Problematic Expense Guide - A to Z

• Donor Funds & Donor Intent – Endowed & Non-Endowed Funds – The payment or reimbursement of expenses on Endowed or Non-Endowed donor funds in a manner that does not align with donor intent is a prohibited use of University funds.
  
  
  • Examples
    • Using funds donated for a department scholarship to instead fund department travel expenses.
    • Using funds donated to fund a department Chair position to instead fund department research expenses.
    • Using funds donated specifically for the use of one department to fund the activities of another department.
    • Using funds donated for one specific UNM Athletics team to instead fund expenses for another UNM Athletics team.
      
      
  • The Reason this is Unallowable – Substantial financial support is donated to the University by numerous donors through the UNM Foundation and the UNM Lobo Club.  In the process of providing these gifts to the University, donors stipulate their demands as to how these funds must be spent ("donor intent").  In other words, these gifts to the University come with "strings attached" in the form of donor intent.  The idea of donor intent is not merely a "suggestion" from the donors, but rather a legal requirement that the University must follow in each and every case.  To demonstrate legal compliance with donor intent, the University accounts for each donor gift in a separate funding source within our accounting ledgers for internal control purposes.  Furthermore, the University cannot transfer donor gifts out to be commingled with other funding sources for audit and tracking purposes.  Since the University is legally required under Federal and State law to spend donor funds in accordance with donor intent, an expense charged to an Endowed or Non-Endowed spending account that does not align with donor intent would violate Federal and State law.