Growing Institutional Partnerships at CU Boulder

Corporate, Foundation and Nonprofit Support

When determining how to process private sector support (e.g. from a corporation or foundation), please refer to the table below. 

Note: The existence of a single characteristic from the table below is likely not enough to make a determination. Often, the same award can involve characteristics of both gifts and sponsored projects, which is why multiple factors should always be considered before assessing which office should handle the funds. 

In cases where it is unclear whether corporate, foundation or nonprofit support should be processed through the Office of Advancement or the Office of Contracts and Grants, any relevant documentation should be reviewed by OCG for a determination. Gift officers should contact their Foundation Relations personnel for help getting the documentation to the right place.

Gift or Sponsored Project Indicators 

Award CharacteristicSponsored ProjectContractGift or Contribution (IRS Tax Benefit)Notes
SOURCE OF FUNDS   According to the IRS, the agreement with a private foundation that documents a charitable contribution may use the term "grant" instead of "gift."
Government Agency
(e.g. Federal, state, city)		XX  
Individual
(e.g. alumni, friends, parents, through donor-advised funds, anonymous)		  X 
Private entity, non-profit or for-profit
(e.g. corporations, foundations, family foundations, community foundations)		XXXArea with most issues. Address donor advised, matching gifts. Need data to analyze scope.
Matching gifts / donor-advised funds  X 
FUNDER'S INTENT    

Charitable

X X 
Revocable or conditionalXX  
Irrevocable  X 
Return of unused fundsXXYes, with private foundations onlyCU Boulder may negotiate reallocation of unexpended funds.
Deliverables
(e.g. data, hardware, software, rights to IP)		XX Tangible deliverable.
PROCESS FOR APPLICATION OF FUNDS    
Funder scope of work  XDefine further.
Faculty scope of workXXX 
Formal proposal submissionXX  
Limited submission 
(i.e. Limited to a certain number of submissions per institution during a specific time)		X X 
TERM/USE OF FUNDS (Administered)    
RestrictedXXXFor a specific school, college, unit or program. Or for a stated purpose, such as a building, to support research, scholarships, fellowships, faculty support, etc.
Unrestricted  X 
Endowment  X 
Current UseXXX 
Commercial Benefits to Funder X  
Governed by funder policyXXX 
ResearchXXXA contribution can support research, but the donor cannot benefit from the results, have any IP rights or first rights to outcomes.
Signed agreement requested by funderXXX 
Uniform guidance appliedX   
Federal acquisition regulations applied X  
Confidentiality of sponsored provided information X  
Formal terms and conditionsXX Define.
Required compliance review and oversight
(e.g. IRB, export control, IACUC, animal or human subjects, biohazards, radiation)		XX List other compliance.
Specific period of time for use of fundsXXX 
No specific period of time for use of funds  X 
Prior approval required for changes
(e.g. Date, budget or scope) 		XX  
Indirect costs / F&A (overhead allowed)XXXWaiver process. Grace period for new process? (e.g. written/submitted before 07-01-17, no overhead fee; written or submitted after 07-07-17, use form when applying, approved before submission, add to budget)
Fixed cost reimbursement X  
Actual cost reimbursementXX  
Milestone fundingXXXAcceptable to the IRS as "charitable." Milestone has to be initiated by the university. Donor directed. 
Prepaid or paid on a scheduleXXX 
Funder may audit expensesXXX 
University may terminateXX  
Funder may terminateXXFuture commitments only. 
Sub-award / sub-contractXX  
501 (C)(3)X X 
IRS Form 990  X 
Sales tax implications    
OUTCOMES    
Public benefitX X 
Funder benefit X  
IP owned by UniversityXX (funder could own)XIf IP is in the agreement, when does it go to OCG?
IP owned by funder X  
Publications encouraged, broadly availableXXX 
Publications restricted X What do we mean by this? Negotiated OCG. 
Pre-publication requires reviewXXX?
Financial reportingXXXMore description needed. 
Progress reportingXXX 
No financial or progress reporting  X 

When in doubt, please contact the Office of Advancement or the Office of Contracts and Grants. 

Definitions

A detailed statement outlining estimated project costs to support work under a grant or contract.
Primary catalysts for most fundraising activities and most front-line donor, faculty and alumni interactions.
Legally binding agreement between two or more parties. An agreement where a specific work statement is supported by funds from a sponsor who exercises more control than in the case of a grant. A contract or an agreement involves a promise, or set of promises, for which the performance of is recognized as a legal obligation. Each contract document contains a statement of work or a description of the services to be provided. This work statement should be drafted with great care, for failure by the University or contractor to deliver the results anticipated, or to perform what is defined in the statement of work, is a breach of contract.
Serves as the financial portal for philanthropic giving to CU. Governed by a volunteer board of directors; receive, accept and process gifs on CU's behalf, establish and account for current and endowed gift funds, administer and distribute gift funds to CU programs ensuring donors intent, steward CU gift assets by prudently managing and investing funds.
Executes select centralized support functions that benefit from consistency and economies of scale; research and prospect management, gift agreement administration, gift planning and leadership giving, annual giving, marketing and communications, database management and reporting, operations (budget and IT), events and stewardship
Specific end product as a result of work performed on a sponsored project.  Examples include a final technical report, an evaluation report, technical assistance, training, compiled database, etc., usually with specific deadlines.

Note: Deliverables having no commercial value as progress reports or research milestones may be considered  "gift" processed through the CUF.

Facilities & Administrative Costs. (aka Indirect Costs)  Costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and, therefore, cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project, an instructional activity, or any other institutional activity.

A voluntary transfer of money or material goods from an individual or entity to the University without a return of commensurate value. It may or may not be given for any specific purpose. Gift funds from a private source do not provide a benefit to the donor, including results from a defined project. Tax deductible as defined by the IRS.

Regents' Policy 13F: The university of Colorado Foundation (CUF) is designated as the primary recipient of all gifts given for the benefit of the university. Accordingly, it shall be presumed that any charitable contribution directed to the university or any of its organizational units was intended to be direct to and managed by the CUF, except where clear evidence of donor intent to the contrary exists and subject to an exceptions established by the president.

Funds paid to the university from federal, state or local government funds.

A type of financial assistance awarded to an organization for the conduct of research or other program as specified in an approved proposal. Funds or other property awarded by a sponsor to achieve a specific goal. A grant entails obligations to a sponsor, although they are less stringent than those in a contract. A grant generally is construed to allow greater discretion than a contract in the conduct of the research and to provide less specificity in the definition of the intended outcome of the research. While a grant is not as exacting in its provisions, it should be treated with the same respect as a contract.

Note: According to the IRS, the agreement with a private foundation that documents a charitable contribution may use the term “grant” instead of “gift.

Because CU Boulder is a state entity and is bound by the laws and Constitution of the State of Colorado, only specific entities within the state are authorized to accept indemnification. Within the University, we are prohibited from providing indemnity of any type. CU Boulder does not cover sponsor loss. We can agree to be responsible for our negligent acts or omissions as covered under CU Boulder’s self-insurance policy.
Those costs that are incurred for common or joint objectives and therefore cannot be identified readily and specifically with a particular sponsored project.
A Material Transfer Agreement (MTA) is a legally binding contract used to transfer biological and other tangible research material(s) between two organizations, when the recipient intends to use it for his or her own research purposes. Providers of materials need to have written agreements to be sure that there is a common understanding of permitted uses of the materials and determination of the rights granted to each party.
A Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA)—also commonly referred to as a Confidential Disclosure Agreement (CDA) or Proprietary Information Agreement (PIA)—is a contract between at least two parties, which outlines the proprietary/confidential information that the parties wish to exchange but want to restrict from wider use and dissemination.
The bridge between faculty, staff and students and research funding. We provide expertise in proposal development, negotiations, financial management, compliance and timely reporting. The Office of Contracts and Grants (OCG) is the Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) and is responsible as the Office of Record for the administration of sponsored research agreements and funding on the CU Boulder campus.
Principal Investigator.  Now known as Principal or Fiscal Principal.
This category includes gifts made by a donor who instructs the University as to the use of the funds in a specific academic area or for specific academic purposes. Gift terms for restricted gifts may specify particular activities and budgets for those activities; but usually do not specify how the funding must be spent or administered, and allow funding to be utilized at the full discretion of the recipient, although respecting the overall gift purposes. Financial reporting requested by donors of restricted gifts is normally in the aggregate, although detailed reports are sometimes requested; in both cases this reporting is solely intended to assure proper gift stewardship. Unexpended funds are not returned to the donor at the expiration of the restricted gift period. All restricted Gifts are processed by RSO, but they may also be recorded by OSP if there is a need for detailed financial reporting.
This category includes all funding arrangements in which the University is providing a return benefit to, or agrees to provide a defined deliverable or complete a set of activities for, the sponsor in exchange for the funds, regardless of whether the funding instrument is designated a contract, cooperative agreement, grant, consortium agreement, or otherwise. This category includes all contract or sponsored “grant” funding by foreign entities or international organizations,4 whether pursuant to a contract or sponsored "grant.” This category also includes all subcontracts and subgrants, whether from federal or nonfederal sources. Non-federal Awards are processed only by the submitting office(s). Sponsored program awards most often support research activities, but in some cases, may be provided for non-research, demonstration or service projects.
Any externally funded research or other scholarly activity that has a defined scope of work or set of objectives which provides a basis for sponsor expectations. In accordance with Section 3.06 of the Bylaws of the Board of Regents, ORSP or Contract Administration is the President's delegated representative to grant prior approval for submission of proposals which if accepted will lead to funding for a sponsored project.
Idenmnification
With expertise in patents, copyrights and licensing, CU Boulder's Technology Transfer Office (TTO) helps translate discovery into impact. TTO offers transparent, flexible intellectual property management services and connects researchers with a variety of commercialization programs in the university and community. 

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