This memorandum includes a sample gift acceptance policy for California tax-exempt organizations, as well as a discussion of the legal rationale and background for the policy and considerations for implementation. The purpose of the sample policy is to give guidance to an organization’s officers, staff, and directors as to their responsibilities with regard to accepting gifts as well as to prospective donors. An editable word version of the policy is also available. This policy and memo, designed for legal counsel advising California nonprofits tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, are part of the Form 990 Policy Series, which was developed by a group of lawyers practicing nonprofit law in order to assist nonprofits in addressing the Form 990 governance questions.
