Gifts and Donations

Alachua County Library District Policy Statement

Approved by Date
Board of Trustees 8/19/09
Governing Board 10/22/09


Policy

The Library District may accept donations from individuals and organizations.

Regulations

  1. Donations can be:
    • Cash
    • Goods or services that can be used in one of the District's programs
    • Goods, land or buildings that can either be used by the District or sold resulting in an advantage to the District.
    • Marketable Securities
    • A memorial or recognition plaque(s) to individuals or organizations that have made significant contributions to the Alachua County Library District.
  2. Donations are subject to review by the Library Board of Trustees at the Director's request.
  3. No gift of real estate shall be accepted without prior approval of the Trustees and the Board of Governors and without appropriate diligence including title and environmental inspections and general property inspection by someone who is considered to be an expert in the field.
  4. Donations may be accepted if the restrictions for their use are limited to:
    • Lawful District purposes in accordance with adopted District purchasing policies, and the special act that governs the District, and General Law governing Special Districts.
    • Ability to sell or convert real property to cash or other purposes.
  5. Once accepted by the District, all gifts become the sole property of the Alachua County Library District and may not be subject to restrictions or limitations other than those required by the law or the District's Governing Board.
  6. Donations of non-conforming1 marketable securities will be converted to conforming securities within a reasonable period of time. Non-conforming securities that constitute a Trust Fund (see 11-13) may be maintained by the District.
  7. Donations may be rejected at the discretion of the District's Governing Board.
  8. For donations valued at $1000.00 or less:
    • The Library Director is authorized to accept on behalf of the Library District Board of Governors.
    • Budget amendments increasing the budget of the donations fund will, as necessary, be presented to the Governing Board.
    • The District will acknowledge receipt of the gift or donation, but will not verify the monetary value of the gift.
  9. For donations valued at more than $1,000.00:
    • Information about the donation will be presented to the Board of Governors.
    • Acceptance, recognition, or rejection of the donation will be acted upon by the Board of Governors.
    • Budget amendments increasing the budget of the donations fund will, as necessary, be presented to the Governing Board.
    • The District will acknowledge receipt of the gift or donation, but will not verify the monetary value of the gift.
  10. Donations may be accounted for in the Donations Special Revenue Fund or other fund as appropriate. The fund will be structured in such a way as to be able to track donation receipts and disbursements by department.
  11. Donations may be accounted for in a trust fund in accordance with GAAP.
  12. At the direction of the Governing Board the principal of designated Trust Funds will be maintained in an amount equivalent to the amount at the year of donation (i.e., inflation will be considered and the principal increased annually to counteract the effects of inflation).
  13. In order to accomplish 11. above, a portion of the earnings of the trust will be retained in the trust each year. This amount will be equal to the inflation rate for the prior year (example: Fiscal Year 2009 use Fiscal Year 2008 rate).
  14. No member of the Library staff shall, in his or her official capacity, give appraisals for the purpose of establishing the tax deductible value of gifts or purchases offered to the Library. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service prohibits appraisals from a recipient institution that is directly involved in the transaction.

1 Non-conforming means securities not listed in Chapter 218.345, Florida Statutes.