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POLICY TYPE: Executive Limitations
POLICY TITLE: L.9 Gifts to People’s Food Co-op
ADOPTED: March 13, 2008
revisions: 4/16/09; 12/15-09

The General Manager shall not solicit, negotiate, or accept gifts or donations to the Co-op outside of limitations set forth by the Board.

L.9.1

Defintion of Gift

  1. A gift or donation (gift) is a voluntary, irrevocable transfer of assets (e.g. cash, securities, real or personal property) made by a donor without any expectation or receipt of direct economic benefit or tangible compensation (i.e., goods or services) from the recipient commensurate with the worth of the gift.
  2. The donor may direct assets for a specific purpose (e.g. project), program, or asset purchase whereby the gift is considered "restricted."
  3. Gifts of cash and fungible assets may include a conditional clause that provides for “matching” donations, for which (1) a not-to-exceed amount and (2) date of termination of the applicable “matching” condition, are specified.
  4. In all other cases, the gift is "unrestricted" or "undesignated" and can be used at the Co-op’s discretion. The gift may or may not involve an expectation of an "informal" summary at the end of the giving period.
  5. Grants and contracts are not gifts, and they are processed in a different manner. Grants and contracts in support of specific sponsored programs and projects which require periodic reporting and financial accounting to the grantor or contractor must be processed through the General Manager.

L.9.2

Criteria

  1. If any one of the following indicators exists, the General Manager shall have responsibility for solicitation, negotiation, receipt, and administration of the gift or donation.
    1. The gift is from a private individual, corporation, trust, or foundation.
    2. The gift is from a non-governmental not-for-profit source.
    3. The gift specifies conditions or stipulations placed on the intended use of the gift which do not constitute a grant, contract, or other sponsored agreement, but do direct the funds to support general Co-op mission and functions.
    4. The donor intends the gift to be irrevocable and, therefore, relinquishes the right to reclaim the gift or any unused remainder. (There can be certain "challenge grant" situations, whereby not securing the appropriate level of funding negates the gift.)
    5. The donor makes the gift without expectation of direct economic benefit or other tangible benefit commensurate with the worth of the gift. Indirect benefits such as business or personal goodwill derived from close association with the Co-op, including website “thank you” messages, and miscellaneous benefits derived from acknowledgement of donor status are not sufficient to negate gift intent.
  2. If a situation arises that does not fit the above criteria, the Board of Directors must be consulted.

L.9.3

Gift Procedures

  1. All gift solicitations and negotiations should be coordinated with the General Manager.
  2. The proposal of a gift which may expose the Co-op to adverse publicity or which may require the Co-op to expend funds for present or future care, repair, or conditioning or to expend funds for any other reason, shall be reviewed by the Board of Directors. The Board shall make the determination to accept or reject such proposed gifts on a case by case basis. Any gift or donation with terms or conditions which would violate law or the policies and procedures of the Co-op will not be accepted.
  3. Cash, checks, negotiable securities, and other forms of donation must be accompanied by proper documentation specifying the donor's name and address as well as the donor's wishes (if any) with respect to the use of the gift and the intended recipient of the gift.
  4. Donations through electronic means must be logged and electronic information identifying the donor and donation retained.
  5. Designations of unrestricted gifts to the Co-op, including bequests, are made through a review process specified by the General Manager.
  6. All gifts transmitted to the Co-op must be recorded through the Co-op’s gift recording and accounting system within two business days of receipt.
  7. Upon acceptance, the Co-op may provide the donor with a thank-you acknowledement, with a disclaimer stating that PFC does not have a Non-profit status.
  8. The Co-op’s acceptance of a non-monetary gift does not guarantee its retention as Co-op property in perpetuity. All non-monetary gifts are subject to disposition.

This policy will be monitored annually in October through internal report by the General Manager.