Gift Recognition Policy
The Board of Trustees of Missouri River Regional Library (MRRL) actively encourages charitable gifts, grants and contributions that support the mission of the Library.
Approved April 20th, 2021
The Missouri River Regional Library welcomes and encourages gifts and donations to support its current operations and future development. The Library accepts gifts of money and/or property. While the Library may provide a gift receipt upon request, the Library cannot assign a monetary value to donated items or in-kind gifts. In addition to donations made directly to the Library, donations are accepted by the Missouri River Regional Library Foundation, the Friends of Missouri River Regional Library, and the Friends of Osage County Library (FOCL). The donor will determine whether a donation is being given to the Library, Library Foundation, Friends of the Library, or FOCL. The primary function of the MRRL Foundation is to provide financial support to the Library. The Library Foundation receives and administers monetary gifts, bequests, endowment funds and other gifts, and conducts fundraising campaigns to support Library projects. The Friends of the Library and FOCL undertake a number of volunteer activities throughout the year to assist staff and also raise funds for special projects.
General Guidelines
● Donors may designate monetary gifts for the collection, one of the facilities, or for programs. Unrestricted donations are those funds that the donors have placed no specific terms, conditions, stipulations, or purposes. The Library Director will direct a donation to the area or project where it is most appropriate and where it will bring the greatest benefit to the library.
● The Library encourages donors to give bequests, financial investments, beneficial interest in trust and other sustaining gifts directly to the Library Foundation.
● The Library will consider non-monetary gifts such as artwork, antiques, collectibles or other personal property in light of the gift's relevance to the Library's needs and objectives, the space required to house or store the gift and the cost to maintain or preserve the gift. All accepted gifts become the property of the Library, to be used or disposed of in accordance with the Library's changing needs, unless there is a specific memorandum of understanding (MOU) stating otherwise.
● The Library Director will review gifts of personal property and may recognize the donor with a gift plate on or near the item depending on the size and nature of the gift.
● When conditions placed on a prospective gift are judged to be administratively difficult or not in accordance with the mission of the Library, the Library Director will request that the MRRL Board review the terms of the gift. The MRRL Board may request the terms of the gift be revised, or recommend that the gift be declined.
Donations of Books and Non-Print Materials
The Library welcomes gifts of books and non-print materials (DVDs, CDs, BCDs). Such gifts are accepted with the understanding that if the Library is unable to use the materials in the collection, they will be donated to the Library and ABLE (Adult Basic Literacy Education) for inclusion in yearly book sales, the proceeds of which benefit the Library and ABLE. Unused donations cannot be returned to the donor. The Library may add donated materials to the collection provided they meet the same selection criteria required of purchased materials. Donated materials can be withdrawn in the same manner as purchased materials. The Library does not accept responsibility for notifying donors of withdrawal or replacement of donated items.
General considerations
All publications, conversations, practices, and agreements regarding donations to the library shall be truthful and fair, and information related to a donation will be kept confidential to the degree agreed upon between the Library and the donor, and as allowed by applicable laws and regulations. However, donors understand and acknowledge that the Library is a political subdivision of the state of Missouri, and all donations made to the Library are subject to public disclosure pursuant to Missouri Statutes.
■ All funds raised by or for the Library for specific purposes shall be used for the purpose for which they were raised. All donors have the right to request and obtain complete and timely information concerning how their donation was/will be used.
■ The Library reserves the right to terminate any donation agreement, should it identify conditions during the life of the agreement, which would result in conflicts between the donation and the mission of the Library.
■ While it is important that the Library Director and Library Board remain aware of any tax provision relating to contributions, the Library must not take any action or make any statement that implies that the Library or a staff member represents the donor in any transaction and the Library should clearly state and stipulate that the donor should contact a professional adviser in all questions of donation valuation and/or tax implications.