The Protestant Episcopal Church of New Hampshire (PECNH) accepts gifts for purposes that will help it further and fulfill its mission. PECNH urges all prospective donors to seek the assistance of personal legal and financial advisors in matters relating to their gifts, including tax and estate planning consequences. 

The following policies and guidelines govern acceptance of gifts made to PECNH for the benefit of any of its operations, programs, or services.

PECNH will seek the advice of legal counsel in matters relating to acceptance of gifts when appropriate. 

PECNH will not accept gifts that (a) would result in violations of its corporate charter, (b) would result in PECNH losing its status as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, (c) are too difficult, too complicated, or too expensive to administer in relation to their value, (d) would result in any unacceptable consequences for PECNH, or (e) are for purposes outside PECNH’s
mission.

Decisions on the restrictive nature of a gift, and its acceptance or refusal, shall be made by the Trustees of the PECNH, in consultation with the Bishop.

Gifts Generally Accepted Without Review

Cash. Cash gifts are acceptable in any form, including by check, money order, credit card, or on-line. Donors wishing to make a gift by credit card must provide the card type (e.g., Visa, MasterCard, American Express), card number, expiration date, and name of the card holder as it appears on the credit card.

Marketable Securities. Marketable securities may be transferred electronically to an account maintained at one or more brokerage firms or delivered physically with the transferor's endorsement or signed stock power (with appropriate signature guarantees) attached. All marketable securities will be sold promptly upon receipt unless otherwise directed by the PECNH’s Investment Committee. 

Bequests and Beneficiary Designations under Revocable Trusts, Life Insurance Policies, Commercial Annuities and Retirement Plans.  Donors are encouraged to make bequests to PECNH under their wills, and to name PECNH as the beneficiary under trusts, life insurance policies, commercial annuities, and retirement plans.

Charitable Remainder Trusts.  PECNH will accept designation as a remainder beneficiary of charitable remainder trusts.

Charitable Lead Trusts.  PECNH will accept designation as an income beneficiary of charitable lead trusts.

Gifts Accepted Subject to Prior Review

Certain forms of gifts or donated properties may be subject to review prior to acceptance. 

Examples include, but are not limited to:

Tangible Personal Property. The Trustees of the PECNH, in consultation with the Bishop, shall review and determine whether to accept any gifts of tangible personal property in light of the following considerations: does the property further the organization’s mission? Is the property marketable? Are there any unacceptable restrictions imposed on the property? Are there any carrying costs for the property for which the organization may be responsible? Is the title/provenance of the property clear?

Life Insurance. PECNH will accept gifts of life insurance where PECNH is named as both beneficiary and irrevocable owner of the insurance policy. The donor must agree to pay, before due, any future premium payments owing on the policy.

Real Estate. All gifts of real estate are subject to review by the Trustees of the PECNH, in consultation with the Bishop. Prior to acceptance of any gift of real estate, PECNH shall require, at the donor’s expense, a title search and an initial environmental review by a qualified environmental firm. In the event the initial review reveals a potential problem, the organization may retain a qualified environmental firm to conduct an environmental audit. 

Criteria for acceptance of gifts of real estate include the following: Is the property useful for the organization’s purposes? Is the property readily marketable? Are there covenants, conditions, restrictions, reservations, easements, encumbrances, or other limitations associated with the property? Are there carrying costs (including insurance, property taxes, mortgages, notes, or the like) or maintenance expenses associated with the property? Does the environmental review or audit reflect that the property is damaged or otherwise requires remediation?

Cryptocurrency.  All gifts of cryptocurrency are subject to review by the Trustees of the PECNH, in consultation with the Bishop.  Cryptocurrency gifts of $5,000 or more will require a qualified third-party appraisal and this cost will be borne by the donor.  Any cryptocurrency accepted by the PECNH will be converted to cash immediately upon acceptance and cannot be refunded to the donor for any reason.

Further information is available by contacting the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, 63 Green Street, Concord, NH, 603-224-1914.

Date adopted: May 16, 2023