BU 005 - Fundraising or Other Types of Income

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Q: I’m going to have a fundraiser. Do I have to do any special paperwork?

A: Yes. All fundraisers must be pre-approved through either SHGA (clubs or other organizations on campus), Athletics (teams or clubs), or the Business Office (departments or classes not considered a club), where applicable. A form UF-01 Fundraiser Request and Accounting Form (available on the SHGA Documents page) must be pre-approved before you can start fundraising. SHGA and Athletics will forward the approved UF-01 form to the Business Office prior to the start of their fundraiser. Please retain a copy of the UF0-01 after approval for final reporting of revenues and expenses to the Business Office at the end of the event. Several themed events scheduled throughout the year have claim to proprietary rights for these types of events on campus. See also Fundraising Policies on the SHGA Documents page. Once the fundraiser is complete, all revenue (deposits made daily/weekly; not held) and expenses (payments made through Accounts Payable or on a purchase order) must be reconciled on the right-hand side of the UF-01 form at the end of the event or sale. The department head or advisor signed UF-01 Accounting Form must be returned to the Business Office for all fundraisers. See the Fundraising Policy for authorization of club prize winnings over $100 and less than $500. All clubs, classes, teams or departments with a fundraiser prize winning greater than $500 must have Business Office pre-approval from the Controller for that prize. The Westmoreland County Gaming Authority requires a special permit to award prizes that are valued at over $500. See Question 4 below for free giveaways and door prizes where a ticket is not sold for cash.

All Athletics teams should complete either the NCAA Deposit Form or UF-05 Deposit Form, when making deposits, using whichever form is appropriate. If you have questions about which form to use (UF-05 or NCAA Deposit form), please contact the accountant. In the other category of the form, any game management fees collected from an organization that your department or club managed for that outside organization’s event which was held on campus may be deposited to your other income revenue account (2-xx-57-xx-700-xx-xxxx) or club account (2-xx-40-00-200-42-xxx). Player trip balances should be deposited to the travel line of your budget or where you paid for your travel. Dinners and banquets revenue collected from attendees should be deposited into your 1-10-73-80-589-00-xxxx account where you paid for the event.

2. Q: My fundraiser involves selling pre-numbered tickets, daily lottery tickets, a bingo game, raffle basket, or other small games of chance. Do I need to report these sales on any particular form?

A: Yes. All fundraisers of this type involving pull tabs, instant bingo, progressive bingo, raffle tickets, basket raffles, etc. must be reported on a UF-04 Small Game of Chance Form to be in compliance with the University’s County Gaming License. You must list the name of each ticket seller, the ticket numbers they sold, and the ticket numbers that are returned unsold by the seller’s name on the UF-04 Form. A bingo requires a special license. Please consult with the Controller. A state registered and/or licensed manufacturer or distributor of Race Night games must be used when holding these types of events.

3. Q: Can I make up my own tickets on the copier?

A: All tickets must be on an auto-generated pre-numbered ticket. You can purchase them from a vendor like the PA Lottery, Wal-Mart or an approved fundraising vendor that sells pre-printed pre-numbered tickets. Offices that currently have pre-numbered tickets on hand may sell you a block of tickets at their cost for your use. You may ask the print shop on campus to auto-generate pre-numbered tickets for your raffle using your own ticket template. Please do not auto-generate your own ticket numbers. Xerox will create the numbers on your tickets. A state registered and/or licensed manufacturer or distributor of Race Night games must be used when holding these types of events.

4. Q: My fundraiser involves giving away free tickets for a raffle. Do I need to report these tickets on the UF-04 form?

A: Tickets that are not sold do not have to be reported on the University’s County Gaming License for free raffles (giveaways or door prizes) that have a combined prize value of less than $600. Despite this fact, a UF-04 form is still required to be completed whether the prize is valued under or over $600 for a raffle where tickets are free of charge, in order to identify to the Accounts Payable Office all items in your inventory that you have purchased and given away to winners. If items were donated to you, the UF-04 form will help identify the recipient of those donated raffle prizes. You will track the winner’s name, address (if prize over $100), prize and prize value on a UF-04 form for the Business Office to identify all prizes purchased from your budget or club account including any prizes received from a donor. Please refer to the document Giveaways & Prizes, Fundraising and Games of Chance on the Business Office Documents page. For prizes valued at $600 or more to one individual, a W2-G reporting or withholding may apply if the wager is 300 times the prize value. Prize giveaways require the use of pre-printed, pre-numbered tickets to ensure compliance with government regulations. The prize winner must complete a W-9 form prior to delivery of their prize. A blank Form W-9 is available at the Business Office Forms page. You may download a Form W-8 from www.irs.gov. Do not give the winner cash from the proceeds, in any case, unless hosting a licensed bingo game. Prior approval from the Controller in the Business Office is necessary for all prize winnings valued over $500. The Westmoreland County Gaming Authority requires a special permit to award prizes that are valued at over $500. Please list any donated gifts for your raffle on the UF-03 form and any vendor payments for prizes you purchased on the UF-01 form. A UF-03 Gift in Kind Form (available on the SHGA Documents page) signed by the donor and authorized SHU representative should be returned to the Gifts Processing Office listing all non-cash gifts of $250 or greater to comply with IRS regulations. Seton Hill will thank all donors no matter the amount of the donation, so please submit all donor information to the Gifts Processing Office in a timely manner including items valued at less than $250 on a UF-03 form.

5. Q: I have charitable contributions or donations that the donor has either asked for a tax deductible receipt from SHU or has not asked for a receipt. Do I need to do anything special?

A: Yes. All donations no matter how small according to Seton Hill University policy are to be acknowledged through our gifts processing office. It is your responsibility to either collect the donor’s name and address from their check payment or provide them with a form that requests their name, address, date of donation, and the amount donated toward your fundraiser where no tangible benefit (goods or services) were received in exchange for their payment. These monies are sent to the gifts processing office. Some donors may give cash to a collection can or basket, but do not desire a tax deductible receipt. You are not required to collect name and address information for these cash only donations if the amount is less than $250, but the donor may request a receipt from you. If donors who donated less than $250 request a receipt, please send their name, address, date of donation, and the amount donated to the Gifts Processing Office along with the funds collected. The donor will be mailed a tax deductible receipt where applicable. All checks should be written to “Seton Hill University.”

6. Q: My donor received a tangible benefit in exchange for their payment (i.e. a t-shirt, flowers, entrance to an event, lunch at an event, golf game, etc.). Do I disregard this information?

A: No, these types of expenses against your collected funds may result in only a partial charitable donation that may be tax deductible for the donor. Please complete a UF-02 and UF-06 tax deductibility form and return it along with all funds collected to the Gifts Processing Office. You must give a good faith estimate of what you believe the fair value of this tangible benefit would be to this individual after you have paid all vendors and include the value on all tickets, brochures or any public announcement of your event. Show this tangible benefit value on the Tax Deductibility form UF-02 and UF-06 (available on the SHGA Documents page). Gifts processing will deposit the funds into your account daily. These funds will be reported to you on your Jet Hub report at the end of each month; although, deposits are being made daily. You may use the funds received.

7. Q: I’ve collected money for a fundraiser by selling t-shirts or other merchandise, collected anonymous cash donations, or sold raffle tickets. Can I use that money to pay a vendor for supplies, food, prize winner proceeds, etc.?

A: No, all funds collected must be deposited at Bayley room 205a into a fundraising revenue (2-xx-57-00-760-xx-xxxx) or club account (2-xx-40-00-200-42-xxxx) daily or several times a week. To properly pay a vendor, please see the Business Agent for a purchase order or the accounts payable office for an advance of cash and tax exempt certificate to be given to that vendor when payment is made or to make payment of their invoice upon receipt of a W-9 form from a vendor, if not already on file in the Accounts Payable Office within the past 3 years. Accountability for all funds must be shown through proof of payment posted by our Accounts Payable Office to an expense account for your fundraiser (2-xx-7x-xx-xxx-xx-xxxx fundraising expense or 2-xx-40-00-200-42-xxxx club expense). All cash, checks, and credit cards collected for payment must be reconciled to show that all items sold have equal funds collected and deposited by the single or various sellers involved in your fundraiser who sold tickets or merchandise. Unsold tickets must be accounted for on the UF-04 Raffle Log form by each seller. Unsold merchandise must be accounted for in your office inventory records. Prize winners must be paid through Accounts Payable unless for a licensed Bingo. Please provide the value of the prize winnings, name of the winner and their address on a POR form along with a completed W-9 form.

8. Q: I sold clothing or equipment to athletic team members for their use on the team without making a profit. Is this a fundraiser?

A: No, this is simply a reimbursement of the expense you incurred for your department. No profit was made. You should deposit this to the expense line within your budget or fundraising account where you paid for the items. If you sold items for a profit to team or non-team members you would include that as fundraising income on your UF-01 Form for deposit to (2-xx-57-xx-760-xx-xxxx) or club account (2-xx-40-00-200-42-xxxx).

9. Q: I had a summer camp, clinic, or similar training on campus. Do I need to report this as a fundraiser?

A: No, this type of training income is not considered fundraising. Please list this income on the NCAA Deposit Form under Sports Camp Revenues. If you sold items to participants for their use at the training, it would be considered a training expense reimbursement. You can deposit this income for items you sold to participants along with your training income. If you sold non-related merchandise at the camp or clinic with the intention of raising funds for another purpose, you would include it on a UF-01 fundraising form for deposit to (2-xx-57-xx-760-xx-xxxx) or club account (2-xx-40-00-200-42-xxxx).

10. Q: My fundraiser is to benefit an outside charitable organization (called a pass through donation). Do I include that information on a UF-01 Form?

A: Yes, please complete a UF-01 fundraising form, particularly if a raffle is involved. You will also need to complete the UF-04 Raffle Log for the raffle. Please see the Gifts Processing Office concerning required disclosures on your brochure about this event to the public and SHU community prior to the event.

11. Q: My team or club provided services (working at a stadium event or other services) to an organization at an off-site location in exchange for cash or some other form of remuneration from that organization paid to Seton Hill University. Is this considered a fundraiser?

A: No. You are not required to report this type of income as a fundraiser. Please deposit these funds to your other income revenue account (2-xx-57-xx-700-xx-xxxx) or club account (2-xx-40-00-200-42-xxx).

12. Q: My fundraiser involved selling auction items. How do I account for receipts from sold auction items?

A: Any auction item sold above fair market value must be reported to and deposited by the Gifts Processing Office. A partial tax deductible donation may apply. Please see the Gifts Processing Office for details. Please deposit these funds to your other income revenue account (2-xx-57-xx-700-xx-xxxx) or club account (2-xx-40-00-200-42-xxx) if sold at or below fair market value.

13. Q: My fundraiser involved receiving a percentage of the sales from a local restaurant or retail store where participants making purchases announced that they were part of a Seton Hill fundraiser.

A: Commissions earned are not considered a tax deductible donation from an establishment where you assisted that vendor in selling its’ inventory to the Seton Hill Community. You may deposit these directly into other income (2-xx-57-xx-700-xx-xxxx or your club account 2-xx-40-00-200-42-xxxx). A vendor may provide an additional donation that would be considered tax deductible under certain circumstances. Please report these proceeds to the Gifts Processing Office for further information. If they qualify as a charitable donation, a form UF-06 (available on the SHGA Documents page) must be completed.

14. Q: My fundraiser involved a local restaurant, vendor or retail store donating items for use at a Seton Hill University fundraiser or to the University for its’ express use. What form is required?

A: A UF-03 Gift in Kind Form (available on the SHGA Documents page) signed by the donor and authorized SHU representative should be returned to the Gifts Processing Office listing all non-cash gifts of $250 or greater. Items less than $250 may still be reported to Gifts Processing under University policy at the donor’s request. This includes any donor who pays someone else to provide services or products to Seton Hill University.

15. Q: My fundraiser involved receiving free services for my department or club from a service provider who the University would normally pay. How do I record this gift?

A: Donated services are not considered a charitable tax deduction according to the IRS (see IRS publication 526, some exclusions may apply). If a vendor of services to the University wants to receive a receipt for a tax deductible donation to the University, you must first pay them for their services with the mutual agreement that they will remit a charitable donation back to the University. If a donor pays a third party for services or products on behalf of Seton Hill University, they may report that donation as a gift in kind on a UF-03 form not as donated services (see Question 14).

16. Q: I sold media guide advertisements, brochure advertisements, or other advertisements for my event. How do I report this income?

A: Media guide advertisements may be deposited to your other income revenue account (2-xx-57-xx-700-xx-xxxx) or club account (2-xx-40-00-200-42-xxx). Brochure advertising may include a sponsorship. Please follow these guidelines when determining whether any of the advertising income is tax deductible.

Advertising includes: 1. a message containing qualitative or comparative language, price information, or other indications of savings or value, 2. Endorsements, and 3. Inducements to purchase, sell, or use the products or services. If both product advertising and the sponsor’s name or logo appear in the ad then only the amount above the fair market value of the advertising is considered a sponsorship. A company name or a logo advertisement that doesn’t include any qualitative or comparative language, price information, savings, value, endorsements, or inducements to purchase, sell, or use their products or services is fully tax deductible and must be reported to the gifts processing office as a sponsorship on a UF-02 or UF-06 Form. Please provide a copy of the actual brochure advertisement when sending the funds with a UF-02 or UF-06 Form to Gifts Processing.

17. Q. May I purchase a gift card, gift certificate, or gift coupon (redeemable for cash) for my raffle?

A. The raffle must be open to all participants in your event. Please review the section of the Procurement Policy titled “Miscellaneous Policies/Allowable and Unallowable Expenditures.”

18. Q. May I purchase gifts for an employee, guest speaker, consultant or other professional from federal or matching grant funds?

A. No, the Federal Code of Regulations §200.434 strictly prohibits using federal or matching funds for gifts. Please review the Policy Manual for further information on other gifts.

For further information, please see the Fundraising, Procurement, Travel & Entertainment Policies along with various forms under the Business Office Documents and Forms page, SHGA Documents page or contact SHGA, the Associate Athletic Director, Director of Corporate & Community Relations or the Controller or Accountant in the Business Office.