Fundraising on Campus

Fundraising Procedure and Requests

Fundraising is defined as the collection of money through voluntary contributions, sales, and/or events/programs for the purposes of charitable donation and/or club support. Maryville College seeks to support departments and student organizations in their fundraising efforts. However, it is important that students understand that the College benefits greatly from the ongoing generosity of Maryville alumni and parents who provide significant monetary support for student related events, programs and services on an annual basis. Additionally, businesses, vendors, and organizations in the Blount County area also contribute significantly to the College by providing monetary support and services that enrich life at the College. It is vital that donors do not feel “fatigue” from too many requests. For these reasons, it is imperative that all fundraising activities are coordinated. In order to better steward our businesses, friends, and alumni, the following guidance is provided. This procedure should be followed carefully, with the fundraising request form completed and approved before any actions are taken.

General Guidelines

• Maryville College departments and student clubs/organizations are allowed to fundraise after receiving approval from the VP for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, as well as the College Controller.
• The Office of Student Affairs will oversee all fundraising events.
• Approvals must be obtained before advertising and/or the fundraising begins.
• All proceeds must be used for the activities and projects of the organization itself in furtherance of its goals and objectives.
• Organizations and departments may conduct one fundraiser per semester.
• The fundraising application must be submitted at least 15 business days prior to the event date. Additional information may be required depending on the event.
• Raffles, reverse raffles, cakewalks, and cakewheels are not allowed.
• Any group that is creating merchandise or marketing material that includes the Maryville College name or official college logos must work with the Marketing and Communications department to ensure consistency and conformity with the College’s style guide.
• Fundraisers may not be conducted for the sole purpose of accumulating funds in a campus activity account. Fundraisers should be conducted to fund a specific purpose, ideally within the same academic year.
• The selling of baked goods or other food items intended for human consumption that have been prepared at residence halls/home by students or parents is not allowed due to health and safety regulations.
• Crowdfunding platforms are not an acceptable form of fundraising.
• Fundraising for any candidate for political office or political campaign is strictly prohibited.
• There will be no sales that conflict with or violate an existing college contract (e.g., the bookstore or food services).
• Payment for all fundraising expenses will follow the College purchasing procedures (e.g., materials/supplies may not be ordered without an approved purchase order).
• Vendor invoices, if applicable, should be forwarded to the Business Office for payment, citing the applicable purchase order number. Any disputes over billing should be brought to the attention of the Business Office immediately.
• Funds Held in Trust (i.e., agency accounts) will be used for all fundraising; operating funds (i.e., SGA funding) may not supplement these efforts.
• Funds cannot be dispersed to individuals; doing so creates federally taxable income and can impact an individual’s financial aid.
• Fundraising activities may be conducted in specified areas approved by the VP for Student Affairs (i.e. Pearsons Lobby and Bartlett Atrium) and may not disrupt college office areas or other employee spaces.
• The organization advisor (as assigned contact person) will be responsible for submitting all documents and be knowledgeable of procedures.
• Any fundraising activity held on campus where participants will engage in a physical activity, requires a liability release. Each participant must complete the Maryville College Liability Waiver Form before they will be allowed to participate. This form must be signed prior to the event and may not be signed electronically. The form may be obtained by contacting the VP for Finance & Administration and describing, in detail, the activity that will be performed by the participants.
  Executed forms must be kept for seven years by the College department/division hosting the
  event, in accordance with the MC document retention policy.
• Once materials/supplies are received, inventory must be taken and tracked (how many were ordered, received? How many were sold, returned, lost or damaged?). These counts will be entered on the Fundraising Reconciliation Form.
• The club or program will be held responsible for any losses including funds, damage to property, or replacement of any damaged or lost equipment.
• Maryville College acknowledges that a policy of this nature may not anticipate every possible issue that may arise with respect to fundraising activities. Restrictions may be made in addition to, or in lieu of, those set forth in this policy.
• Violations of the rules, regulations, procedures, or any other college policies while conducting a fundraiser may result in a loss of such privileges or other measures deemed appropriate.

Cash Handling

• The organization advisor (as assigned contact person) is responsible for all collected money.
  Dual controls should be followed: one person collects the money and the other reconciles and completes the deposit.
• All money must be deposited with the Business Office immediately after each fundraising session. If after hours or on the weekend, contact MC Security at 865-981-8112 and ask the funds to be secured in the safe until the next business day.
• Under no circumstances should collected funds be kept in a desk, classroom, purse, residence hall, or other unsecured location.
• Expenses cannot be taken out of cash receipts before deposited.
• All checks should be made out to Maryville College.

Acceptance of Credit Cards

• Under NO circumstances should credit card information be written down or retained in any way. This is a direct violation of our PCI Compliance.
• Payments may be made via credit card by establishing a secure JotForm and receiving a payment link from Information Technology.

Sales Tax Requirements

• The College is a 501(c)(3) organization that is exempt from paying sales tax.
• However, when items are purchased for resale, applicable sales tax must be applied to the sale price and remitted to the State per Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 67-6-102, 67-6-202.
• Therefore, all departments and student organizations are required by law to collect sales tax when selling goods and/or services.
• The current sales tax rate for the City of Maryville is 9.75 percent, so a good rule of thumb is to increase your sales price by 10 percent in order to adequately cover the tax liability.
• When depositing funds, please use the “Daily Receipt Report – Sales Tax – Effective 02.01.14.xlsx” found on the Business Office section of the MC Insider. The correct sales tax amount will be auto calculated.

Final Reconciliation of Fundraising

• Within 5 days of the conclusion of the fundraiser, the student contact or organization advisor will submit the Fundraising Reconciliation form.

Questions: Please contact Tessa Cortes in the Business Office at tessa.cortes@maryvillecollege.edu.