Legal and Policy

Tax Deductible Giving

Gifts to the University of Nebraska Foundation are tax deductible in the manner and to the extent provided in Section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code. The University of Nebraska Foundation (EIN: 47-0379839) is exempt from federal income tax under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.

Charitable Solicitation Disclosures

The University of Nebraska Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity soliciting private contributions for the benefit of the University of Nebraska and its affiliates. Information about the foundation can be found at nufoundation.org. The foundation is registered to solicit charitable contributions in all states which require it. If you are a resident of one the following states, you may obtain registration and financial information by contacting: 

California

The Attorney General’s website at https://oag.ca.gov/charities 

Maryland

For the cost of postage and copies, from the Maryland Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, Maryland 21401, (410) 974-5534.

New Jersey

INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION AND THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED BY THE CHARITY DURING THE LAST REPORTING PERIOD THAT WERE DEDICATED TO THE CHARITABLE PURPOSE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING 973-504-6215 AND IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT http://www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/charfrm.htm. REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT. 

New York

You can request a copy of our most recently filed financial report from the Charities Bureau Registry on the New York Attorney General’s website (https://www.charitiesnys.com/) or by contacting: New York State Attorney General, Department of Law, Charities Bureau, 28 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10005. Information on New York charitable organizations can be found on the New York Attorney General’s website (https://www.charitiesnys.com/) or by contacting (212) 416 -8686.

Oregon

Registration in no way constitutes or implies any endorsement, sanction or approval of this solicitation, its purposes, the manner in which it is conducted or the person or organization conducting it by the Oregon Attorney General.

Pennsylvania

The official registration and financial information of the University of Nebraska Foundation may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.

Washington

The official registration of the University of Nebraska Foundation may be obtained from the Washington Secretary of State at 1-800-332-GIVE or http://www.sos.wa.gov.

Operational Funding and Expenses Policy

The University of Nebraska Foundation is a private corporation, independent of the University of Nebraska, and does not receive any direct funding from the university for operations. Funding for our operation comes from the following sources. None of the fees charged by the foundation affect the donor’s tax deduction.

Endowed Gifts
An annual fee of 1.55% is charged on the average market value of the foundation’s endowment. In addition, expenses associated with the endowment’s professional investment managers, advisers and administrators are charged to the endowment.    

Capital Project Gifts
The foundation does not charge a fee on gifts given to capital projects when fundraising costs are included as project expenses in the program statement approved by the Board of Regents. If cost recovery is not included in the program statement or there is no program statement, non-endowed gifts to capital projects are assessed a 4% advancement fee. 

Expendable Gifts
Effective March 1, 2020, expendable gifts will have a 4% advancement fee applied at the time the gift is received. On non-cash gifts, the fee is taken at the time the gift is liquidated but is calculated on the value at the time of the donation. The advancement fee does not apply to:

• non-cash gifts retained for use by the university, including but not limited to real estate for educational research or artwork for educational research or display;
• pledges documented by a signed pledge agreement prior to March 1, 2020;
• donations to establish a charitable remainder trust or charitable remainder gift annuity;
• expendable gifts for certain capital projects (see Capital Project Gifts);
• the portion of a single gift or pledge in excess of $5 million;
• gifts from any donor who has exceeded cumulative giving of $50 million or more; and
• gifts given for the exclusive support of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln Department of Intercollegiate Athletics.

Deferred Gifts
When gifts are provided through donors’ estate plans to permanently endowed funds, the foundation retains the distribution (see Endowment Distribution Policy) earned from the fund for the first 12 months. For deferred gifts to expendable funds, the advancement fee will be assessed at the time of distribution unless otherwise exempt. The foundation may serve as trustee of charitable remainder unitrusts and annuity trusts (collectively, CRTs) and it offers charitable gift annuity contracts (CGAs). CRTs or CGAs managed by the foundation are not charged a trustee or administrator fee; however, any professional fund manager or adviser fees are charged to the CRT or CGA.

Third-Party Expenses
In limited circumstances, the foundation utilizes third parties to assist with fundraising. Expenses for these services may be assessed to the resulting donations. 

Last revised: December 27, 2019

Endowment Distribution Policy

The foundation has a distribution policy for its permanently endowed funds. The annual distribution from the endowment is 4.25% of the 20-quarter average of the endowment market value as of June 30. The distribution is proportionally credited to each fund within the endowment. The distribution is used for the specific charitable purpose identified by the donor for the endowed fund.

Last revised: December 27, 2019

Constituent Information

The foundation maintains information on many alumni, donors and friends of the university and its affiliates. Some of this information is generally available from third-party sources such as the internet or other sources. Constituent information maintained by the foundation will not be disclosed to any third party without the constituent’s express written consent. The foundation also maintains internal reports documenting donor giving records and other financial information, contacts, philanthropic interests and cultivation strategies. This information is considered internal work product and would be considered trade secret information vital to the foundation’s business objective. This information is protected under Nebraska’s Trade Secrets Act and will not be disclosed to any external source, unless required to do so by law. In the event any constituent wishes to see his or her own biographical data, past giving information or direct correspondence to and from the foundation, the foundation will generally provide a reasonable opportunity to view such data during regular business hours at one of the foundation’s offices.

The foundation maintains physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect nonpublic, personally identifiable information and to comply with federal and state laws. In addition, the foundation regularly reviews policies and practices, monitors its computer networks and evaluates the strength of its security protocol.

If you prefer not to be contacted by the foundation, please contact the foundation at 800-432-3216 or info@nufoundation.org and request that the foundation place a Do Not Contact code on  its records.

Community and Social Media Guidelines

The University of Nebraska Foundation values social media and its role in fostering discussion and engagement about the foundation and its mission. The foundation strives to respond to all online inquiries in a timely manner. We ask members of the community to exercise courtesy when posting and treat members with respect. Profanity and abusive language are not permitted. Comments, posts, or photos that are illegal, obscene, defamatory, threatening, infringing of intellectual property rights, invasive of privacy, or otherwise injurious or objectionable will be removed.