Fundraising & Gift Acceptance Policy

PURPOSE

  • The purpose of this policy is to set out the provisions that govern fundraising and gift acceptance activities by the Brockville & District Hospital Foundation (BDHF).

DEFINITIONS

For the purpose of this policy:

  • A gift is a voluntary transfer of property without benefit to the donor or to anyone designated by the donor, or of property that qualifies as a charitable donation within the meaning of the split receipting rules of the Income Tax Act (Canada).
  • Fundraising includes all solicitation undertaken on behalf of BDHF and/or its related hospitals, including but not limited to approaches to other foundations, national/local corporations and businesses, individuals, service clubs, special interest groups, patients and the public.

JURISDICTION/SCOPE

  • This policy applies to all fundraising and gift acceptance activities for the benefit of Brockville General Hospital (BGH).
  • This policy does not apply to sponsorships or to non-philanthropic grants and contributions.

POLICY

  • The Brockville & District Hospital Foundation (BDHF) is a charitable foundation incorporated to support patient care, equipment, programs, and education at Brockville General Hospital.

Governance of Fundraising and Gift Acceptance Activities

  • BDHF engages in fundraising activities and welcomes gifts from individuals, corporations, foundations, associations, and other donors to support its mandate, vision, mission and values.
  • Fundraising and gift acceptance activities shall be informed by BDHF’s and BGH’s strategic and operational plans and carried out in accordance with professional fundraising codes of ethics (including Imagine Canada’s Ethical Fundraising and Financial Accountability Code, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy’s Statement of Professional Standards and Conduct, and the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Code of Ethical Standards and Donor Bill of Rights) and with sensitivity and respect for donors.
  • BDHF’s fundraising program will limit its active solicitation of donations to:
  • Unrestricted gifts in support of approved priorities as identified by Brockville General Hospital.
  • The BDHF Executive Director is the final approval authority for BDHF’s fundraising activities and priorities. Fundraising priorities will be developed in consultation with and approved by Brockville General Hospital.
  • BDHFF will accept gifts in various forms, including but not limited to:
  • Cash or cash equivalent (cheques, money orders, credit card payments, etc.);
  • Publicly traded securities and shares in mutual funds;
  • Bequests;
  • Life insurance policies;
  • Gifts-in-kind (non-cash such as equipment, artwork, books);
  • Charitable remainder trusts;
  • Real property;
  • Gifts of residual interest.

Approval Authority for Gift Acceptance

  • The Executive Director is the final approval authority for gifts received by BDHF.

Professional Advisors

  • BDHF will engage legal counsel for advice before accepting certain gifts that may impose risk on the Foundation and/or BGH. Gifts requiring legal advice before acceptance include, but are not limited to, gifts of private shares, complex share transactions, real property, complex estate gifts, trusts, gifts of residual life interest.
  • BDHF, including its directors, staff and volunteers, does not provide any legal, accounting, tax or financial advice to donors with respect to gifts. BDHF does encourage donors to seek independent legal, accounting, tax or financial advice to assess the impact of the gift on the donor and other family members.  BDHF will not suggest, recommend or endorse any third parties as a source of gift advice.
  • BDHF, including its directors, staff and volunteers acting as agents of BDHF, will not act as an executor of an estate or trustee of a living trust. Directors, volunteers and staff who are appointed, in a personal or professional capacity unrelated to their connection to BDHF, and act as an executor of a donor’s estate or trustee of a living trust that benefits BDHF, shall declare a conflict of interest and recuse themselves with regard to all matters related to the estate and/or trust they represent.

Restricted Gifts

  • BDHF will honour a request for a gift to be used for a specific purpose provided that the purpose is consistent with BDHF’s and BGH’s mandate, vision, mission and values and this policy. Prior to accepting a restricted gift, the end-user of the funds must agree to accept all conditions of the gift.
  • BDHF is committed to ensuring that the gift is used for its intended purpose. If, in the opinion of BDHF, it becomes impossible, inadvisable or impracticable for all or part of the gift to be applied to its designated purpose(s), or if the purpose(s) cannot be achieved because of a future change in law, change in BDHF or BGH’s practices, policies or priorities, or unforeseeable circumstances, the gift may be used for any related purpose which in the reasonable opinion of BDHF will most nearly accomplish the Donor’s wishes or is consonant with the spirit and intent of the purpose(s) of the gift.

Unrestricted Gifts

  • Unrestricted gifts may be allocated by BDHF Board to support Foundation and/or its related hospital priorities.

Gift Agreements

  • All non-cash gifts, except gifts of publicly traded securities, and all gifts of $10,000 or greater will be documented in a written gift agreement and signed by the donor(s), the approving BDHF authority and authorized representative of BGH. Gift agreements will be drafted in line with this policy and other relevant BDHF policies and will outline the purpose of the gift and any limitations on its use, the form of the gift, whether the gift will be paid in instalments and the timing of future payments, how the gift will be recognized and relevant BDHF policies that will govern the use of the gift.

Official Tax Receipts

  • Tax Receipts will be issued in compliance with the requirements of the Income Tax Act. Receipts for income tax purposes will be issued for all online gifts, all cash and cash equivalent gifts of $20 or more or upon request from the donor. Receipts will be issued for the fair market value of the gift less any advantages received by the donor.

Pledges over Time

  • BDHF will accept gifts payable over a period of time. Normally, pledge payments will be restricted to a maximum of five years. The Executive Director may approve, in exceptional circumstances, pledge periods of more than five years, but no more than ten years. Tax receipts will only be issued for payments received.

Gifts in-kind

  • BDHF will not accept or issue receipts for gifts in-kind which cannot be sold or put to immediate use by BDHF and/or BGH in their operations.

Appraisals

  • For non-cash gifts, the fair market value will be determined through an appraisal. Generally, if the fair market value of the property is less than $1,000, a member of BDHF or BGH with sufficient knowledge of the property may determine its value. If the fair market value is expected to be more than $1,000, the property will be professionally appraised by a third party.
  • Expenses associated with a donor’s gift (e.g. appraisals, shipping, legal fees, real-estate commissions) shall be paid by the donor. In limited circumstances, the Finance and/or Governance Committee of the BDHF Board may agree to pay some or all of the donor’s expenses. The determination of who is paying for the appraisal (donor or BDHF) shall be agreed upon prior to beginning the appraisal. If the donor opts not to donate after receiving the appraisal value, then the donor will bear the full cost of the appraisal.

Gifts of Securities

  • It is the general practice of BDHF to sell securities immediately upon receipt. Receipts for gifts of publicly traded securities that are electronically transferred from a donor’s broker will be issued based on the closing value of the security on the day it is received in the brokerage account of BDHF.  For share certificates, the receipt will be issued based on the day the certificate is signed by the donor and delivered to BDHF.  If sent by mail, valuation will be based on the date the mail is officially received at the BDHF office.

Return of a Gift

  • As a general rule, the Income Tax Act does not allow for the return of a gift for which a charitable receipt has been issued. Should legal counsel advise BDHF that the return of a specific gift is permitted under trust law, BDHF will return the gift and file an information return with the Canada Revenue Agency.

Refusal of a Gift

  • BDHF is grateful for all gifts offered, but will not accept gifts that are unlawful or result in an abridgement of its autonomy or integrity, and reserves the right to decline a gift for any reason in its sole discretion, including but not limited to:
  • The gift could reasonably compromise BDHF’s, or BGH’s, public image or reputation;
  • The gift will be difficult or costly to administer;
  • The gift exposes BDHF or BGH to unacceptable risk;
  • The donor applies unacceptable restrictions or conditions on the gift;
  • The gift conflicts with BDHF’s, or BGH’s, policies.

Donor Recognition

  • Public recognition by BDHF and BGH for gifts will be accorded based on the level of the gift and will be designed taking the donor’s wishes into account and aligned with relevant BDHF and BGH policies. 

Management of Donor Information and Confidentiality

  • BDHF will respect all donor requests for anonymity to the extent legally possible.
  • BDHF shall collect, use, maintain, store, disclose and dispose of donor information in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act and BDHF’s Privacy Policy. Donors have the right to see their own donor record and to challenge their accuracy.
  • BDHF does not sell, rent, exchange, or otherwise share its donor list.

Accountability

  • BDHF remains accountable to its donors for the use of donated funds. The names of Directors and staff, financial statements, annual reports, Privacy Policy and Fundraising and Gift Acceptance Policy are posted to the BDHF website.  Other BDHF policies are available upon request.
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