Gift Policy

RIT, under IRS law, qualifies as a charitable and tax-exempt organization. If you make a charitable gift to RIT, you may take an income tax deduction.

Under current law, donations to charitable organizations are tax deductible only for taxpayers who itemize. For itemizers, such donations generally reduce taxable income and, therefore, federal income tax liability. RIT recommends you consult with a tax advisor when attempting to claim a charitable deduction. For more information, please visit the IRS website.

In order to further assist you, the following calendar-year charitable-gift deadlines apply to donors filing U.S. federal tax returns:

RIT welcomes gifts from alumni, parents and friends from around the world and we thank you for your generosity.

The university also encourages donors who are taxpayers in other countries to review local tax laws and regulations for details or consult a local professional tax advisor.

RIT reserves the right to accept foreign currency and securities on a case-by-case basis. In cases where RIT accepts a gift of foreign currency, the gift will be recorded in U.S. currency based on the closing exchange rate on the day the gift is received. In cases where RIT accepts foreign securities, the policies and procedures applicable to gifts of marketable domestic securities will apply (see Gifts of Securities and other Assets). In cases where RIT does not accept the foreign currency or securities from the donor, the check/currency or securities will be returned to the donor with proper documentation. With the exception of endowed accounts, any gain/loss on the exchange of the foreign currency and securities between the day the gift was received and the day the electronic deposit is posted to the university’s bank account will be reflected on the general ledger account where the gift was designated. For endowed accounts, the gain/loss is recorded to the investment pool. The reporting requirements for gifts of foreign currency or from foreign entities are satisfied by Finance and Administration.

Contributions to non-US affiliates of RIT may be recorded as charitable gifts and may be eligible for an official U.S. tax receipt under certain circumstances. Such gifts should be Rochester Institute of Technology Gift Acceptance Policy Page 5 of 16 made to RIT Global Delivery Corporation (RGDC) and should be reviewed on a facts and circumstances basis by RIT’s Development and Controller’s Offices. RGDC is a wholly owned not-for-profit subsidiary of RIT whose exempt purpose is to deliver RIT academic programs in countries outside of the United States. The following guidelines apply to gifts to RIT Croatia, RGDC’s only subsidiary and other foreign campuses where RIT offers programs through RGDC. RGDC will accept gifts to benefit RIT Croatia, and issue an official U.S. tax receipt, so long as RGDC’s board determines that such gifts are consistent with its exempt purpose. Gifts made directly to RIT Croatia will not be issued an official U.S. tax receipt by RIT or RGDC. RGDC may accept gifts that benefit its foreign campuses other than RIT Croatia so long as RGDC’s board determines that such gifts are consistent with its exempt purpose. RGDC will not accept gifts to benefit foreign campuses for purposes other than delivering academic programs. Donors wishing to make gifts to foreign campuses, other than RIT Croatia, are encouraged to contact the foreign campus directly. Such gifts will not be issued a U.S. tax receipt by RIT or RGDC. Under RIT’s consolidated legal entity structure, only gifts to RIT Croatia and the RIT Global Delivery Corporation will be included in RIT’s consolidated financial statement.

The Donor Bill of Rights from the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), which RIT adheres to, can be found at https://afpglobal.org/donor-bill-rights.

Anyone in a position to receive gifts from individual donors, businesses, or corporations; or coordinate fundraisers in support of your area or an official RIT organization; are required to adhere to the Gift Acceptance Policy. Please familiarize yourself with this policy.

It is important to know that the policy applies to ALL gifts to any area of the university, including student organizations. Gifts include:

• Contributions (cash, check, credit card), whether a straight forward gift or the sale of an item from which part of the proceeds are a gift (i.e. Buy a $15 t-shirt and $5 of the purchase will go to an RIT group)
• Gifts-in-kind, such as equipment, supplies and materials, gift certificates, gift cards, securities, etc.
• Fundraiser proceeds for any area of the university or an officially recognized RIT student club/organization, including raffles and crowdfunding campaigns. This also includes events such as golf tournaments and silent auctions among others.

As these gifts are made to RIT, it is important that the university a) properly record the gift as part of a donor's lifetime giving record; b) provide the donor with an official receipt for tax purposes; and c) appropriately thank the donor for his or her generosity; and d) ensure compliance with all IRS regulations.

University Advancement staff are trained to provide advice (preferably in advance) for your fundraising and gift acceptance efforts; furthermore, we are responsible for tracking these gifts. For questions or more information, please contact Emily Baroody MBA '23, Director of Gift and Data Processing, at 585-475-4489 or at ejmdar@rit.edu.

Philanthropic gifts are important to the university and equally important is their proper handling due to the variety of regulations that surround them. Thank you for your attention to this policy.

In 1991, Rochester Institute of Technology (“RIT”) established a fund (the “Fund”) to support the Roger K. Fawcett Distinguished Professorship in Publication Color Management (“Fawcett Professorship”) as a result of the merger of The Fawcett Education Fund in Publication Production Management and the Magazine Color Imaging Endowed Professorship. The Fawcett Professorship was established in response to the increasing use of color in publications, the desire to assist the publishing industry in solving problems of quality and productivity involving various printing processes, and to promote RIT. However, over the years the relevancy of the publication industry has subsided, requiring modification to the Fund to maintain RIT’s ability to be involved and engaged in solving the problems of the printing industry.

Under New York law, when the original purposes for which funds are donated become wasteful, those purposes can be modified in a manner consistent with original donative intent by the New York State courts. Accordingly, RIT has asked the New York State Supreme Court for the County of Monroe to approve a modification of the purposes of the Fund so that it can be used in support teaching, service to industry, and promotion of RIT, but with a focus on the packaging industry where the technical issues which were the intended focus of the Fawcett Professorship have continued and critical relevance. The RIT School of Media Sciences (“SMS”), previously referred to as the School of Print Management and Sciences, within which the Fawcett Professorship was initially established, has moved into the College of Engineering Technology as the Department of Graphic Media Science and Technology (“GMST”). Thus, the modification would also allow for the Fawcett Professorship to be designated within the GMST.

If you have donated to the Fawcett Professorship and would like to be heard regarding this requested modification, you may send a letter to University Advancement, 116 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester NY 14623  or an email to DonorRelations@rit.edu. Copies of letters or email received by RIT will be provided to the Court.  You may also make a formal filing in the legal proceeding entitled In the Matter of the Modification of Endowment Funds of Rochester Institute of Technology, Pursuant to New York Not-For-Profit Corporation Law § 555, Monroe County Index No. (contact RIT Advancement for Index No.) To have it be available for the Court’s consideration, please be sure to send any letter or email, or make any filing, no later than February 28, 2022.