Is this a Gift or Grant?
Barbara Inderwiesche, Allison Ramos
Sponsored Projects Administration
Definition: Gift
•A gift is the irrevocable transfer of property or money…
•to a qualified Organization - 501(c)3
•that has no donor-imposed Conditions or Controls.
•It must be Voluntary
•No Strings attached: It must be made without getting, or expecting to
receive, anything of equal value.
•Gifts and bequests are awards given with few or no conditions specified. Gifts
may be provided to establish an endowment or to provide direct support for
existing programs. Frequently, gifts are used to support developing programs
for which other funding is not available.
What Gifts *do not* include
 Principal Investigator defined work
 Specific performance terms
 Specifications on how the funds should be spent
 Terms and conditions
 Financial and technical reporting requirements
 Period of performance
 Detailed budget
Examples of Gifts
 Cash and cash equivalents
 Securities
 Real estate
 Trusts and other deferred gifts
 Gifts-in-Kind (that further the University’s Mission!)
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Works of art
Computer software/hardware
Equipment
Books and other types of collections
Any item that can be converted to cash
Definition: Grant
 A type of financial assistance awarded to an
organization for the conduct of research or
other program as specified in an approved
proposal.
 Financial support provided for research study
designed and proposed by the Principal
Investigator(s).
Questions to consider…
Are grants and contracts voluntary?
Are they given without expecting something in return?
Are they free from terms and conditions?
Are the awards irrevocable?
NO!
The Role of Sponsored Projects
 Review “gifts” to make determination on case-by-
case basis
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Consider donor’s intent
Exercise reasonable judgment
Cannot base judgment on presence or absence of a
single characteristic or criterion
 If not a gift, SPA notifies the faculty member and
department administrator
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Provides guidance for processing as grant/contract
Administrative Fees
Gifts
Grants
 Gifts received are subject Sponsored Projects
awards are subject to
to this campus’
UCI’s
Federally
Administrative Fee
negotiated F&A rate
 UCI’s Administrative Fee
is currently 5%
www.policies.uci.edu/adm/pols/680-10.html
http://www.research.uci.edu/ora/sp/faciladminco
sts.htm
A note on Fellowships
 An award of financial assistance to UCI to
provide for the subsistence of a student
during their research training
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Stipend not salary (exempt from IDC base)
Allowance for supplies, materials and services
(not exempt from IDC base)
 Fellowships with terms and conditions
processed by SPA as grants
 Fellowships without conditions are processed
by Advancement as gifts
Pop Quiz (Gift or Grant)
 You give money to your child for their birthday
 You give money to your child to pay for college tuition
and books and ask for itemized receipts
 A payment to an individual, including tuition
 A payment that is conditional on a future event (eg.
symposium, conference or art exhibition) and does
not include any terms and conditions.
Case Study 1
e-Bucks, Inc. sends UCI a check for $100,000
to support the research of Professor Perry
Element in the Department of Chemistry.
Professor Element tells you that the check
arrived without a cover letter. The check
stub memo states that the funds are for the
professor’s “research project on the
dynamics of state-to-state
photodissociation….”
What would you do? What kinds of questions would you ask?
Case Study 2 – Part I
ABC, Inc. makes a donation to UCI to support
Dr. Terry Sloan. The donor letter indicates
that the funds are unrestricted for Dr.
Sloan’s research on the immune system of
fruit bats. The check provided by ABC
indicates that the funds are the first
quarterly payment for a study of immune
system responses to a newly synthesized
rDNA molecule.
What would you do? What kinds of questions would you ask?
Case Study 2 – Part II
Same fact pattern. Only now, you discover that
three months earlier, Dr. Sloan submitted a
proposal for this study to ABC, Inc. You
inquire about the proposal with Dr. Sloan and
she tells you that the proposal was denied.
ABC, Inc. also provides an agreement to be
signed with a clear period of performance
and reporting requirements.
How does this change the situation?
Questions to ask PI and Sponsor…
 Was a proposal submitted for this money?
 Does the sponsor have an agreement they
want signed by UCI?
 Is there a Period of Performance?
 What does the sponsor want in return?
Reports? Nothing?
Avoid Delays
 Get the correct office involved
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Ask several questions before determining Gift or Grant
Refer to Gift/Grant decision chart
Still unsure? Contact your Sponsored Projects Officer
 Submit all necessary documentation and secure all
required signatures
 Remember the 700-U form (and addendum materials
if applicable)
Gift / Grant / Contract Decision Chart
Gift/Grant/Contract Decision Chart
http://www.research.uci.edu/ora/forms/sp/Job%20Aid%20-%20Is%20it%20a%20gift_2008.pdf
Who to contact
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Office of Research Administration
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Grace Park, COIOC & Gift Administrator
(949) 824-7218
parkgj@uci.edu
Barbara Inderwiesche, Senior Contract and Grant Officer
(949) 824-7697
Barbara.i@uci.edu
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Allison Ramos, Principal Contract and Grant Officer
(949) 824-3428
Acramos@uci.edu
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Your Sponsored Projects Officer
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University Advancement is the official Office of Record for gifts and pledges to UCI
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Gift Administration
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Laurel Brenner, Director of Advancement Services – brennerl@uci.edu, 949-824-5751
Lacy Weishalla, Manager of Gift Administration – lweishal@uci.edu, 949-824-7631
QUESTIONS?