Gift Acceptance Policy

Amazing Discoveries solicits and accepts gifts for purposes that will help the organization further and fulfill its mission. Amazing Discoveries urges all prospective donors to seek the assistance of personal legal and financial advisors in matters relating to their gifts, including the resulting tax and estate planning consequences. The following policies and guidelines govern acceptance of gifts made to Amazing Discoveries for the benefit of any of its operations, programs or services.

Use of Legal Counsel— Amazing Discoveries will seek the advice of legal counsel in matters relating to acceptance of gifts when appropriate. Review by counsel is recommended for: A. Gifts of securities that are subject to restrictions or buy-sell agreements. B. Documents naming Amazing Discoveries as trustee or requiring Amazing Discoveries to act in any fiduciary capacity. C. Gifts requiring Amazing Discoveries to assume financial or other obligations. D. Transactions with potential conflicts of interest. E. Gifts of property which may be subject to environmental or other regulatory restrictions.

Restrictions on Gifts— Amazing Discoveries will not accept gifts that (a) would result in Amazing Discoveries violating its corporate charter, (b) would result in Amazing Discoveries losing its status as an IRC § 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, (c) are too difficult or too expensive to administer in relation to their value, (d) would result in any unacceptable items that would be averse to Amazing Discoveries, or (e) are for purposes outside Amazing Discoveries mission. Decisions on the restrictive nature of a gift, and its acceptance or refusal, shall be made by the Charitable Giving Advisor in consultation with the Operations Manager/President.

Gifts Generally Accepted Without Review— Cash. Cash gifts are acceptable in any form, including by check, money order, credit card, or on-line. Donors wishing to make a gift by credit card must provide the card type (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, American Express), card number, expiration date, and name of the card holder as it appears on the credit card.

Restricted Gifts — While Amazing Discoveries seeks to honor all restricted gifts to be used for their designated purpose, Amazing Discoveries reserves the right to determine the final use and disposition of financial gifts received (other than Ministerial Support) in the case of a project being cancelled or if funds in one project greatly exceed our expenses for that project. In this case, the Board of Directors meets on an annual basis to make decisions to transfer funds to appropriate projects that are depleted in funds. This decision is done prayerfully and carefully, and the Board strives to move money to projects that are as closely aligned to the original intent as possible. If the project is substantially different from the original intended project, each donor will be contacted to confirm their permission to use the funds differently.

Marketable Securities— Marketable securities may be transferred electronically to an account maintained at one or more brokerage firms or a 3rd party foundation that works on the behalf of Amazing Discoveries, or delivered physically with the transferor's endorsement or signed stock power (with appropriate signature guarantees) attached. All marketable securities will be sold promptly upon receipt unless otherwise directed by Amazing Discoveries or a 3rd Party deemed acceptable by Amazing Discoveries. In some cases, marketable securities may be restricted, for example, by applicable securities laws or the terms of the proposed gift; in such instances the decision whether to accept the restricted securities shall be made by the Charitable Giving Advisor and Operations Manager/ President.

Bequests and Beneficiary Designations under Revocable Trusts, Life Insurance Policies, Commercial Annuities and Retirement Plans— Donors are encouraged to make bequests to Amazing Discoveries under their wills, and to name Amazing Discoveries as the beneficiary under trusts, life insurance policies, commercial annuities and retirement plans.

Charitable Remainder Trusts— Amazing Discoveries will accept designation as a remainder beneficiary of charitable remainder trusts and unitrusts.

Charitable Lead Trusts— Amazing Discoveries *will accept designation as an income beneficiary of charitable lead trusts. Charitable Lead Trusts are a minimum of $500,000 to start.

Tax-Deductible Receipts — Amazing Discoveries issues tax-deductible receipts each January-February for all the donations made in the previous fiscal year.

Gifts Accepted Subject to Prior Review—Certain forms of gifts or donated properties may be subject to review prior to acceptance. Examples of gifts subject to prior review include but are not limited to Tangible Personal Property.

The Charitable Giving Advisor and or Operations Manager/ President shall review and determine whether to accept any gifts of tangible personal property in light of the following considerations:

Does the property further the organization’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 the organization may be responsible?
*Is the title/provenance of the property clear?

Life Insurance— Amazing Discoveries will accept gifts of life insurance where Amazing Discoveries is named as both beneficiary or partial beneficiary of the insurance policy. The donor must agree to pay, before due, any future premium payments owing on the policy.

Real Estate— All gifts of real estate are subject to review by the Charitable Giving Advisor and Operations Manager/ President. Prior to acceptance of any gift of real estate other than a personal residence, Amazing Discoveries shall require an initial environmental questionnaire be completed and reviewed by the Charitable Giving Advisor and Operations Manager/President.

*In the event that the initial review reveals a potential problem, the organization may retain a qualified environmental firm to conduct an environmental audit. Criteria for acceptance of gifts of real estate include:

Is the property useful for the organization’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?

Gifts of real estate need to be appraised and be paid for by the donor prior to the gift being giving to Amazing Discoveries.

Other tangible gifts are subject to appraisals prior to the donation and paid for by the donor.

* Please check with the Charitable Giving Advisor to see if this is applicable for your situation. When considering a gift to Amazing Discoveries, please contact the Charitable Giving Advisor first before sending an item to Amazing Discoveries or seeing if the item is one that the ministry is able to accept. In many cases, donors are better off selling the item or items first, then making a cash donation proceeding the sale of said item.

Data Privacy — Amazing Discoveries does not share or sell our client or donor information with any other parties. Your personal data remains with and for the exclusive use of Amazing Discoveries.

As always, feel free to contact Amazing Discoveries when considering a gift as we understand not all situations are the same and considerations will be discussed and reviewed.

The Donor Bill of Rights

Philanthropy at Amazing Discoveries is based on voluntary action for the purpose of evangelism. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organization and cause they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
To receive recent financial statements or details upon request and pending a conversation with the Financial Controller and/or Operations Manager.
To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

Remember that your gift is tax-deductible and goes straight to the areas of need that you specify. We are grateful for your support.