Restricted-Fund & Country-Designation Compliance Policy
The governing policy for how designated gifts — especially those earmarked to a specific country, region, disaster, or program — are accepted, tracked, honored, and (when necessary) redirected.
Draft: pending review
This starter document is signed off by International-NGO counsel (restricted funds + OFAC) + CFO/controller before it ships. The guardrails below define that review.
What’s inside
- Definitions: unrestricted, purpose-restricted, country/region-designated, and 'implied restriction' created by appeal language
- Acceptance gate: refuse or condition designations to sanctioned/embargoed regions or where no delivery pathway exists
- Standard gift-agreement and appeal-footer language reserving the right to redirect surplus/undeployable funds
- Donor-communication scripts for declining, redirecting, or refunding an undeployable designated gift
Legal & ethical guardrails
The sector-specific compliance points this document must honor.
- Restricted-fund law: donor restrictions are legally binding; spending designated funds on another purpose without proper release is misuse (AG/regulator action, donor suits)
- OFAC: a country designation the org cannot lawfully serve must be caught at acceptance — do not accept and hold funds you cannot deploy as designated
- Implied-restriction risk: appeal and marketing language can create legal restrictions even absent a formal agreement
- Transparency: redirection or refund terms must be disclosed to donors at or before the point of gift
Held for professional review.
The native DOCX and full working text ship only after sign-off by International-NGO counsel (restricted funds + OFAC) + CFO/controller 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.