsored
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May involve some supervision or control by sponsor
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Sponsor retains the right to terminate the contract
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Publication may require review/approval of the sponsor
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Benefits the sponsor; carries out research needed by the sponsor
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Recipient is paid only if the work is accomplished
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Sponsor or Sponsor and PI jointly define the scope of work
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Corporate in-kind donations
Gifts-in-kind from corporations are a valuable way of benefiting WVU through a charitable
gift to the WVU Foundation. Gifts-in-kind include donations of property other than
cash and marketable securities such as equipment, technology, furnishings, automobiles,
software and licensing. A gift in kind requires an official transfer of ownership
(or in the case of software the use) of property from the donor to the Foundation.
The IRS requires the donor to determine the fair market value of the gift for corporate
tax reporting purposes. The Foundation will issue a gift-in-kind receipt consisting
of a brief description of the donated property. The Foundation will recognize the
donor for the value of the gift without referencing or receipting a specific dollar
amount.
Gifts-in-kind that have a fair market value of more than $5,000 may require the completion
of IRS Form 8283. Acceptance of a gift-in-kind is made by officials at WVU. Further,
gifts-in-kind that involve unique handling provisions or require a consequent use
of University resources such as personnel costs, storage facilities, set-up costs
or license fees may require a written agreement between the donor and the University.
Corporate gifts-in-kind of $25,000 or more should be substantiated by a list of the
donated property, inventory, or equipment along with a record of the software and
the length of or type of licensing provided with a value for any annual support
agreements. The substantiation may be in the form of signed correspondence from
the corporation.
It is the practice of the WVU Foundation to transfer ownership of gift-in-kind assets
to WVU unless directed otherwise by the donor and WVU.
How to donate a gift-in-kind
The Gift-in-Kind Form should be completed. The unit/college development officer
will provide the form and assist in this process, allowing the donor to determine
fair market value and fill in the description of the gift in the space provided.
IRS regulations require the donor to determine the fair market value. For corporate
gifts of $25,000 or more, a letter or email from a representative of the corporation
stating the fair market value with an accompanying inventory of the donated property
is acceptable.
When the fair market value is over $5,000, the donor is required to fill out IRS
form 8283, attach a qualified appraisal when instructed and complete the form by
a signed declaration of appraiser. The exception to this is C Corporations. The completed
paperwork can be given to your college or unit contact who will then forward it to
the WVUF where the transaction will be acknowledged and receipted. The IRS Form 8283,
which is acknowledged by the Foundation, will be returned to you with the gift receipt.
The Foundation recommends that the donor consult with his/her tax advisor to determine
the appropriate tax consequences of any charitable contribution.
The WVU Foundation-issued gift receipt will make no reference to the fair market
value of the gift-in-kind, only a brief description of the donated property. The
Foundation will record the fair market value for recognition purposes only.
Any gift-in-kind that is determined by WVU officials to be inappropriate for permanent
preservation may be disposed of by the University. Donors are asked to complete
and sign an authorization form providing the Foundation instructions for publicizing
the gift-in-kind.
Whenever the items cannot be used for an educational purpose, the donor’s charitable
deduction will be limited to the lesser of the cost basis or fair market value.
Gifts of items with no related use will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis for
acceptance.