AccountabilityWe Believe Every Gift Matters

When you make a gift to the Kansas Masonic Foundation, you determine what program of the foundation will benefit from your generosity. Some donors also give to the General Kansas Masonic Foundation Fund, which provides flexible, unrestricted support — allowing the foundation, at the direction of the Board of Trustees, to apply donations to the areas of greatest need or opportunity.

The Kansas Masonic Foundation promptly sends receipts acknowledging every gift, with a calculation of the maximum tax deduction allowable by Internal Revenue Service policies. Many gifts are entirely deductible as charitable contributions. Exceptions are gifts for which donors receive goods or services; these gifts are partially deductible. The IRS accepts your receipts from the Kansas Masonic Foundation as documentation of deductibility.

While many foundations cover organizational operating costs by charging fees on gifts, we cover our operating expenses through an unrestricted fund, as well as a portion of the return on our investments. Because of this, 100 percent of every gift goes to benefit Kansas Masonic Foundation programs.

At the Kansas Masonic Foundation, we believe every donor is important and endorse the following practices and policies.

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have the right:

• To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
• To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
• To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
• To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
• To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.
• To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
• To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
• To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
• To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
• To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

The above statement was developed by the American Association of Fundraising Counsel, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Association of Fundraising Professionals. It was adopted in November 1993.