Making Grant Recommendations: Helpful Hints

Submitting a grant recommendation to the Fidelity^® Charitable Gift Fund is an easy and efficient process. However, despite the best of intentions, sometimes donors' grant recommendations are delayed or rejected when it might not appear that they will be used exclusively for charitable purposes. Here are some tips to help facilitate the grant recommendation process:

• A grant must be recommended exclusively for charitable purposes. A charitable purpose means that you cannot obtain a "more than incidental benefit."
• A grant cannot be recommended for admission to a charitable event where goods or services will be received.
• A grant cannot be recommended for a specified tuition payment or for a scholarship where the donor(s) or related parties have sole or majority discretion over the recipients.
• A grant cannot be recommended to satisfy a financial obligation of any individual or entity (including an enforceable pledge).
• A grant cannot be recommended to cover the cost of memberships where "more than incidental benefits" will be received.

If the purpose of the grant is unclear, the Gift Fund may contact you for clarification, which can increase the processing time of a grant.

You can help us expedite the grant process by:

1. Clearly stating the grant's "special purpose," if any, and
2. Complying with grantmaking policies.

Be Clear if Recommending a "Special Purpose"

• Clearly specify the recommended use of the grant. This is even easier to do online when you select from the pre-filled, special purpose dropdown list.
• If you don't have a special purpose in mind, you do not need to indicate one — the charity can then use the grant where it is most needed.
• Whenever possible, include the name of the organization's contact person and the telephone number. This information is helpful during the verification process.

Be Sure Grant Recommendations Meet Gift Fund Policies

Complying with the following guidelines will help you support the charities that are important to you.

	DO	DON'T
Charitable Galas and Fundraising Events	Recommend a grant to support the overall charitable event by indicating in the special purpose that: You are not attending; or If you plan to attend, you are paying the full ticket price of the cost (both tax-deductible and non tax-deductible portions) to attend the event separately out-of-pocket. In either case, clearly state that you waive all benefits associated with the event.	Don't recommend a grant to be used toward a ticket to attend a gala or charitable event or to cover the tax deductible portion of a ticket to attend the event.
Memberships	Recommend a grant to cover the cost of membership to a charitable organization: If the organization confirms that its membership fee is 100% tax-deductible and that membership benefits are not more than incidental; or You indicate in the Special Purpose section that the membership level does not provide you with more than incidental benefits.	Don't recommend a grant if you will receive more than incidental benefits as part of membership or if the membership level has a non-tax deductible portion associated with it. It is important to note: If recommending a grant to a museum or athletic fund, some memberships may not be fully tax- deductible, even if more than incidental benefits are waived. Some organizations may have specific membership levels which contain only incidental benefits (such as free or discounted parking, logo-bearing key chains, caps, T-shirts, or calendars of events) that are 100% tax-deductible.
Enforceable Pledges	Tell charities that you "intend to recommend a grant from your donor advised fund in the amount of [$]" so they know your grant recommendation is being made in response to a charitable organization's request for a pledge. When submitting a grant recommendation online, once you ensure the charity does not consider your pledge to be legally binding, select "Payment of a non-legally binding commitment or pledge" from the grant purpose menu.	Don’t recommend a grant to support an enforceable pledge because it creates a legally binding obligation or commitment that the Gift Fund can’t fulfill. An example includes a pledge to fund a new science center at a donor’s alma mater. If the college is reliant on the donor to complete the project, but the donor does not provide the money, the college will hold the donor to his/her obligation and seek legal recourse for non-payment.
Scholarships	Recommend a grant for the purpose of supporting a scholarship program administered and overseen by the IRS-qualified public charity.	Don’t recommend grants to support scholarships when: You have sole or majority discretion regarding the recipient selection process; or The grant recipient organization is not administering the scholarship program.

To review all Gift Fund policies, access the Gift Fund Policy Guidelines: Program Circular (PDF)