To qualify as a gift to the institution, it must meet all of the following criteria. Any gift that does not meet all five criteria will be classified as a grant or contract subject to the assessment of indirect costs.

1. Funds provide general, unrestricted support for broadly defined activities in one or more program areas, such as research, public service, instruction, fellowships/traineeships, etc.;
2. Detailed reports are not required–neither periodic or final, nor fiscal or technical. (The principal investigator may provide the donor with a brief statement that the expenditures were in accord with the intent of the gift);
3. No provisions (delays, advance notice) are imposed by the donor concerning publication of data and information derived from the activity;
4. There is no specific time limit on the expenditure of funds; and,
5. Rights to any patent/copyright are not retained by the donor.

From UW System Board of Regents Policy Document 22-3, “Acceptance of Gifts, Grants and Bequests”

“As a matter of policy, the Board directs the System and institutions not to accept future gifts, grants, bequests, or devises that include restrictions requiring differentiation on the basis of religion or creed, unless those restrictions are removed by consent of the donors, if living, or by appropriate legal processes, initiated by the legal representatives of deceased donors.”

From UW System Board of Regents Policy Document 31-15, “Large Unendowed Bequests or Gifts”

“All new bequests/gifts of $1,000,000 or more where the donor is silent as to the expenditure of principal shall be identified as designated endowments, with only the income from the trust available for expenditure in accordance with the terms of the trust agreement.”