The Montana Library Association (MLA) welcomes gifts, grants, donations, or bequests of property, real or personal. The MLA Board requires that all such gifts, grants, donations, or bequests to MLA be accepted on its behalf by the MLA President.

While all gifts are appreciated, some might not be appropriate for MLA. Gifts will be considered individually and donors may be referred to a more appropriate recipient. Gifts to MLA will be used to further the mission of the association, which is to “develop, promote, and improve library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.”

No irrevocable gift, whether outright or life-income in character, will be accepted if under any reasonable set of circumstances the gift would jeopardize the donor’s financial security.

MLA will refrain from providing advice about the tax or other treatment of gifts and will encourage donors to seek guidance from their own professional advisors to assist them in the process of making their donation.

Gifts of in-kind services will be accepted at the discretion of MLA.

Certain other gifts, real property, personal property, in-kind gifts, non-liquid securities, and contributions whose sources are not transparent or whose use is restricted in some manner, must be reviewed prior to acceptance due to the special obligations raised or liabilities they may pose for MLA.

MLA will provide acknowledgments to donors meeting IRS substantiation requirements for property received by the charity as a gift. However, except for gifts of cash and publicly traded securities, no value shall be ascribed to any receipt or other form of substantiation of a gift received by MLA.

MLA will respect the intent of the donor relating to gifts for restricted purposes and those relating to the desire to remain anonymous. With respect to anonymous gifts, MLA will restrict information about the donor to only those staff members with a need to know.

MLA will not compensate, whether through commissions, finder’s fees, or other means, any third party for directing a gift or a donor to MLA.

Adopted June 20, 2017