Gift Acceptance Policy Template for Nonprofits

Gift Acceptance Policy: [Organisation name]

A gift acceptance policy for a charity or nonprofit: which gifts the organisation welcomes, which it must or may refuse, the due diligence on donors and gifts, who decides at each level, how restricted and non-cash gifts are handled, naming and recognition, refusal and return, and the records and receipts it keeps. It follows the decision approach of the Charity Commission for England and Wales guidance "Accepting, refusing and returning donations to your charity" (published 2024-03-04), with US notes from IRS donor substantiation and noncash gift rules. The example organisation, Brackenfold Reading Trust, is fictional and reports in USD. Replace every [bracketed] value and every row marked Example. This is a documentation format, not legal or tax advice: check the current official texts and a qualified adviser.

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Revision history

1. Purpose and principles

[Organisation name] welcomes gifts that further its purposes. It accepts and keeps a gift unless the law requires refusal or return, or the board decides, on evidence, that refusal or return is in the organisation's best interests. The organisation keeps its independence over its work, respects donors' wishes within the law, and never puts pressure on anyone to give.

2. Scope

This policy covers donations of money, securities, property and goods, gifts in wills (legacies), sponsorship that is a gift, and grants that are donations. It does not cover contracts for services, where the payer receives something in return; these follow [contract policy].

3. Gifts the organisation must or is likely to refuse

Must refuse or return (seek advice before acting):

• Gifts from an illegal source or with an illegal condition. If criminal origin is suspected, the Charity Commission guidance says not to return the gift or contact the donor; take advice and follow the reporting route in section 8.
• Gifts from a donor who lacks the mental capacity to decide to give.
• Gifts the donor cannot legally give, such as property they do not own.
• Gifts whose terms require return, such as unspent grant funds.

Likely to refuse or return (unless terms can be changed):

• Gifts for purposes outside the organisation's purposes.
• Gifts that would create a valid legal claim against the organisation.
• Conditions that undermine independence, for example a donor right to approve key decisions.
• Gifts whose burdens outweigh their benefit, such as land with an unaffordable mortgage.
• Gifts that give more than incidental private benefit to the donor or a connected person.

4. Ethical criteria

A gift that meets an ethical criterion is referred to the gift acceptance committee; it is not refused automatically.

5. Due diligence and decision levels

Donors in vulnerable circumstances: staff stop or pause the gift if there is doubt about capacity, and escalate to [@head-of-fundraising].

6. Gift types

7. Restricted gifts, naming and recognition

• A restricted gift is accepted only where the purpose is within the organisation's purposes and achievable. The gift agreement states what happens if the purpose can no longer be met (for example, use for the closest related purpose with donor consent).
• Naming rights are offered only at the levels set by the board (Example: rooms from 100,000, the learning centre from 1,000,000), for a fixed term of [10] years or the life of the asset, and may be withdrawn if the name would harm the organisation.
• Recognition follows the donor's wishes on publicity and anonymity.

8. Anonymous and suspicious gifts

The organisation accepts gifts that are anonymous to the public. A gift that is anonymous to the organisation itself is accepted only at level 1, unless the committee is satisfied about its source. Large, unexpected or unusual gifts, or gifts with unusual conditions, are reported to [@chief-executive]. Suspected criminal funds are reported to [the police, the financial intelligence unit and the regulator, as the law requires].

9. Refusal and return

Before refusing or returning a gift, the decision-maker checks that the organisation has the power to do so and records the factors weighed: the value and potential of the gift, the loss from refusal, risks to reputation and future giving, and stakeholder views where proportionate. Returns the organisation has no legal power to make, and moral (ex gratia) payments, follow the regulator's separate rules.

10. Receipts and records

11. Jurisdiction notes

12. Related templates

• Conflict of interest policy for gifts from board members and connected persons
• Fundraising case for support for the asks this policy governs
• Reserves policy for how unrestricted legacies affect reserves
• Grant proposal for grants that are donations
• Whistleblowing policy for concerns about a gift

Glossary

• Restricted gift: a gift that must be spent on a purpose the donor specified.
• Due diligence: proportionate checks on a donor and gift before acceptance.
• Naming right: the donor's name on a building, room, fund or programme.
• Ex gratia payment: a payment made from a moral, not legal, obligation.
• Quid pro quo contribution (US): a payment partly a gift and partly for goods or services.

Standard and licence note

Based on the Charity Commission for England and Wales guidance "Accepting, refusing and returning donations to your charity" (2024-03-04) and CC20 (2026-02-03), both under the Open Government Licence v3.0, and on IRS guidance on written acknowledgments, quid pro quo disclosures, Form 8283 and Form 8282. The text, criteria, thresholds and fictional Brackenfold examples are original. Check the current official texts and a qualified adviser before use. Template licence: MIT.