Healthcare Gift Acceptance Policy (Industry, Pharma & Vendor Conflict-of-Interest)
A board-adoptable gift acceptance policy tailored to the conflict-of-interest realities of hospital foundations: gifts from pharma, device manufacturers, GPOs, and vendors who also sell to the health system.
Draft: pending review
This starter document is signed off by Foundation counsel + compliance officer (AKS/Sunshine Act) + CFO + conflict-of-interest committee chair before it ships. The guardrails below define that review.
What’s inside
- Acceptable/conditional/prohibited gift categories with special sections for pharma/device/vendor sources
- Conflict-of-interest review workflow and gift-review-committee charter for industry gifts
- Firewall between philanthropy and procurement/formulary decisions
- Naming/recognition standards that avoid implied product endorsement
Legal & ethical guardrails
The sector-specific compliance points this document must honor.
- Anti-Kickback risk: a vendor 'gift' tied to purchasing, formulary placement, or referrals is unlawful; firewall philanthropy from procurement
- Open Payments/Sunshine Act reporting (42 USC 1320a-7h) is the manufacturer's/GPO's duty for transfers of value to covered recipients (physicians, teaching hospitals) — the foundation is generally not the reporter, though the health system as a teaching hospital can be a covered recipient; foundation gifts must not route reportable transfers
- Naming tied to a pharma/device donor must not create implied clinical endorsement (False Claims exposure)
- IRS private-benefit/inurement and UBIT considerations for corporate-sponsored funds
Held for professional review.
The native DOCX and full working text ship only after sign-off by Foundation counsel + compliance officer (AKS/Sunshine Act) + CFO + conflict-of-interest committee chair 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.