Philanthropic Financial Reporting

Policy number: 5.6

Policy section: Development and External Affairs

Revised Date: December 14, 2020

1.  Definitions

Definitions of capitalized terms are set forth in Appendix A.

2.  Policy Statement

At the direction of the President, the Vice President for Development and External Affairs (“the Vice President”) and the Division of Development and External Affairs (“DEA”) will have authority for reporting fundraising results, including amounts pledged and received, constituency participation levels, support received for priority funding initiatives, information regarding donor funded endowments, and other metrics related to the cultivation, solicitation, acceptance, and stewardship of philanthropic support to the University. All such information is considered confidential and may not be shared with external constituents without prior approval from the Vice President. Schools or Units wishing to create and/or distribute reports internally or externally must receive prior approval from the Vice President, and all such data must be derived from DEA’s central gift reporting system.

3.  Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide University leadership with consistent, accurate and timely reports on the philanthropic support of the University, and to maintain the appropriate level of confidentiality of said information.

4.  Applicability

All faculty, students, staff, volunteers, and contractors are expected to comply with this policy.

5.  Questions

Questions regarding this policy are to be directed to the Office of the Vice President.

6.  Department Administrative Rules, Procedures, and Guidelines

Development and External Affairs will create and maintain guidelines and procedures related to this policy.

Appendix A: Definitions

“School” refers to SMU’s seven schools and one college, and departments and programs within.

“Unit” refers to established entities other than Schools, such as the Office of the Provost, Central University Libraries, Department of Athletics, Division of Students Affairs, etc., and departments and programs within.

Revised: December 14, 2020

Adopted: January 2, 2019

The official University Policy Manual is housed in the Office of the University Secretary. The University Secretary is responsible for maintaining new and updated policies and for maintaining this website. Should the official University Policy Manual conflict with any internal policies, procedures, departmental administrative rules, or guidelines, that may be contained in manuals provided by schools, departments, or divisions within the University, the official University Policy Manual controls.