Policy 5. Expenditure Control
Section 5.1 Expenditure Introduction
The University of North Georgia Foundation, Inc. (UNGF) exists in order to support the University of North Georgia and its mission. Private philanthropic support depends, in part; upon the confidence donors have in the UNGF’s commitment to sound fiduciary management of funds, to include expenses.
All expenditures of donor gift monies from the UNGF shall be spent mindfully and with respect for the donor’s wishes and intents.
Generally, all expenditures must:
Be reasonable and benefit the University;
Be consistent with the donor’s intent for the gift;
Not jeopardize UNGF’s tax-exempt status;
Comply with all applicable statutes and regulations.
All disbursements must have written justification detailing the business purpose suitable for auditing purposes and must not be:
For political or charitable contributions, fines or penalties;
For the personal benefit of the payee;
For lavish or excessive entertainment.
A Fund Administrator is responsible for approving expenditures from each fund to ensure the authenticity and appropriateness of the expenditure, compliance with the donor fund agreement, and adherence to Foundation policies.
Fund Administrators include the President, Vice Presidents, Deans, or Directors of a particular unit. Fund Administrators may request to delegate his/her signature authority to another employee in that unit, when appropriate (i.e. business manager). A Signature Authority Form (see Appendix) must be completed and approved by the Foundation office in order to delegate signature authority.
If a Fund Administrator is requesting reimbursement for him/herself, the request should be forwarded to the next level of authority for approval. As example, Deans should forward reimbursements to the Provost for approval and Vice Presidents should forward reimbursements to the President for approval. Direct reimbursements to the President of the University shall be approved by the Foundation Chair and/or Vice Chairman.
A Check and Reimbursement Request Form (see Appendix) must be completed for all Foundation payments. Original invoices and receipts must be promptly submitted as supporting documentation. The Foundation processes checks once a week. Requests received by 5:00pm every Tuesday will be processed within the same week, provided all documentation is submitted. All requests will be approved by a UNGF Officer (CEO or COO) prior to being processed.
Section 5.2 Travel
All University employee and student travel expenses must be processed through the University Business Office in accordance with University and Board of Regents policy. Please refer to the UNG Comptroller Office for additional information: https://ung.edu/comptroller/ .
Under certain circumstances, the Foundation may reimburse for an employee’s spouse travel, if it can be shown that the spouse’s presence has a bona fide business purpose. The request must be clearly substantiated in writing, and approved in advance of the travel by the Foundation CEO or COO. No personal or social purpose reimbursements will be allowed, which would result in a fringe benefit to an employee.
The UNGF may reimburse the Board Chairman, or designee, for required travel on behalf of the Foundation and/or University of North Georgia when asked to represent UNG or the UNG Foundation.
Section 5.3 Entertainment
Foundation funds may be used for payment to vendors or reimbursement to individuals for expenses related to entertainment incurred while conducting official University business. An Entertainment Form (see Appendix) must be completed and submitted with each separate entertainment request.
Fund Administrators are responsible for determining whether expenses are appropriate, moderate, and in support of furthering institutional goals and programs.
The following instances are applicable for entertainment reimbursements:
Business meals that include a donor, prospect, or other business related non-employee are reimbursed as entertainment. Business meals consumed while not away from home are not normally considered reimbursable by the IRS, with the following exceptions:
Faculty/staff has a meal with a prospective donor or job candidate.
Faculty/staff has a meal with a representative of an external business-related organization to discuss matters of benefit to the University.
Faculty/staff has a meeting scheduled for the purpose of conducting business related to University matters, or as an official function of the University.
Original itemized receipts must be submitted with all reimbursement requests.
Business meals should include tips with a reasonable amount, generally, not more than 20%.
Solo (individual employee) meals will not be approved through the Foundation. Individual meals should only be reimbursed if on official University business with the employee’s state travel reimbursement. Meals reimbursed through state travel should not be submitted as a reimbursement request to the Foundation.
All requests for entertainment expenditures must include an explanation of the business purpose, list of attendees, and relationship of those attending, plus date and location. If a University employee’s spouse attends, an explanation of the necessity of his/her attendance should be attached. The required Entertainment Form will document this information accordingly.
Reimbursement may be made for the judicious use of alcohol while entertaining and must comply with the University’s alcohol policy. Alcohol must not be served to underage individuals: https://ung.edu/police/campus-safety-information/alcoholic-beverages.php.
Section 5.4 Dues and Memberships
The Foundation may pay for dues and or memberships for key employees at the University on case-by case basis, as approved by the Office of the President. This includes civic organizations, leadership programs, and chamber memberships. No private club memberships or memberships resulting in fringe benefits to an employee will be paid by the Foundation.
The Foundation must receive approval from the President’s office prior to processing payments.
Section 5.5 Gifts to Employees
Employee cash awards, cash gifts, and gift certificates are always considered taxable income when paid by the employer, per IRS. Therefore they may not be given by or paid with Foundation funds. Such payments must be processed via University payroll.
Foundation funds may not be spent for recognition of personal events or achievements, such as birthdays, wedding, baby showers, nor may they be spent for charitable donations in lieu of gifts.
Sympathy gifts for a death or serious illness or injury of an employee are allowable only with pre-approval of the President or appropriate Vice President.
Gifts of flowers to employees are not reimbursable as business expenses except as noted above, with specific pre-approval of the President or appropriate Vice President.
Individual non-cash gifts to University employees must be items of de minimis value, i.e. $50.00 or less. The value of non-cash gifts includes sales tax, delivery fees, and other service charges.
Gifts for retirement or employee achievement awards after five years of service are exempt from the limitation above, per IRC 274(j)(4) and are restricted to a value of $400 or less. Retirement and employee achievement awards are allowable only by the Office of Human Resources, as part of a meaningful presentation emphasizing the employee’s achievement. Service awards cannot be made to part-time employees. Exceptions may be made with Executive Committee or Presidential approval.
Section 5.6 Endowed Chair/Professorship
The Foundation may invest funds for an Endowed Chair/Professorship. Until the fund is fully endowed, the position cannot be awarded. During that period, spendable income may only be spent on recruitment for the position.
Examples of acceptable expenditures once the position is filled include:
Salary and benefits.
Salaries of support staff, including graduate students, working exclusively on the professor’s scholarly work.
Travel for the professor related to scholarly work.
Technology support for the professor including computers, software and data.
Subscriptions to journals and/or journal application fees.
Renovation of facility, laboratory, etc. for professor.
The above expenditures must be processed through the University Business Office. The Business Office will bill the Foundation accordingly for all expenses. All Endowed Chair positions are subject to approval by the University System of Georgia Board of Regents.
Section 5.7 General Policy Regarding Expenditures
The following general policies apply in considering the appropriateness of Foundation expenditures:
The Foundation does not allow cash advances.
Gift cards and gift certificates are unallowable, as the IRS considers them as cash equivalent.
Donations or payments to other non-profit entities are unallowable, unless it supports the philanthropic mission of the UNG Foundation.
All student awards and scholarships must be disbursed through Student Financial Aid. The Foundation cannot disburse award and scholarship checks directly to students because of tax reporting purposes.
Foundation funds may not be used to purchase raffle items.
For equipment purchases of $5,000 or less, Foundation funds may be used. For purchases in excess of $5,000, purchases of equipment must be made through the University Business Office in accordance with its rules and procedures. Transfer of funds may be made from the Foundation to the University for such purchases. State bidding rules must be followed.
The Foundation is not exempt from state sales/use taxes. All invoices and receipts must show that such taxes have been paid.
Receipts must be submitted promptly for reimbursement, generally within 45 days.
No contracts, purchase orders, or other documents may be signed on behalf of UNGF except by a UNGF officer (CEO or COO).
An IRS Form W-9 must be submitted for each new vendor before payments may be processed.
The Foundation’s expenditure policy allows expenses that have a supportable business purpose and do not result in the personal benefit to any individual or UNG employee. If it is determined that a UNG employee has derived personal benefit from an expenditure of the Foundation, that information will be reported to the UNG Payroll Department and may be included in the employee’s taxable income reported on their W-2.