Fundraising and Charitable Contributions

Fundraising is defined as any event where the organization intends to raise additional funds through solicitation (funds and/or items), charging admission to a fundraising event, sponsorship, or selling products or services. This excludes collecting membership fees or dues. This includes fundraisers that benefit the organization, other charitable group or an individual.

The purpose of the fundraising will determine if the donations received will qualify to offer tax-deductible gift receipts. Receiving a tax-deductible gift receipt for a donation is often referred to as a charitable contribution by the IRS. Charitable contributions can be in the form of cash, check, credit card or personal property. The contribution must be made voluntarily and made without getting or expecting to get, anything of equal value. Your fundraiser may qualify to receive charitable contributions as long as the contributions support the charitable purpose of Utah State University. Charitable contributions received must be process through the USU Advancement Office.

Any student organization fundraising must be pre-approved by completing the Application to Raise Funds at least ten business days prior to the day of the fundraiser. The application will determine the workflow and approval process that your fundraiser will go through. Applicants can expect a response via email within five business days of submitting a completed application. The response will include instructions pertinent to your fundraiser including the approved credit card processing methods.

I. Abila Fundraising E-Commerce: Donate Now or Giving Form

This e-commerce option is customizable for your specific fundraiser. It can either be a “donate now” button or giving form that embeds HTML code into your website or we can create a web page that is stored on the advancement server with the fundraiser information and accompanying widget.

  • Merchant Fees: 2.45% of the amount of the donation is charged back to the department. (Widgets that are created as part of an Annual Fund Campaign will also have a 20% of the amount of the donation charged back to the department with a $200 cap per donation)
  • Timeframe for Creation of Widget: approximately 1 week
  • E-Commerce Website Required Text: E-Commerce Website Refund, Privacy, and Terms and Condition notification
  • Timeframe for Receiving Funds: Credit cards are processed in Millennium two business days after being charged. The funds will appear in your Banner index the same day.

Steps:

  1. Submit online donations from request at Advancement Resources website
  2. USU Advancement Services Office will create the widget/website
  3. Advancement Web Programmer will give Department/IT website administrator widget HTML to install on department webpage

II. USU Giving Portal

This is the main university Make a Gift button. It is very generic and is not customizable. You can link to it from any university web page.

  • Merchant Fees: 2.45% of the amount of the donation is charged back to the department
  • Timeframe for Creation: none
  • Timeframe for Receiving funds: Credit cards are processed in Millennium two business days after being charged. The funds will appear in your Banner index the same day.

Steps:

  1. Direct donors to USU.edu/giving. If your fundraising option is not in the drop down menu, choose "other" and fill in the choice next to text box field.

III. Abila Fundraising Online: Event Registration Widget

This E-Commerce Fundraising Event with Charitable Contribution Component option is customizable for your specific event. It can either be a “register now” button or form that embeds HTML code into your registration website or we can create a web page that is stored on the advancement server with the event registration and event payment widget.

  • Merchant Fees: 2.45% of the amount of the donation is charged back to the department
  • Timeframe for Creation of Widget: approximately 1 week
  • E-Commerce Website Required Text: E-Commerce Website Refund, Privacy, and Terms and Condition notification
  • Timeframe for receiving funds: Credit cards are processed in Millennium two business days after being charged. The funds will appear in your Banner index the same day.
  • Notification of Registrants: Daily emailed report or weekly report sent via email. Attendees are also recorded in the Millennium database for future reporting.

Steps:

  1. Submit online donations from request at Advancement Resources website
  2. USU Advancement Services Office will create the event form/widget
  3. If the event form, Advancement Web Programmer will give Department/IT website administrator form to install on event webpage

IV. Direct Mail Solicitation

Direct Mail Reply Form is the process where an approved direct mail solicitation includes a reply form that offers the option for the donor to write down their credit card information and mail in back to Advancement. This is the only type of credit card mailers allowed at USU. This is not USU's preferred method and will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Director of Advancement Services.

For more information about how Direct Mail Solicitation works, please download the Direct Mail Solicitation document on the Advancement Resources website.

Contact for questions

  1. Director Advancement Services (Colleen Hobson)
  2. Assistant Director of Gift Management (Wendy Oliverson)
  3. Advancement Web Programmer (Ricky Linton)