Stewardship
Forms and Documents
As a reminder of our obligation to steward effectively contributions made to Notre Dame, the University adheres to the following guidelines:
All gifts should be acknowledged in a timely and personal manner. The department chair or program director will receive notification of gifts through an electronic monthly giving report sent to the senior administrative assistant in the unit on the 5th of the month. If any gifts were received by the unit, they will be listed here (the report will be blank if no gifts were received). Every new gift to the department should be acknowledged with a letter from the chair or director, following the procedure distributed to senior departmental administrative assistants.
A contribution accepted with a restricted purpose must be used for that purpose.
If the University finds itself unable to utilize a contribution for its stated purpose, this should be communicated to the Academic Advancement Director so that the possibility of an alternative usage can be arranged or the contribution returned.
Whenever feasible, and especially with endowment gifts, annual “impact” reports should be sent to the donor.
Proper recognition should always be given to the benefactor and the donor must approve public recognition. In the case of lecture funds, please acknowledge sponsorship of the fund on any marketing materials/posters and invite the benefactor to attend the lecture. The Academic Advancement Director will assist in issuing the invitation.
The value of any “substantial” benefits as a result of contributions must be reported to each contributor.
Contributions will be accounted for using universally accepted accounting standards, allowing for maximum efficiency and productivity of each gift.
The Office of Development, through its division of Stewardship Programs, has guidelines governing how we steward, recognize, and cultivate donors of various giving levels. Formal stewardship programs exist for leadership donors ($100,000+) who support undergraduate scholarships, graduate fellowships, endowments for excellence, endowed professorships, library collections and services, and endowed undergraduate research funds. A series of publications, recognition events, annual reports, as well as tokens of appreciation and public recognition, are connected with each program.
College members are asked to assist in these important stewardship activities. Endowed professors submit a brief annual report on their scholarship, research, awards, etc., while fund administrators are asked to share information on how endowments for excellence and undergraduate research funds are spent annually. Requests for these materials and instructions on how to submit them will be sent to you electronically in the spring. These summaries are included in official University correspondence from the Provost. College representatives may also be asked to assist with recognition events and publications as needed.
The Academic Advancement Director coordinates stewardship in Arts and Letters in collaboration with the Office of Development. Fund administrators and chairs are requested to copy the Academic Advancement Director on all correspondence to donors and also provide copies of annual stewardship reports to donors. Any questions regarding stewardship, fund restrictions, or communication with donors can be directed to the Academic Advancement Director.