Mercy Beyond Borders Gifts Policy

1. Purpose

The purpose of this Gifts Policy is to outline guidelines for accepting and reporting gifts and donations made to Mercy Beyond Borders (MBB) to ensure transparency, accountability, and alignment with our mission. Acceptance of any contributions is at the discretion of MBB. MBB encourages prospective donors to obtain professional advice before making a significant cash gift, establishing a trust for MBB, or donating real property.  In all cases, donors and MBB must comply with the U.S.Tax Code, IRS Regulations, and all applicable federal and state laws.

2. General Acceptance Criteria

The following criteria will be considered when evaluating a gift:

  1. Alignment with Mission: The gift must further MBB’s mission and goals.

  2. Restrictions: 

    1. A gift to MBB may either be unrestricted or restricted to a specific purpose within the scope of MBB's mission.  If any donor-imposed gift restriction is illegal by operation of law, is in the opinion of MBB unethical, difficult or impossible to fulfill, or is otherwise administratively impracticable, MBB's policy is to consult with the donor(s) in an attempt to modify or remove the gift restriction to make the gift (lawfully) useful to MBB, and to document in writing any agreed-upon modification. If agreement is not reached to modify or remove a restriction, MBB may decline the gift.

    2. Whenever MBB seeks to modify or remove donor-imposed gift restrictions, MBB’s policy is to modify any such restrictions so that the modified gift terms reflect the donor’s original intent as closely as possible.  

  3. Legal Compliance: All donations must comply with applicable laws and regulations.

3. Types of Gifts

MBB accepts various types of gifts including, but not limited to:

  1. Monetary Donations: Cash, checks, and electronic payments.

  2. In-Kind Donations: Goods and services that support MBB’s mission and can be used directly by staff or programs.

  3. Securities and Cryptocurrency: Stocks, bonds, cryptocurrency, and other investment instruments.

    1. Marketable securities may be transferred electronically to MBB’s investment account or delivered physically with the transferor's endorsement or signed stock power (with appropriate signature guarantees) attached. 

    2. All marketable securities will be sold promptly upon receipt unless otherwise directed by MBB’s Finance Committee. 

    3. Restricted securities-In some cases marketable securities may be restricted by applicable securities laws or the terms of the proposed gift; in such instances the decision whether to accept the restricted securities will be made as recommended by the Finance Committee.

    4. Donors should notify MBB, in advance of gifting, as to the number of shares, the intended gift date, and the intended use of the gift.

  4. Planned Gifts: Bequests, trusts, and other long-term contributions. MBB accepts gifts of life insurance where MBB is named as both beneficiary and irrevocable owner of the insurance policy. The donor must agree to pay, before due, any future premium payments owing on the policy.

  5. Corporate Gifts/Sponsorships: Contributions from businesses and corporations.

  6. Tangible Personal Property:

    1. MBB accepts gifts of tangible personal property with the understanding that they will be sold, and with the following considerations: Does the property further MBB’s mission? Is the property marketable? Are there any unacceptable restrictions imposed on the property? Are there any carrying costs for the property for which MBB may be responsible? Is the title/provenance of the property clear? 

    2. The donor must be willing and able to finance the packing, shipping, delivery, insurance and other costs associated with transferring the gift to MBB.

    3. Generally these gifts must be accompanied by a qualified appraisal performed within 60 days of the proposed donation date. If MBB sells the item within three years of receipt, MBB will report the sale to the IRS through the submission of Form 8282 and provide the donor with a copy of this form.

  7. Real Property: 

    1. Gifts of real estate are subject to review by the Finance Committee.. 

    2. Prior to acceptance of any gift of real estate, other than a personal residence, MBB requires an initial environmental review by a qualified environmental firm. 

    3. Criteria for acceptance of gifts of real estate include: Is the property useful for MBB’s purposes? Is the property readily marketable? Are there covenants, conditions, restrictions, reservations, easements, encumbrances or other limitations associated with the property? Are there carrying costs (including insurance, property taxes, mortgages, notes, or the like) or maintenance expenses associated with the property? Does the environmental review or audit reflect that the property is damaged or otherwise requires remediation?

  8. Intangible Personal Property

The Finance Committee will review gifts of intangible personal property not included above, including mortgages, notes, copyrights, royalties, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), partnership interests, closely held business interests, undivided interests in property, future and partial interests and other illiquid financial assets, and make an acceptance recommendation consistent with the overall principles outlined in this policy.

Note regarding appraisals: All appraisals of contributed real and personal property will be in accordance with IRS Publication 561, Determining the Value of Donated Property. A real property valuation should be prepared by an Appraisal Institute MAI appraiser. Generally, expenses incurred to obtain an appraisal are the donor’s responsibility.

4. Gift Acknowledgment

  1. In-Kind: Donors are responsible for determining the value of in-kind gifts for tax purposes. MBB will provide a receipt but will not appraise items.

  2. Acknowledgment: MBB will acknowledge all gifts in a timely manner, with receipts provided for tax purposes indicating whether any goods or services were received in exchange. The acknowledgment will include the date of the gift and the type of gift received.

5. Confidentiality

MBB respects the privacy of our donors. MBB keeps personal information collected during the donation process confidential and only uses information for organizational purposes, including fundraising and donor recognition, and to comply with any applicable laws or regulations.

6. Donor Recognition

MBB appreciates our donors and recognizes contributions through various means, including listing in our annual report, recognition on our website and social media channels, and/or acknowledgment at events. Donors may designate their gift(s) as anonymous. Such requests will be honored to the extent allowable under the law (eg., the IRS requires limited information for defined gifts).

7. Conflicts of Interest

Board members, staff, and volunteers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest related to accepting gifts. Gifts that could create a conflict will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

8. Policy Review

This Policy will be reviewed regularly by the Board of Directors to ensure its effectiveness and relevance.

Contact Information:

For questions regarding this policy or to discuss potential gifts, please contact Lizzie Hancock Dalton at lhancock@mercybeyondborders.org

effective July 19, 2025