Washington State University
Donation Process
August 2011
CAHNRS & WSU EXTENSION OFFICE OF ALUMNI AND FRIENDS
Please call us with questions regarding fundraising, acceptance and management of
gifts, gift transmittals, and acknowledgements to CAHNRS or Extension. Or drop by and
visit us anytime!
Hulbert Hall Room 223
PO Box 646228
Pullman, WA 99164
PH: (509) 335-2243
Fax: (509) 335-9213
www.cahnrsalumni.wsu.edu
Major Gift Officers and Staff for CAHNRS and Extension:
Caroline Nilsson Troy, Executive Director of Development, CAHNRS, ctroy@wsu.edu
Linda Bailey, Assistant Director of Development, CAHNRS: lmbailey@wsu.edu
Melissa Bean, Assistant Director of Development, CAHNRS, melissa.bean@wsu.edu
Alisa May, Assistant Director of Development, CAHNRS: amay@wsu.edu
Ben McLuen, Assistant Director of Development, CAHNRS: benjamin_mcluen@wsu.edu
Mary-Kate Murray Development Coordinator, mk.murray@wsu.edu
Britta Nitcy, Principal Assistant, E-mail: nitcy@wsu.edu
WSU DEVELOPMENT
Each college and branch campus of WSU has its own Alumni and Development office
staff that reports jointly to the dean of the college and to the WSU Foundation. More
information regarding the WSU Foundation can be found at
http://wsufoundation.wsu.edu
As an agent of WSU, the WSU Foundation promotes, accepts, and manages all private
gifts and private grants made to WSU. Overseen by a board of trustees and through
services provided by the University, the foundation manages all gifts in accordance with
the donor’s wishes within applicable state laws. When gifts are received, they are to be
delivered to our office. Our Secretary Senior makes copies of the information then hand
delivers the originals to the President’s Office (this is done on a daily basis). At that
time, the documentation is picked up and delivered to the WSU Foundation’s Office of
Advancement Services, which is the centralized facility for gift processing, accounting
and records management for alumni addresses and management of the University’s
advancement information.
FUNDRAISING FOR CAHNRS and WSU EXTENSION
The mission of the Office of Alumni and Friends is to support the tradition of excellence
of the teaching, research and extension endeavors of the College of Agricultural, Human,
and Natural Resource Sciences and WSU Extension by generating private contributions
to supplement the College’s state and federal revenues. A development officer is
assigned to each unit in College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences
and WSU Extension. Contact the Office of Alumni and Friends to see who is assigned to
your unit.
HERE’S HOW YOU CAN HELP!
 Involve alumni and influencers with departments, advisory boards, research
activities, field days, discussion of needs of various projects.
 Be positive. People give to strength.
 Match prospective donors with a project they are interested in funding. Your
assigned development officer can help you with this.
 Thank all donors for their support of CAHNRS and Extension, let them know
how the money was used (through progress reports, scholarship letters, etc.)
The number one reason that people make a charitable gift is because they
are asked. We ask!! And ask, and ask, and ask!
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A GIFT AND A GRANT
A gift is a voluntary contribution to the University. A contribution is defined as a gift
when all of the following conditions apply:
 Funds are given irrevocably.
 The donor does not require that goods or services be forthcoming from WSU as a
condition (implied or otherwise) of the contribution.
 Rights to any publication, inventions and patents resulting from use of such
funds reside with WSU.
If, according to these criteria, a contribution is determined not to be a gift, it should be
processed through the Business and Finance Office as a grant.
Grants are charged a percentage for indirect costs (up to 55%), where 100% of gift
money is given directly to the area it is designated for. See more on grants at
http://www.ogrd.wsu.edu
TYPES OF GIFTS
Gifts to WSU can be made in three forms: 1) outright; 2) conveyance of the gift so the
donor retains income from it for his or her lifetime, such as a charitable remainder trust;
and 3) in the form of a bequest through the donor’s will or living trust. The term, “gift”
or “donation” can apply to any of the following:
 Cash (currency, coin, checks, money orders, bank drafts, etc.)
 Securities (stocks, bonds, life insurance, etc.)
 Non-cash gift (books, equipment, animals, collections, etc.)
 Real property (homes, farms, land, etc.)
 Inventions, patents and copyrights
 Mineral rights (oil wells, etc.)
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Fractional or remainder interests
Deferred arrangements (life income, charitable remainder trust, etc.)
Wills, bequests, living trust and devises.
WHEN YOUR OFFICE RECEIVES CASH DONATIONS
1. Complete a gift transmittal form. See gift transmittal form attached or email
Britta at nitcy@wsu.edu for an on-line form in Excel.
2. Attach a copy of all correspondence that was received with the gift or sent by the
donor explaining the gift.
3. Attach the check!
4. Make a copy of the gift transmittal and the attachments for your records.
5. Hand-carry the gift transmittal, check, and attachments to the Office of Alumni
and Friends in Hulbert Hall Room 223. (Off campus offices can mail to PO Box
646228, Pullman, WA 99164-6228)
We will record the donation, make copies for files, and deliver the donations to the
President’s office (this is done on a daily basis). The information will be picked up and
delivered to WSU Foundation’s Advancement Services for processing. A receipt is sent
by the WSU Foundation to the donor as proof that the gift was received and deposited as
requested.
WHEN YOUR OFFICE RECIEVES NON-CASH GIFTS (a.k.a. in-kind gifts)
EVERY gift to CAHNRS or Extension is important – to the departments, to the college,
and to the donors who made the gift. We can’t thank donors if we don’t know
they made a gift! So please help us by letting us know when you’ve received an in-kind
gift. Non-cash gifts, such as equipment, books, animals, etc. must have:
1. A brief gift description as well as an actual date received typed on the non-cash
gift transmittal form. On the gift transmittal, be sure to specify the 17A account
the non-cash gift should be credited to.
2. A letter or documentation from the donor describing the item and stating the
value. Gifts of $4,999 and less will be reported at the value declared by the donor
or determined by a qualified expert on the WSU faculty or staff. Gifts with fair
market values of more than $5,000 will be credited at the values placed on them
by qualified independent appraisers, paid for by the donor. All gifts $100,000
and above require a completed Non-cash Gift Agreement. (See attached NonCash Gift Guidelines and Guidelines for Counting and Recognizing Gifts to WSU
for more detailed information)
WEEKLY GIFT REPORTS
The Office of Alumni and Friends prints Weekly Gift Reports that summarize all gifts to
the college processed during the week reported. Our office checks for accuracy, and
sends each department a listing of the weekly gifts made to them.
THANKING OUR DONORS
Once the gift has been processed:
 For cash donations, a receipt is sent by Advancement Services to the donor as
proof that the gift was received and deposited as requested.
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For non-cash donations, the donor is sent a receipt and should complete an IRS
Form 8283 for their tax purposes.
All donors, no matter what the amount of their donation, are sent a thank you
postcard or letter from Dean Bernardo (CAHNRS) or Associate Dean Kirk Fox
(Extension). Thank you letters and postcards are sent out on a weekly basis.
Faculty or Staff members who support through a continuing payroll deduction or
who send partial pledge payments are sent thank you notes annually or at the
completion of their pledge.
President Floyd sends a thank you letter for all gifts of $50,000 or more.
The WSU Foundation President sends a thank you letter for all gifts between
$10,000 - $49,999.
The Director of Annual Giving sends an acknowledgement and/or thank you
letter for all gifts between $1,000 - $9,999.
The department chair or county director is encouraged to send acknowledgments
to donors who have given to their unit or county. Please send a copy to our office.
GIFT CLUBS
Gift clubs have been created as a means of appropriately recognizing the generous
contributions of donors and ensuring University-wide consistency.
Lifetime Cumulative Giving Clubs:
 Platinum Laureate ($10,000,000 and above)
 Crimson Laureate ($5,000,000 - $9,999,999)
 Silver Laureate ($1,000,000 - $4,999,999)
 Crimson Benefactor ($500,000 - $999,999)
 Benefactor ($100,000 - $499,999)
These generous donors are publicly recognized at the Foundation’s annual recognition
gala , receive a benefactor plaque or medallion, profiled in the annual report, and given
all privileges of a President’s Associate.
Annual Gift Clubs:
 President’s Associates
FY 2011 (July 1, 2010 – June 30, 2011) $1,500 annually
FY 2012 (July 1, 2011 – June 30, 2012) $2,000 annually
FY 2013 (July 1, 2012 – June 30, 2013) $2,500 annually
All members of the President’s Associates receive special recognition in various WSU
publications, invitation to pre-game receptions and other events. In the WSU
Foundation’s annual publication each donor is categorized by annual donation. The
categories are:
 The Platinum President’s Associates Club ($10,000 - $99,999 annually)
 The Crimson President’s Associates Club ($5,000 - $9,999 annually)
 The Silver President’s Associates Club ($2,500 - $4,999 annually)
 President’s Associate Club ($1,500 - $2,499 annually)
Deferred Gift Club (The Legacy Club):
The Legacy Associates (pledges through wills, bequests, deferred gifts) receive a letter
from the president and a WSU pin.
Crimson Partner:
Certain services and partial interest contributions worth $50,000 or more that provide
value to WSU but not recognized by the IRS as qualified charitable gifts such as software
licenses, advertising space, hotel rooms, loan of equipment, etc.
CALL-A-COUG
The WSU Call-A-Coug phone solicitation program raises funds and friends for WSU by
having WSU students make phone calls, providing information about a particular
college or department, asking for a donation, and sparking a renewed interest in the
University as a whole. Each college has a few weeks in the fall and in the spring where
the callers focus just on them. Each Fall CAHNRS asks each department for updated
information (fact sheets) on department news, enrollment, and what gifts to the
department will support. These fact sheets are used by the callers to inform their
conversations with alumni and friends.
17A ACCOUNTS
A development fund (17A account) may be established for any worthwhile purpose that
is within the University’s mission and that meets the WSU/WSU Foundation minimum
$5,000 requirements for creation of a separate fund and evidence that the fund will be
active. The only exception to this is that we can establish a new account in an area or
department where a 17A account doesn’t already exist. A Gift Use Agreement (GUA) is
needed for all endowed funds established and a Current Use Agreement (CUA) for all
current use funds established. An account is set up once there is funds to deposit to the
account.
Types of accounts:
 Unit Development Fund: Each department or county can establish one 17A
account for deposit of unrestricted donations to their unit for which the donor
has not specified a particular use, or has specified a broad and undefined use.
 Expendable Fund (current use): used for discretionary or restricted use within a
department and may be established with a minimum of $5,000 plus evidence of
expected future gifts. To reduce the number of gift accounts to be administered,
new contributions can often be placed in existing accounts and still fulfill the
intent of the donor.
 Endowed Fund: is a permanent fund in which the principle is never expended,
and a percentage of income is used to annually carry out the donor’s stated
purposes. Excess income over the amount paid out each year is retained in the
endowment for enhanced growth. Each endowment consists of a principal
account and a separate income account. Endowed gifts are placed in the principal
account and held in perpetuity for investment. A proportion of income from the
principal account is transferred to the income account on a quarterly basis, which
then becomes available for current or future use. See attached Endowment
Investment Policies for more details.
There are various endowed accounts that can be established. Minimum principal
for establishing a named endowment fund:
Endowed scholarship
$25,000
Graduate Fellowship
$25,000
Lectureship
$25,000
Merit Scholarship
$50,000
Distinguished Merit Scholarship
$100,000
Distinguished Graduate Fellowship
$150,000
Distinguished Professorship
$250,000
Endowed Chair
$1,000,000
($1.5 Mil gift, the Provost’s office provides .5 FTE match)
Expenditures from 17A Accounts:
Gift funds (17A accounts) shall be expended through the use of standard University
forms and procedures for the expenditure of public funds (e.g. purchase requisitions,
travel expense vouchers, invoice vouchers, etc.). Contact CAHNRS or Extension
Business and Finance Office for more information. Contact the Office of Alumni and
Friends for assistance concerning gifts or establishing new 17A accounts.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contact the Office of Alumni and Friends to discuss any fundraising mailings,
newsletters, fundraising ideas, prospective donors, more information, etc. We are here
to help you!