TREASURY DIRECTIVE 61-09

DATE: August 3, 2022

SUBJECT: Department of the Treasury Gift Acceptance Authority

PURPOSE. This Directive establishes the policies and procedures governing the acceptance, use, accountability, final disposition, and reporting of gifts and bequests received from domestic sources and foreign private sector sources and accepted by the Secretary, or designee, under 31 U.S.C. 321(d).
SCOPE. This Directive applies to all Bureaus, offices, and organizations in the Department of the Treasury, including the offices of Inspectors General within the Department. The provisions of this Directive shall not be construed to interfere with or impede the authorities or independence of the Department’s Inspectors General.
DELEGATION. The authority to accept, administer, and use gifts and bequests given to the Department under 31 U.S.C. 321(d) has been delegated to the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee by Treasury Order 102-16.
POLICY. It is the policy of the Department of the Treasury that:
1. unconditional gifts and bequests that will aid and facilitate the work of the Department may be accepted. Gifts or bequests offered subject to conditions may be accepted if the conditions do not unduly restrict or interfere with the work of the Department; and
2. acceptance and use of gifts and bequests donated to the Department must be approved by the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee.
RESPONSIBILITIES.
1. The Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, shall:
  1. 1) review and determine whether to accept an offer of money or other property;
  2. 2) approve all expenditures from the Gifts and Bequests Fund;
  3. 3) ensure that each bureau reports the value of non-monetary (i.e., physical property) gifts accepted by the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, and subsequently transferred to the bureau, in the appropriate section of the bureau's financial statements; and
  4. 4) ensure that all gifts are properly recorded and reported in the accounts and financial statements of the Department's Gifts and Bequests Fund.
2. The Department’s Deputy Chief Financial Officer, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Treasury Operations, the Heads of Bureaus, the Inspector General, and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, as it relates to their respective bureaus and offices, shall:
  1. 1) in accordance with instructions issued by the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, include, where appropriate, the value of non-monetary gifts accepted by the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, on behalf of the Gifts and Bequests Fund and subsequently transferred to the respective bureaus or offices, on the appropriate section of the bureau's financial statements; and
  2. 2) as directed, each year submit an annual physical inventory reported at the lower of cost or market value, of all non-monetary gifts accepted for use by their respective bureaus or offices to the Assistant Secretary for Management or designee. The inventory should be dated and signed by the bureau CFO. Additionally, the bureau CFO should provide the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, with written confirmation that the non-monetary gifts have been properly recorded in the bureau's accounting and property systems as transfers from the Gifts and Bequests Fund and that the transfers will be reported, as appropriate, in the bureau's financial statements. The gifts listed on bureau inventories must have a signed gift acceptance letter in bureau files from either the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee.
3. The Department’s Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Treasury Operations shall ensure that:
  1. 1) a system of accounting and internal controls is established and maintained which satisfies the reporting requirements set by 31 U.S.C. 321(d)(4) and the reports required under paragraph 6.f. of this Directive;
  2. 2) requests for financial information from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and internal management are satisfied;
  3. 3) the non-monetary gift inventory is maintained; and
  4. 4) the annual reporting requirements are met.
PROCEDURES.
1. Offers of Gifts or Bequests. All offers of gifts or bequests shall be promptly submitted for a determination on acceptance to the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, by the head of the bureau or office that received the offer. The transmittal to the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, should include the following information:
  1. 1) the name of the potential donor and an explanation of the donor's past and present business or official relationships with the Department;
  2. 2) any restrictions on the use of the offered gift;
  3. 3) a statement of how acceptance of the gift will aid and facilitate the work of the Department; and
  4. 4) if the gift is one of physical property (i.e., non-monetary), the estimated fair market value of the gift at the time of donation. For gifts valued at less than $500, the submitting office shall determine the appraisal value supported by an outside source such as an inquiry to a local retailer with respect to a similar or identical article or a previous appraisal of a similar or identical article. An independent appraisal is required for accepted gifts valued in excess of $500. The appraisal source may be another government entity, the manufacturer of the gift, or a local retailer. Written appraisals are not required. A signed appraisal submitted by the donor may be accepted provided the appraisal includes the following information: (a) a full description of the gift and its physical condition; (b) the date which the gift was valued; (c) the appraised fair market value on the date of contribution; (d) the name of the qualified appraiser and a description of the appraiser's qualifications; and (e) the basis upon which the gift was valued. For gifts valued in excess of $5,000, written appraisals may be reported by the donor on IRS Form 8283 and a copy of the donor's form may be used as a source of valuation for the Department.
2. Acceptance.
  1. 1) The Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, shall review the gift offer and make an initial policy determination whether the Department wishes to consider accepting the offer. The Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, shall consider if the gift will aid and facilitate the work of the Department.
  2. 2) If the initial determination is positive, the Assistant Secretary for Management or designee, in consultation with the Assistant General Counsel (General Law, Ethics, and Regulation), will review the offer to determine if acceptance will create, or could appear to create a conflict of interest. Issues to be considered shall include whether the donor:
    1. a) has, or is seeking to obtain, contractual or other business or financial relations with the Department; or
    2. b) conducts operations or activities that are regulated by the Department.
      1. NOTE: When these elements are present, the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, will reject the gift if, from the perspective of a reasonable person with knowledge of the relevant facts, the offer could appear to be an attempt to influence official actions.
  3. The Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, where appropriate will acknowledge the acceptance or rejection of the offer in writing to the offeror and deliver via certified mail.
3. Receipt of Monetary Gifts and Bequests.
  1. 1) The Departmental Offices’ Office of Financial Management shall deposit all gifts of money in the Department's Gifts and Bequests Fund within five working days of acceptance.
  2. 2) Funds which will not be required for immediate disbursement from the Department's Gifts and Bequests Fund account shall be invested at the direction of the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, through the facilities of the Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s Funds Management Branch in U.S. Government securities. Interest received from such investments is credited to the Department's Gifts and Bequests Fund.
4. Receipt of Non-Monetary Gifts or Bequests. All non-monetary gifts accepted by the Department under 31 U.S.C. 321(d) become the permanent property of the Department. Acceptance of a nonmonetary gift by the Department will initially be recorded in the Gifts and Bequests Fund and the gift will subsequently be transferred, via memorandum, to the appropriate bureau, at which time the bureau will record its receipt, as appropriate, on the bureau's financial statements. The unit designated by the head of the benefiting bureau will then hold the gift. The benefiting bureau shall inform the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee, when it initially takes physical possession of the gift.
5. Disposition of Non-Monetary Gifts.
  1. 1) Gifts accepted under 31 U.S.C. 321 (d) may not be disposed of without the written approval of the Assistant Secretary for Management, or designee.
  2. 2) If non-monetary gifts are sold, the proceeds must be deposited in the Department's Gifts and Bequests Fund within five working days of receipt.
6. Reporting. The Departmental Offices' Office of Financial Management's established system of accounting shall provide the annual public disclosure reports required under 31 U.S.C. 321(d)(4) and the following items (reported on a monthly basis as part of the Statement of Resources Availability).
  1. 1) The amount of:
    1. a) funds available to incur additional commitments/obligations;
    2. b) fiscal year disbursements;
    3. c) monetary donations received for the fiscal year;
    4. d) net redemptions in excess of investments in U.S. Government securities for the fiscal year;
    5. e) fiscal year interest received on U.S. Government securities;
    6. f) outstanding receivables;
    7. g) outstanding commitments/obligations (inclusive of accounts payable); and
    8. h) cash and U.S. Government securities balances as of the beginning of the fiscal year and as of the end of the month.
  2. 2) A listing of each monetary gift received and each non-monetary gift sold for the fiscal year, reflecting the amount received, date of receipt and the donor's name, or a description of the item sold.
  3. 3) A listing of each disbursement for the fiscal year.
  4. 4) A listing of each outstanding commitment and obligation as of the end of the reporting period.
AUTHORITIES.
1. a. 31 U.S.C. 321(d).
2. b. Treasury Order 101-05, "Reporting Relationships and Supervision of Officials, Offices, and Bureaus, Delegation of Certain Authority, and Order of Succession in the Department of the Treasury."
3. c. Treasury Order 102-16, "Delegation of Authority to the Assistant Secretary for Management to Accept Gifts and Bequests to the Department of the Treasury."
REFERENCE. Treasury Directive 61-04, Acceptance, Retention, and Disposition of Gifts under the Foreign Gifts and Decorations Act.
CANCELLATION. Treasury Directive 61-09, Department of the Treasury Gift Acceptance Authority, dated May 3, 2001, is superseded.
OFFICE OF PRIMARY INTEREST. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Management; Departmental Offices’ Office of Financial Management; Deputy Assistant Secretary for Treasury Operations; Bureau of the Fiscal Service’s Funds Management Branch.

/S/
Trevor Norris
Acting Assistant Secretary for Management

Federal Financial Data

TREASURY DIRECTIVE 61-09