Julep’s Nonprofit Glossary

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GAAP: Acronym for Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Conventions, rules and procedures that define accepted accounting practice at a particular time. The Financial Accounting Standards Board organized these standards into the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). The ASC is divided into several major topic areas. Topic 958 addresses accounting for not-for-profit entities.

General Gifts: Final 5 to 20% of funds raised through a multitude of gifts from constituencies or through a wrap-up mail campaign.

General Ledger: Accounting system tool for recording all transactions.

Gift: A voluntary, irrevocable transfer of something of value without consideration at the time of transfer or any time in the future. If the individual making the gift entertains any ideas of reclaiming it, the transfer is not a gift. The following types make up charitable donations:

• Advance: Strategically important gifts solicited in advance of the formal public beginning of an intensive campaign to ensure a level of giving equal to the requirements of the campaign dollar objective.

• Big, leadership, key, strategic gift: Terms used interchangeably to indicate substantial or largest gifts—generally of six or seven figures—required to provide the stimulus for a major campaign.

• Major gifts: In an intensive campaign, major refers to gifts below the level of big or leadership gifts and above the level of general gifts.

See Contribution.

Gift Agreement: A contract between the organization and a donor that specifies the terms of a donor’s gift.

Gift Annuity: A contract between the donor and the charity wherein the donor transfers property to the charity in exchange for the charity’s promise to pay the donor a fixed annual income for life or some other mutually agreed-upon period. The donor’s right to income may be deferred for a period of years. The annuity may be in joint and survivor form.

Gift Giving: When a contribution is made.

Gift Planning: The integration of personal, financial, and estate planning concepts with the individual donor’s plans for lifetime or testamentary giving.

Gift Range Chart: A chart of gifts that enables campaign leaders to know, in advance of a campaign, the size and number of gifts likely to be needed at each level of giving to achieve the campaign goal. The chart focuses the attention of campaign leaders on the sequence of gifts that will be needed.

Gift Receipt: A form that is sent to donors (with copies to appropriate officials of the campaign and organization or institution), either separately or as an enclosure with acknowledgement, officially recognizing their contributions.

Gifts-in-Kind: Any gift to a charity other than a cash or non-monetary gift, such as donations of tangible goods, services, rents (use of facilities or equipment), investment securities, unreimbursed out-of- pocket expenses, or personal property such as art, collectibles, books, equipment and other physical assets which have value to the organization.

Giving Circles: A pooled fund that makes grants and is managed by the fund’s donors, who share a common interest in a social cause or issue. Giving circles allow for a wide range in charitable styles, philosophies and politics, structure, size, and focus through a very hands-on approach.

Giving Clubs: Categories of donors who are grouped and recognized by the recipient organization or institution based on similar gift level.

Giving Pattern: The overall picture of the types of projects and programs that a donor has supported historically. The past record may include areas of interest, geographic locations, dollar amount of funding, or kinds of organizations supported.

Giving Tuesday: A global day of giving that takes place on the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving as a way of countering the consumer-oriented holiday shopping season. Often marked #GivingTuesday on social media, the event began in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y in New York City in partnership with the United Nations Foundation. Today, it’s a global fundraising event that has engaged more than 10,000 nonprofits.

Global Geographic Focus: Refers to programs and initiatives that are international in scope.

Goal: A concerted focus for an effort supported by specific objectives that an organization determines to achieve; the amount of money to be achieved by a fundraising campaign—that is, the dollar objective.

Going Concern Statement: A section in an audit report that indicates whether the audited organization will be financially viable through the next twelve months.

Governance: The legal authority of a board to establish policies that will affect the life and work of the organization and accountability for the outcome of such decisions.

Governance Committee: A committee responsible for recruiting, orienting, and training of board members; may also be responsible for periodic bylaws reviews.

Governance Oversight: By those persons who constitute the governing authority of an organization or institution.

Government Grantmakers: Grant distribution programs operated by public sector entities that make awards primarily to public charities to carry out charitable purposes.

Grant: A financial donation given to support a person, organization, project, or program to undertake a charitable activity. Generally, they are allocated from foundations, corporations, or government agencies, and sometimes are given with a legal restriction imposed upon its use.

Grant Evaluation: A review of the results of a grant, with the emphasis upon whether the grant achieved its desired objective.

Grant Funding: Provided to an organization through a foundation or government source for a specific purpose.

Grant Monitoring: The ongoing assessment of the progress of the activities funded by a donor, with the objective of determining if the terms and conditions of the grant are being met and if the goal of the grant is likely to be achieved.

Grant Proposal: The document submitted to the foundation or other potential funding source in which the organization presents its request for support.

Grants Payable: Grant amounts promised to individuals or other organizations.

Grantee: The individual or organization that receives a grant.

Grantmaker Associations: A group of grantmakers that act collectively to support a particular population, region, interest, or other identifying characteristic. Includes regional associations of grantmakers.

Grantmaking: The giving of funds for a specific purpose.

Grantmaking & Program Development: Grant program design and development; best practices; proposal review, site visits and recommendations.

Grantor: The individual or organization that makes a grant. See Donor or Funder.

Grassroots Fundraising: Efforts to raise money from individuals or groups from the local community on a broad basis. Usually, an organization does grassroots fundraising within its own constituency—people who live in the neighborhood served or clients of the agency’s services. Grassroots fundraising activities include membership drives, raffles, bake sales, auctions, dances, and a range of other activities. Foundation managers often feel that successful grassroots fundraising indicates that an organization has substantial community support.

Grassroots Lobbying: Communicating with the public to influence opinions about a specific piece of legislation or offering a call to action with respect to that piece of legislation.

Grassroots Organization: A group consisting of local participants who work together originally to improve upon their community and extend to a broader basis.

Guidelines: A statement of a foundation’s goals, priorities, criteria, and procedures for applying for a grant.