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Gift Acceptance Policy

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Second Harvest Inland Northwest, a not-for-profit organization under the laws of the State of Washington, encourages the solicitation and acceptance of gifts to Second Harvest Inland Northwest (hereinafter referred to as Second Harvest) for purposes that will help Second Harvest further and fulfill its mission. The following policies and guidelines govern acceptance of gifts made to Second Harvest or for the benefit of any of its programs.

Statement of Purpose

Second Harvest manages a comprehensive program for long-term financial support of Second Harvest through a broad range of charitable gift options. The program actively solicits and accepts contributions to Second Harvest through bequests and other advantageous tax, financial and estate planning techniques. The purpose of this Gift Acceptance Policy is to provide guidelines relating to the acceptance and processing of gifts that are consistent with Second Harvest’s mission.

The Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors shall formally establish policies that officially commit the organization to a position which will protect:

the best interests of the donor;
the official representatives of Second Harvest;
the welfare of Second Harvest; and
the administrators charged with management related to a deferred gift program.

Use of Legal Counsel

Second Harvest reserves the right to seek advice of legal counsel in any and all matters relating to acceptance of gifts. Examples of situations where legal review may be appropriate are:

Transactions with potential conflict of interest. This may include use of board members as sales agents in transactions, leases of gift property to staff or board, etc.
Closely held stock transfers and gifts of real estate.
The review of transactions governed by contracts or legal documents. This would include trusts naming Second Harvest as the trustee or any document obligating the trustee to take action.

Conflict of Interest

With respect to planned giving gifts, the interest of individual donors shall come before that of Second Harvest. Second Harvest will urge all prospective donors to seek the assistance and advice of independent professional advisors, including, but not limited to, tax or legal counsel in matters relating to their gifts and the resulting tax and estate planning consequences. If a representative of Second Harvest makes a referral to an independent professional advisor, it shall be understood that the referral is offered as a courtesy, and it is up to the donor to choose whether or not to retain that professional. No program, agreement, trust, contract, or commitment shall be knowingly urged upon any prospective donor that would benefit Second Harvest at the expense of the donor’s interests and welfare.

Second Harvest recognizes the potential conflict between receiving donations from certain types of funders and fulfilling its programs. Second Harvest will not accept contributions from corporations, industries, organizations or congregations and their respective foundations whose core activities may be in direct conflict with the mission of Second Harvest, or which may put Second Harvest’s non-discriminatory or non-partisan standing at risk or in any way will limit Second Harvest’s ability to carry out its mission.

Second Harvest endorses the Model Standards of Practice of the Charitable Gift Planner promulgated by the Partnership for Philanthropic Planning and the Donor Bill of Rights promulgated by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Restrictions on Gifts

Second Harvest will accept unrestricted gifts, and gifts for specific programs and purposes, provided that such gifts are not inconsistent with Second Harvest’s stated mission, purposes and priorities. Second Harvest will not accept gifts that are too restrictive in purpose. Gifts that are too restrictive are those that violate the terms of the corporate charter, gifts that are too difficult to administer, gifts that are for purposes outside the mission of Second Harvest or gifts that require unreasonable marketing benefits. All final decisions on the restrictive nature of a gift, and its acceptance or refusal, shall be made by the Gift Acceptance Committee as listed below.

The Gift Acceptance Committee

The Gift Acceptance Committee will be charged to ensure that gifts received are consistent with these policies and that they are in the best interest of Second Harvest.

The Gift Acceptance Committee shall consist of the following individuals:

Chief Executive Officer
Senior Leader for Finance
Senior Leader for Philanthropy
Second Harvest legal counsel

Any non-cash gifts or gifts of non marketable securities must be reviewed by the Gift Acceptance Committee. Examples include:

Closely-held Securities and Stock Options
Real Estate
Tangible Personal Property
Remainder Interests in Property
Intellectual Property Rights
Bargain Sales
Gifts whose structure fall outside the ordinary purposes, bylaws and procedures of Second Harvest

The Gift Acceptance Committee is responsible to report its decisions on gift acceptance to the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors for significant gifts..

Anonymous Gifts

Second Harvest will accept gifts from donors who wish to remain anonymous. All Second Harvest staff are authorized to accept gifts. As such, staff members are authorized to know the origin of the gift including the donor’s name and gift amount. Second Harvest reserves the right to refuse any gift it believes is not in the best interest of the organization.

Those donors who do not request anonymity may have their names published in the Second Harvest annual report and they may be listed on Second Harvest donor recognition displays located at Second Harvest facilities.

Influence

Representatives of Second Harvest shall exercise extreme caution to avoid pressure, persuasion, or undue influence when a representative is to inform, counsel, and assist the donor in gift planning concerns. Representatives will exercise prudent consideration of the donor’s personal interests as well as his/her charitable objectives.

All personnel employed by Second Harvest who contact prospective donors to solicit gifts or promote the planned gift program shall be paid a salary or fixed wage but shall not receive commissions that could give such personnel a direct beneficial interest in any agreement.

If Second Harvest personnel form a relationship with a donor through their work at Second Harvest and then receive a personal, financial, or beneficial interest from that donor, that benefit shall be transferable to Second Harvest.

Scope of service

Services of representatives of Second Harvest shall extend beyond the consideration of Second Harvest to help donors remember whatever additional charitable interests they may have in other organizations and agencies.

Confidential information

All private donor information, including addresses, phone numbers, names of beneficiaries, nature and worth of estates, amount of provisions, etc., shall be kept strictly confidential by Second Harvest and its authorized personnel unless the donor grants permission to use selective information for purposes of referral, testimonial, or example at the discretion of authorized representatives. Donors who make planned gifts will be notified of their inclusion in Second Harvest’s Kay Porta Legacy Society and will have the opportunity to remain anonymous if they prefer.

Authorization for negotiation

Only the personnel approved by the CEO shall be authorized to negotiate on behalf of the institution with any donor with respect to gift annuities, trusts, life income agreements, and other formal planned gift instruments. Any agreements that involve a legal obligation on the part of the institution or its agents which do not follow the forms described in this program or are special agreements of any kind will require the approval of the CEO and the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors.

Disposition of Funds

Only upon the demise of the last life income beneficiary shall the principal amount of a planned gift be released to or for the use of the institution, and only an amount equal to the charitable remainder shall be released unless otherwise stated by the agreement.

Types of Gifts Accepted

A. The following gifts are typically acceptable

Cash
Marketable Securities
Bequests of cash or marketable securities
Retirement Plan and IRA Beneficiary
Designations
Life Insurance Beneficiary Designations
Other gifts as approved by the Gift
Acceptance Committee

B. The following criteria govern the acceptance of each gift form:

Cash
Cash is acceptable in any form. Checks shall be made payable to Second Harvest Inland Northwest and shall be delivered to one of Second Harvest’s offices.

Bequests
Donors and supporters of Second Harvest will be encouraged to make bequests to Second Harvest under their wills and trusts. Such bequests will not be recorded as gifts to Second Harvest until such time as the gift is irrevocable. When the gift is irrevocable, but is not due until a future date, the present value of that gift may be recorded at the time the gift becomes irrevocable.

Publicly Traded Securities
Marketable securities may be transferred to an account maintained at one or more brokerage firms or delivered physically with the transferor’s signature or stock power attached. As a general rule, all marketable securities shall be sold upon receipt unless otherwise directed by the CEO or the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors. In some cases, marketable securities may be restricted by applicable securities laws; in such instances the final determination on the acceptance of the restricted securities shall be made by the CEO or the Audit and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors.

Retirement Plan and IRA Beneficiary Designations
Donors and supporters of Second Harvest will be encouraged to name Second Harvest as beneficiary of their retirement plans and IRAs. Such designations will not be recorded as gifts to Second Harvest until such time as the gift is irrevocable. When the gift is irrevocable, but is not due until a future date, the present value of that gift may be recorded at the time the gift becomes irrevocable.

Life Insurance Beneficiary Designations
Donors and supporters of Second Harvest will be encouraged to name Second Harvest as beneficiary or contingent beneficiary of their life insurance policies. Gifts of life insurance when Second Harvest is designated both owner and beneficiary may be accepted. When all rights in a policy are gifted to Second Harvest, the donor shall be informed of the advantages of making a gift of the premium amount to Second Harvest and encouraged to continue to make premium payments. Premium payments made to a policy that Second Harvest owns are tax-deductible. Such designations will not be recorded as gifts to Second Harvest until such time as the gift is irrevocable. When the gift is irrevocable, but is not due until a future date, the present value of that gift may be recorded at the time the gift becomes irrevocable.

If the donor does not elect to continue to make gifts to cover premium payments on the life insurance policy, Second Harvest may:

continue to pay the premiums,
convert the policy to paid up insurance, or
surrender the policy for its current cash value

Once the policy is accepted, life insurance holdings will be reviewed annually to determine whether it is best to continue to pay the premiums, covert the policy to paid up insurance, surrender the policy for its current cash value, or change the underlying investment structure.

C. Miscellaneous Provisions

Securing appraisals and legal fees for gifts to Second Harvest
It is the responsibility of the donor to secure and pay for an appraisal (when required) with a firm reasonably acceptable to Second Harvest. If a second appraisal is requested by either the donor or Second Harvest, that appraisal shall also be paid for by the donor. It is the responsibility of the donor to secure all independent legal, financial or other professional counsel (when needed) for all gifts made to Second Harvest.

Valuation of gifts for development purposes
Second Harvest will record a gift received by Second Harvest at its valuation for gift purposes on the date for which the cash value received by Second Harvest is confirmed where such gift is being converted to cash. For all other cases, the valuation of a gift shall be the fair value as determined by a formal appraisal of such gift.

Responsibility for IRS filings upon sale of gift items
The Second Harvest Finance Department is responsible for filing all appropriate tax forms when the charitable deduction value of the item is more than $5,000.

Gift acknowledgements
Acknowledgements of all gifts made to Second Harvest and compliance with the current IRS requirements in acknowledgement of such gifts shall be the responsibility of the Second Harvest Philanthropy Department. Donors may specify their communication and acknowledgement preferences.

Sponsorships
Second Harvest has a robust sponsorship fundraising program. Campaign and program sponsorships which publicly recognize corporations, organizations, foundations and individuals for their gifts will be accepted at the discretion of the CEO and Chief Philanthropy Officer subject to review by the Finance Department to ensure tax requirements are met. Marketing and public relations benefits recognizing sponsors will be fulfilled as they are outlined in the specific sponsorship contracts. Second Harvest will carefully consider offering sponsorship opportunities to institutions that have religious or political affiliations and institutions whose core business conflicts with the mission of Second Harvest. Second Harvest may at the discretion of the CEO or the Chief Philanthropy Officer, refuse any sponsorship offer that is deemed to conflict with or potentially damage the mission and objectives of Second Harvest.