Corporate-Donor Vetting & Gift Acceptance Policy (Anti-Greenwashing)
A board-adoptable gift acceptance and due-diligence policy for corporate gifts — the highest reputational-risk revenue for an environmental org — built to screen for greenwashing and mission conflict.
Draft: pending review
This starter document is signed off by Nonprofit counsel (gift acceptance, UBIT, commercial co-venture) + ethics officer before it ships. The guardrails below define that review.
What’s inside
- Tiered due-diligence questionnaire scaled by gift size and visibility (environmental record, litigation, emissions)
- Red-flag/bright-line exclusion criteria and a documented exceptions process
- Naming, logo-use, and cause-marketing guardrails to prevent implied endorsement
- Conflict-of-interest and board-escalation workflow for sensitive donors
Legal & ethical guardrails
The sector-specific compliance points this document must honor.
- Sponsorship acknowledgments must stay within the IRS 'qualified sponsorship payment' bounds — qualitative claims can create UBIT and imply the org vouches for the donor's conduct
- Cause-marketing ('$1 per purchase') is a commercial co-venture regulated in many states (registration, contracts, consumer disclosure)
- Accepting money from a company the org criticizes/litigates against creates conflict-of-interest and independence risk
- Joint marketing claims must meet FTC Green Guides-style substantiation expectations
Held for professional review.
The native DOCX and full working text ship only after sign-off by Nonprofit counsel (gift acceptance, UBIT, commercial co-venture) + ethics officer on this exact version. The summary and review requirements remain visible in the meantime.
Not legal advice. Not legal, tax, or accounting advice. The Fundraising Co. provides educational fundraising materials and is not a law firm; nothing here creates an attorney–client relationship or substitutes for advice from professionals licensed in your jurisdiction. Laws and IRS rules vary by state and change over time. Review every document with qualified counsel before use.