The partnership of UCU with charitable organizations, foundations, and private individuals is based on the assertion that the University is above all a “philosophical” and not a commercial project, and so it is not someone’s private property but part of the common good. Fundraising activities should be conducted on the basis of the voluntary actions of a donor, aimed at serving and strengthening the common good. The recipients of charitable activities are not individual persons who work or study at the University but all those who benefit from the results of the activities of the institution as it carries out its mission. Such an understanding of charitable fundraising is realized when, let us say, an individual student receives a scholarship.
UCU has the conviction that charitable fundraising consists of the voluntary exchange of gifts, in which the donor publicly acknowledges that he or she shares the professed values and aspirations of those who will benefit from his or her generosity.
The tradition of philanthropy is rooted in the evangelical principles of mercy, solidarity, altruistic service of others, and also in the European principles of civic conscience, equality, social justice, and responsibility for the welfare of society.
UCU is aware that honesty and transparency in the use of the gifts received is the University’s responsible contribution to the matter of appropriately honoring the whole civic practice of philanthropy, and also increases donors’ trust in non-profit organizations and their activities.
- The University’s representative is obliged to respect the donor and information received from the donor.
- The list of donors that the University has assembled for the good of the community is a confidential document of this community and is not to be disclosed or used for an independent goal or for personal benefit.
- The University is obligated to make sure that donations are used for the purpose intended by the donors.
- In case there is a need to change the conditions of use of a designated donation, the University is obligated to maintain the previous agreement and the donor’s precise instructions.
- The University will provide reliable and timely information according to established institutional policy when donors ask about the use of their gifts.
- Staff and students of UCU will place the mission and interests of the University and its donors above questions of personal advantage.
- UCU staff will look for and accept only those gifts the goal of which is in accord with the mission of the University and institutional priorities.
- The University provides the budget of projects proposed for support and an appropriate and transparent process of accounting for donations and reporting on them.
- The University carries no legal or moral responsibility for the actions of donors regarding their other financial or contractual obligations. However, in order to maintain the University’s good name, its leaders are obligated to take into account the particularities of its social authority and the reputation of its donors.
- The donor has the right to designate funds donated for general or for targeted use.
- The donor has the right to be fully informed about: the mission of the University, possible ways that donated gifts may be used, and the institution’s ability to utilize funds received for the best use and according to the thought of the donor.
- The donor has the right to receive an appropriate report on the use of his or her donations according to his or her desire.
- The donor has the right to expect that information about his or her donation will be used by the University with appropriate respect and confidentiality, and also according to agreements and the conditions of current legislation.
- The donor has the right to expect that all relations with persons who represent the University will be businesslike, professional, and morally justified.
- The donor has the right to know whether a person who represents the institution with a request for a donation is a volunteer, a worker of the University, or a hired professional fundraiser.
- The donor has the right to stipulate if he or she would like individually to receive information about the life of the University and if his or her name will be included in a general mailing list to inform donors about the activities of UCU.
- The donor has the right to freely ask questions about the University’s activities and to receive reliable and direct responses.
- Relations between a donor and the University are built on trust and common values, and so the donation does not increase the rights of the donor (except for those stipulated) regarding the project he or she is supporting or the donor’s influence on the activities of the University.
- The goal of making a donation towards the activities of the University on the part of the donor cannot be to receive personal financial, political, or other private benefits. So it is understood that the donor makes a donation to the University exclusively to support its activities and mission. No donor (or a third person connected with him or her) can receive from the University any financial, political, or personal benefit in exchange for the donation.
- The University has the right to refuse an offered donation for moral reasons or in case the thought of the donor does not accord with the University’s development plans.
- The University has the right to stop receiving charitable support in case the manner of its giving has begun to contradict the original agreement or this document.
- The University has control of and independently handles property and intellectual and author’s rights acquired as a result of the use of charitable donations.
- The University has the right, with the permission of the donor, to use the donor’s name and also information about his or her donation in its promotional materials.