Policy for Student Fund-Raising at Westmont College
Approval to Fundraise
Fundraising efforts shall be clearly defined as student initiated and for the specific purpose (SMF, Potter’s Clay, etc.) in question.
Approval of a student activity is pursued through the application process appropriate to your activity. There are three possible avenues for receiving approval:
1. Cross-Cultural Programs
For activities with a cross-cultural component, see Elena Yee, director of intercultural programs, in the fall to begin the application process. 565.6086.
2. Student Ministry or Activity
Contact the Campus Life Office at 565-6125 in the fall to begin application process.
3. Projects Not Clearly Cross-Cultural or Student Ministry
Each year, activities may be proposed which are not clearly cross-cultural or student ministries. In these cases, see Janna Mori, director of donor relations. Janna will direct the proponents to apply through the director of intercultural programs; coordinator of student ministries and activities; or the Westmont College Fund-Raising Review Committee, depending on the nature of the project.
Click here for application:
· New ministries with a fund-raising component that requires the use of Westmont’s 501(c)(3) status for processing and receipting donations
· Special fund-raising events for new or existing ministries that require the use of Westmont’s 501(c)(3) status for processing and receipting donations.
This committee is detailed in the appendix.
Will Your Fundraising Effort Require Receipt?
For approved activities, fundraising efforts will fall into two broad categories:
1) Those not requiring receipts for donors (bake sales, etc.) – contact Student Life
2) Those requiring receipts for donors (checks sent in response to letters, etc.) – contact Janna Mori in OCA.When goods or services are exchanged for money, as in a bake sale, donors do not receive a receipt from the college for tax purposes. However, any time a donor makes a charitable gift to Westmont their gift will be receipted, thereby involving OCA in the fundraising process. If a student is unsure as to whether or not a gift is “charitable” they may contact Janna Mori for clarification.
Guidelines for Use of Westmont’s 501(c)(3) Status
Approval· A fundraising plan must be included in the application for approval and submitted by date set for current calendar year. Please see the director or coordinator for deadline.
· Student fundraising may begin upon approval of fundraising plan.
· Any solicitation of funds from corporate entities, i.e. local businesses, must be cleared by OCA. See Janna Mori.
Developing Solicitation Materials
Students leading first-time service projects should contact the director of annual giving for assistance with the solicitation letter, donor reply card, and return envelope. General guidelines for all solicitation materials include the following:
· Alert donors that checks must be made payable to Westmont College. Designation (not student fundraiser’s name) can go in memo line.
· Ensure that the donor response card includes an opt-out option to the effect of, “Please do not add my name to Westmont’s mailing list.”
· Avoid using phrases that could be incorrectly interpreted as known support groups of the college, i.e. Friends of Westmont, Warrior Sports, etc.
Processing Gifts
· Once a group is approved, the approving program director or coordinator sets up a gift account with OCA for handling funds raised.
· All gifts must be processed through OCA (not deposited directly through the business office). If, for any reason, a student ministry office receives a check, it must be delivered to OCA on the day it is received (in the postmarked envelope if there is one).
· OCA is solely responsible for generating and mailing receipts for donations. A standard thank-you insert is mailed with all receipts.
· All funds raised and spent by the student group must be accounted for through the college business office in accordance with the Fiscal Accountability Policy.
· During the fundraising period, the program director or coordinator will work with OCA to receive a weekly report for student fund-raisers that includes the amount of money raised that week and total raised to-date.
Follow-up
· The program director or coordinator can request that OCA return all response cards so the student fund-raiser may write thank you notes shortly after the gifts are received.
· Students send a follow up letter to all donors when the event is over to explain how their gift helped ensure the project’s success. Students should consider including a return envelope with each letter that would enable the donor to make another gift if they so choose.
· To facilitate the follow-up mailing, the program director or coordinator can work with OCA to generate a mail merge list of donors.
· An “annual report” or “thank you” piece may be sent to donors as a follow up, at the discretion of the Annual Giving and Student Life offices.
Office of College Advancement
The Office of College Advancement (OCA) raises funds for the operational, capital, and endowment priorities of Westmont in order to ensure Westmont remains and grows as a quality institution and experience for students. OCA’s responsibility to is to manage the relationship between the college and its donors. All student fundraising efforts approved by OCA operate under Westmont, and by virtue of that relationship and the processing of gifts through Westmont, are able to offer tax benefits to their donors. OCA’s involvement in the solicitation process is threefold:
Donor Relations:
Once a person donates to the college, they are on the path of giving. Some may continue to give only to a particular project (e.g. Potter’s Clay), while others may expand their support to other areas. It is the role of OCA to properly attend to all giving interests of the donors, to appropriately acknowledge all gifts in a timely manner, and to prevent the inundation of multiple requests.To help eliminate multiple solicitations, OCA and ministry leaders jointly develop and mail an annual brochure highlighting each ministry, its needs, and prayer requests to local churches, staff and faculty, current parents, and alumni as a primary solicitation effort. Students are permitted to send letters only to personal friends and family asking for additional support of their specific ministry.
Preserving Non-Profit Status:
Westmont’s designation as a non-profit educational institution allows donors to claim charitable deductions on their tax returns provided that the college abides by IRS regulations. Our failure to abide by these regulations would jeopardize our tax-exempt status. Losing this status would have devastating consequences for our donors and, ultimately, for the college.
Approval of Language and Response:
When a group fundraises under the college umbrella, an individual receiving the solicitation from a student group does not differentiate between that request and other Westmont solicitations; they seem the same. We therefore must be concerned with the content, appearance, timeliness, and accuracy of what goes to our donors. The program director or coordinator should first review all fund-raising components including:
· Solicitation letter
· Donor reply card
· Follow-up correspondence
The program director or coordinator reserves the right to submit fund-raising materials to OCA for final review and approval.
Appendix
Two-Step Process for Reviewing and Approving Student Fund-Raising Requests
Step 1
Students must first submit their application to one of the following committees:
· Westmont Student Ministries Review Committee: This committee, comprised of two student co-directors and the WSM Campus Life staff advisor, is responsible for reviewing the standard application submitted to WSM for financial support of no more than $500. Students requesting support of a project and/or event that exceeds a budget of $500 and are requesting the use of Westmont’s 501(c)(3) status for additional fund-raising will be required to complete a second application that will be sent to the Westmont College Fund-Raising Review Committee.
- OR -
· Student Group Fundraising Review Committee: All standard applications for intercultural service projects, including but not limited to Potter’s Clay, Spring Break in the City and Summer Missions, are reviewed by this committee. Based on this group’s assessment of the significance of the fund-raising component, applications may be forwarded to the Westmont College Fund-Raising Review Committee for final analysis and approval.
Step 2
Westmont College Fund-Raising Review Committee: A committee comprised of Jane Higa, vice president for student life, Steve Baker, vice president for advancement, Chris Call, vice president for administration, and Troy Harris, director of procurement and auxiliary services, is responsible for reviewing and approving/denying applications forwarded by the Westmont Student Ministries Review Committee or the Student Group Fundraising Review Committee. Janna Mori, director of donor relations, will convene and staff this committee. Additionally, the director of intercultural programs and the coordinator of student ministries and activities (who also currently serves as WSM staff advisor) may be invited to attend. This committee meets semi-annually (once in the fall and once in the spring). Students are required to submit a complete application to the committee at least one full semester prior to the anticipated event, allowing the committee ample time to review the full application and conduct additional research if needed. Events planned for the summer should be submitted in the fall prior to the event.
Applications to fundraise may be approved or denied based on the following:
1. Higher Educational Component – Proposed projects must be consistent with the mission of Westmont College: to provide a high quality undergraduate liberal arts program in a residential campus community that assists college men and women toward a balance of rigorous intellectual competence, healthy personal development, and strong Christian commitments. In light of this core mission, it is the primary responsibility of the committee to approve fund-raising support on behalf of the needs of a higher education institution, and to limit the diversion of these funds (or the risk of diversion) to other activities.
2. Liability – The College has a strict obligation to explore all issues pertaining to legal and financial liability so as not to endanger the long-term well being of the college. It is important to be prudent in how the College tolerates, allocates and/or shares the risks we inherently face.
3. Community Relations – The purpose and message of the proposed project and/or event must be consistent with messages previously conveyed to our local community so as not to altar the community’s perception of our mission.
4. Staffing Consideration/College Resources – The availability of college resources must be carefully reviewed to ensure that proper staffing is in place to accommodate additional administrative fund-raising efforts.