Overview
Acceptance of any contribution, gift, or grant is at the discretion of the Lung Cancer Research Foundation (LCRF). LCRF will not accept any gift or donation unless it can be used or expended consistently with its purpose and mission, to improve lung cancer outcomes by funding research for the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure of lung cancer.
Gifts may not be accepted if there is a reasonable question as to whether the LCRF’s reputation would be negatively affected, whether the donor has the authority to make the gift, or whether the donor is competent to make the gift. In such cases, the decision to accept the gift will be made by LCRF’s Executive Director in consultation with the LCRF Board of Directors.
Administrative Policy
As deemed appropriate by the Foundation, Donors may be required to enter into a Gift or Pledge Agreement for matters pertaining, but not limited to, the creation of a new fund, outlining use of a donation, Donor recognition plans, or terms of multi-year pledges. Donor information or details contained in any Gift or Pledge Agreement shall be kept confidential. Donors agree, however, that contributions may be noted in future printed or on-line publications unless the Donor has asked to remain anonymous.
LCRF will refrain from providing advice about taxes, legal conditions, or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisors to assist them in the process of making their donation(s). LCRF will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting Internal Revenue Service validation requirements for property received by the Foundation as a gift. For gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by the Foundation. LCRF will not compensate, whether through commissions, finders’ fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to the Foundation.
With respect to anonymous gifts, LCRF will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members who are required to know the identity of the donor and intent of their donation.
All gift and pledge commitments, regardless of size, designation, or gift type (as outlined herein) will be respectfully considered and gratefully accepted except in instances where a gift may be contrary to LCRF’s best interests, or outside the scope of the LCRF mission.
Restricted Giving:
Limitations may apply to gift restrictions (e.g., choosing a specific researcher or grant track). In general, a $10,000 commitment will be required to restrict to a specific grant track, while a $75,000 commitment is required to restrict to a specific researcher or research team. LCRF staff will work with donors on a case-by-case basis to assist donors in making their gift to honor the donor’s intent. In instances of restricted gifts, the donor and LCRF staff must complete a gift agreement outlining the gift’s restricted purpose.
Carry Forward Balances:
During a fiscal year, if all or a portion of a donation is unable to be spent due to a lack of corresponding funding or expenses that meet the donor restrictions, the unspent balance will be carried forward to the next fiscal year and is available with the same or similar restrictions.
Treatment of Gifts
LCRF will accept donations of cash or publicly traded securities. Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind donations, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for the Foundation.
All gifts may be subject to approval by the Foundation Board and, if requested, legal counsel for the Foundation. The Foundation may decline a gift for any reason. Gifts associated with tobacco, due to its demonstrated link to the development of many forms of cancer, are not accepted. Gifts associated with firearms, due to a variety of state and federal laws, are not accepted.
- Cash: The Foundation accepts cash, checks, money orders, bank drafts, and gifts via credit card.
- Marketable Securities: The Foundation accepts gifts of securities. It is the Foundation’s policy to sell the securities immediately. This includes stocks, EFTs, mutual funds, crypto currency, and bonds.
- Real Estate: All real estate gifts must be approved by the Board and legal counsel. The Donor may be asked to pay for the costs of an environmental audit and title search. The Foundation shall not accept gifts of real estate with restrictions upon the ultimate sale of the property. Full interests, partial interests, and remainder interests in real property may be acceptable if the Foundation deems appropriate. Conditions for acceptance shall include salability and annual maintenance costs including evaluation of any liens against the property and any real estate taxes. A Donor may be asked to sign a statement regarding liability for previous and current environmental or other conditions if the Foundation deems it appropriate.
- Tangible Personal Property: The appraisal fee to determine the value of the personal property will be at the expense of the Donor. The Board must approve all gifts of tangible personal property prior to acceptance.
- Insurance: The Foundation may be named as a percentage or contingent beneficiary of any life insurance policy. In addition, the Foundation accepts life insurance policies for which the Donor has relinquished ownership by assigning all rights, title, and interest in the policy to the Foundation. If the insurance policy is not paid in full, the usefulness of the gift is judged on a case-by-case basis. The Foundation shall have no obligation to continue premium payments on insurance policies. If the policy is accepted, the Foundation may choose either to cash it in for the current surrender value or to continue to pay the premium so long as the Foundation is not required to expend funds from sources other than the Donor to maintain the contract. Fully paid life insurance policy gifts in which the Foundation is the owner and irrevocable beneficiary are acceptable. The Foundation does not participate in charitable split dollar insurance plans.
- Retirement Plan Assets: The Foundation may be named as a beneficiary of any retirement plan. Retirement plans owned by the Donor may be gifted to the Foundation. Such plans include individual retirement accounts [IRA, 401(k), 403 (b)], and defined contribution plans.
- In-Kind: The Foundation may accept gifts of in-kind donation of goods or services at the discretion of the Foundation Leader or Event Organizer. It is the responsibility of the Donor to provide documentation of the value of the goods or services. A donation receipt will be issued for an in-kind donation of goods or services greater than $250. The donation receipt will include the description (but not value) of any non-cash contributions, per nonprofit best practice. LCRF will not attempt to assign the cash value of property; doing so is the donor’s responsibility. The in-kind donation form will need to be completed and returned to receive a donation receipt.
- Bequests: Giving via gift planning is encouraged by the Foundation. On receipt of notification from the trustee or other party that LCRF is to receive a Bequest, the Executive Director shall consider the nature of the Bequest and whether there are any restrictions attaching to the Bequest. If the Bequest is for cash, and all applicable restrictions are acceptable, the Bequest shall be accepted. If the Bequest is for shares or real estate, the provisions of the respective Policy for accepting such shares or real estate shall be applied.
- Cryptocurrency: Using Endoament, Donors can give via cryptocurrencies in their original token form, on-chain. This means the potential tax deduction is equal to the market value of the donation. All actions occur on-chain and are publicly verifiable using a blockchain explorer like Etherscan.
- Donor Advised Funds (DAFs): LCRF encourages gifts made through DAFs, except in the instance of making a payment on a pledge, per IRS regulations.
- DAF gift acceptance policy for events: Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) cannot be used to pay for tickets or sponsorships to fundraising events, galas or auctions if the cost of the ticket or sponsorship is not fully tax deductible. Specifically, DAFs cannot be used to pay the tax-deductible portion of a ticket or sponsorship if the full cost includes both a tax deductible and non-deductible portion. Sponsorships or donations paid by a DAF toward an LCRF event will not receive recognition in donor listings, per best practice. Additionally, DAFs may not be used to pay for items or services purchased or won at a charity auction.
Updated November 2024