Fundraising Policy

Introduction
The University of Balamand is grateful for the philanthropic donations received from friends, alumni, and constituencies which help further our mission and advance knowledge to educate future leaders. Constituents are mainly the university’s board of trustees, advisory boards, alumni, former students, parents, individual donors, corporations, foundations, and other funding agencies.

1- Policy Statement
The University of Balamand (UOB) is an independent and private institution of higher learning and accepts philanthropic donations to support its mission and that are true to its core values and support its guiding principles.

2- Purpose
The Office of Advancement at the University of Balamand (“UOB”) has developed this fundraising policy (“Policy”) to establish principles, standards, and guidelines for soliciting and receiving philanthropic donations from friends and alumni. The goal is to steward relationships with constituents transparently and ethically while maintaining donor confidentiality.

3- Fundraising Authority and Responsibility
The Office of Advancement and its fundraising officers are responsible for coordinating fundraising activities in collaboration with Board of Trustees members and the President (the chief fundraiser). Deans, VPs, and other directors are required to involve the office of Advancement in any fundraising activity related to the University and must prepare necessary documentation for fundraising initiatives. The Office of Advancement is the only authorized entity to cultivate, solicit and steward donors. Any additional reports prepared by deans, VPs or directors should be done in coordination with the Office of Advancement as well.

4- Gift Acceptance
The Gift Acceptance Committee will only accept gifts that align with the terms of UOB policies, rules, and regulations. The Gift Acceptance Committee may seek financial and legal advice and submit recommendations to the Board of Trustees for approval of gifts.
The University reserves the right to decline gifts for several reasons, such as restrictions conflicting with the university’s mission or suspicion of illegal sources. It may also decline gifts for any of the following reasons:

• - The gift tends to limit the academic freedom of the university.
• - The gift could injure the reputation or standing of the university.
• - The gift is subject to adversarial legal proceedings or involves indebtedness that the university would be required to assume.
• - The gift creates a scholarship fund for which the donor reserves the right to designate the recipient.
  
  

5- Types of giving

1. Unrestricted – Annual Fund:
   Unrestricted current support may be spent by the university as part of its operating budget within the same fiscal year and are called “Annual Fund”. The annual fund supports the university’s current operating expenses and gifts are allocated where the need is greatest.


2. Restricted Current Support:
   Restricted current support to UOB programs or projects as designated by the donor. Donors may make gifts to discretionary funds designated to individual colleges, academies, schools, departments, or other units with new or special restrictions. These gifts are especially valuable when they relieve the operating budget of comparable expenses (e.g., financial aid, award, program, equipment needs, etc.)
   
   
3. Naming Opportunities:
   Since its inception, the University of Balamand has benefitted, and will continue to benefit, from the generosity of a wide range of donors who have helped to make it possible for Balamand to grow into the successful university that it is today. In recognition of major gifts, the names of donors or their honorees will be recognized through various naming opportunities. Naming opportunities are offered for gifts made in accordance with the university’s giving thresholds and for other gifts of exceptional generosity.
   Minimum gift levels are required to establish gift purposes and naming opportunities. Donors wishing to establish new named funds may propose the name and any preference, according to the following standards:
   
   
   • - Named Deanship: funds the dean's salary, faculty research and scholarship, public service, professional conferences, and other expenses.
   
   
   • - Named Chair or Professorship supports a faculty member's salary, programs, research, conferences, and other scholarly activities.
   
   
   • - Named Graduate Fellowship: provides financial aid, stipends or other support to graduate students, research, and scholarly work.
   
   
   • - Named Scholarship: offers financial aid to students. Donors may specify additional restrictions (including academic unit, degree/program, residency, or merit/need). Donations are recognized on the university website when the scholarship is active and supporting currently enrolled students.
   
   
   • - Named Award: awarded to the top graduate student in a certain major. Donors may specify additional restrictions (including undergraduate/graduate, academic unit, degree/program).
   
   
   • - Named Research Fund: support for the research activities of a department, including equipment, supplies, and other general research purposes.
   
   
   • - Named Facilities (aka Capital Funds): Gifts designated for capital projects can be used to support construction, renovation and operating expenses of the facility. If the facility is not under construction or renovation, the gift will support other general purposes designated by the university, such as the purchase of land and the design of facilities. Donors wishing to name new, renovated or existing facilities may propose the name and any restrictions to the university, which may require approval of the Gift Acceptance Committee. A minimum of 75% of the total gift must be received by the University before the naming of the building, facility or major space may take place. Furthermore, a minimum of 20% of the total gift must be received before any publicity is undertaken by the University or the donor regarding the naming of the building or major space. The minimum gift level is based on the value of the space, the actual costs to build, renovate and/or operate the space and the useful life of the space.
     
     
     • o Named Buildings: Includes buildings, halls, wings, floors, wings, reception areas, etc.
     • o Named Rooms: Includes classrooms, conference rooms, auditoriums, laboratories, offices, hospital rooms, physical spaces, and including trees, benches, and auditorium seats.
     • o Signage of named facilities: The physical material used in, and the dimension, size, and final appearance of donor recognition signs and donor boards are decided by the university’s signage committee in consultation with the Gift Acceptance Committee and must conform to the University’s practice and branding.
     • o Press releases or announcements of naming facilities: Any publicity must be coordinated with the university’s communication office and approved by the head of advancement and the President.
   
   
   • - Named Academic or Medical Units, Centers, Institutes: The minimum gift level varies with the unit being named and several factors including the history, reputation, and visibility of the unit, and the actual costs to operate. Generally, the gift will be used to support faculty scholarly activity, student scholarships and programmatic needs, and other general purposes of the unit. Donors wishing to name new, renovated or existing facilities may propose the name and any restrictions to the university, which may require approval of the Gift Acceptance Committee.
     
     
   • - Name Approval: The university recognizes its commitment to the public good and will only approve naming gifts that are consistent with its mission and values. Names will be vetted at the time of solicitation and final approval will be made at the time of gift.
     
     
   • - Name Removal: The university reserves the right to remove any name should the donor not fulfill the related pledge or if it may damage the reputation of the University. The Gift Acceptance Committee is responsible for making name removal decisions based on individual gifts and naming circumstances.
     
     
   • - Name Based on a Pledge: A pledge with a naming opportunity may not exceed five years and the naming is contingent upon fulfillment of the pledge. Exceptions to the policy are made by the President. A donor establishing a named endowment with a multiyear pledge may choose to make additional current operating gifts during the pledge period, supporting the same purpose of the named endowment (professorship, scholarship, etc.). These gifts should approximate the income to be generated from the fully funded endowment and will provide immediate support during the pledge period.
     
     
   • - List of New Buildings and Units available for Naming: List to be prepared based on UOB guidelines and submitted to the Gift Acceptance Committee and to the Board of Trustees for review and approval.
   
   
   • - Anonymous Gifts: UOB recognizes and respects the wishes of donors who wish to remain anonymous in their giving. Once requested by the donor, the University will treat the gift as anonymous to the extent permitted by law; however, such anonymity will be disclosed to the university administrators who need to know the donor’s identity for recordkeeping.
     
     
4. Endowment Funds:
   Endowment funds are designed to provide perpetual support to a designated area. Endowment funds may be created to serve one of more specific purposes that address a major objective or need as determined by the board. Gifts may be made to an unrestricted endowment or to establish a fund where the principal is invested and only the generated returns are spent.

The Board of Trustees reserves the right to amend its investment policy at its discretion and to reinvest some, or all, of the endowment funds in other investment vehicles under the direction of a professional investment manager and in accordance with an endowment policy to be approved by the Board.

Endowment funds may be named by the donors; however, a named fund will not be established until a corpus of 50% of the intended gift is received. Additional gifts to existing endowment funds may be made in any amount at any time.

As for endowed Scholarships, donations are recognized in the university annual publications in perpetuity.

6- Gift Agreements
All gifts for named scholarships, endowed funds, or for gifts of $100,000 or more, must have a gift agreement that meet the following criteria:

• - Name of the fund (or donor).
• - Minimum amount to establish the gift.
• - Schedule of payments.
• - Designation of the gift.
• - Purpose of the fund.
  
    In addition to the above, gift agreements for endowed gifts require further information and should contain the following:
  
  
  • - Provision for potential re-designation of the gift for another purpose should the original purpose cease to exist or cease to be practical.
  • - Provision stating that during the donor’s lifetime, the re-designation of any gift will require consultation with and consent of any donor.
  • - Provision that, if the donor is deceased, and the donor has not identified a representative in the agreement, the Board of Trustees will have the right to re-designate the purpose of the endowment so that its use in the best interest of the University, taking into consideration the original intent of the donor.

7- Types of gifts

• - Cash gifts: in the form of currency, check, bank transfer, or credit card contributions.
  
• - In-kind Gifts: an assessment of the value of the in-kind gift from a field expert will be used as the official basis for the value of the gift. All gifts in kind are acknowledged to the donor without a monetary value. When a donor requests a receipt with monetary value for tax purposes, it is their responsibility to provide a financial assessment from an independent appraiser. Examples of In-kind donations are the following:
  
  
  • o Personal property: books, artwork, collections, musical instruments, etc.
  • o Gifts of intellectual property: copyrights of artistic works.
  • o Medical equipment, photocopiers, furniture, etc.
  • o Bitcoins


• - Planned gifts - Bequests: cash property, or other assets made in a donor’s will or living trust.


• - Life insurance: the university is an irrevocable beneficiary of a life insurance policy. Such designation will be recorded as a gift at its fair market value at the time when it becomes irrevocable.


• - Gifts of Securities: publicly traded stocks that will be sold instantly.


• - Real estate: Gifts of real estate may include developed property, undeveloped property, or gifts subject to a prior life interest. Before accepting any gift of real estate, wherever located, the University will require an initial environmental review to ensure that the property has no attached environmental liabilities. If the initial inspection reveals potential environmental issues, the University will then expect to retain a qualified inspection firm to conduct a full environmental audit at the expense of the donor.