Year End Gift Deadlines | Holiday Season 2019
With the calendar year rapidly coming to a close, I want to remind everyone of the closing date for depositing gift revenue for calendar year 2019 gifts and note some very important deadlines due to the additional gift days granted to University personnel for the dates of December 24-January 1st.
The Foundation offices are closed from 3:00 pm CST on December 23, 2019 through December 27th and again January 1st, 2019.
Note: the Foundation will be open with limited staff on the two additional vacation days granted by the University, December 30th and 31st.
The main phone line (217-333-0810) will be accepting voice mail messages each day, for return calls on December 30th or 31st.
| Highlights | |
|---|---|
| Mail delivery | December 13 is the last “safe” day to use campus mail to insure calendar year end delivery; after 12/13, use USPS or other direct delivery service for delivery before 12/23. |
| Closed Dates | December 24-January 1, the Foundation is “officially” closed, per University holidays (with the limited exceptions of 12/30-12/31 as indicated below.) |
| Credit Card Gift Deadlines | Tuesday, December 31 12:00 p.m. is the last day to process credit card gifts received via phone or mail. The last online gift via the giving websites can be received until 11:59 p.m. CST. |
| Open Hours | December 30, 8:00-5:00 and December 31, 8:00-12:00, the Foundation offices will open with limited Gift Administration and Gift Planning staff available by phone and by email. Limited staff will be available to support donor needs until 5:00 or as necessary on the 31st. |
| Postmark Dates | Postmark date required for any cash or checks received by mail Is December 31; please include the envelope with the gift when transmitting for processing. This deadline does NOT apply to credit cards (must be charged by 12/31) |
| Processing Deadlines | All gifts for calendar year end processing should be to the local gift processing office immediately upon return from the holiday break. IF the gifts were received in your office before 12/31, please indicate such when transmitting the gifts. All gifts received or postmarked before 12/31 and transmitted after the holiday will be receipted as December gifts with the exception of credit cards. The last date to get gifts into TED before calendar close for gift reporting purposes is January 9th. |
| Securities Gift Deadlines | December 31, 12:00 p.m. is the last day to receive securities electronically in the UIF account; markets close at 3:00pm |
The Foundation lobby email will also be monitored and forwarded during the break and a very limited staff will be processing credit cards delivered to the Foundation mailing addresses; the PO Box will also be monitored
A year end message will be posted the first week of December on the Foundation’s website for further instructions and assistance: www.uif.uillinois.edu.
As always, please instruct donors in voicemail and email “out of office messages” to contact UIF at 217-333-0810 for return messages on 12/30 or 12/31
or
direct your donors to the Foundation Online giving website (http://www.uif.uillinois.edu/Gifts/StartGiving.asp) or your specific unit/University online giving sites.
Many of the unit advancement offices are closing entirely between December 23rd and January 1st, therefore, to insure timely receipt of any gifts (especially credit card and securities) it is extremely important to:
- Hand deliver gift to your local Gift Processing Office immediately
(for UIS and UIC, please also look for your local campus announcements and hours) - Send securities next day mail (e.g. Federal Express) to
1305 W. Green Street, Urbana, IL, 61801 for delivery to UIF on December 30 or January 2 - Use (or encourage your donors to use) the online giving website to submit any last-minute credit card gifts for immediate charge
- Mail checks to the UIF P.O. Box 734500, Chicago, IL 60673-4500 to be postmarked BEFORE December 31
As with each year, checks, cash, and security certificates transmitted by mail and postmarked by December 31st will continue to be processed as a 2019 gift. Please remember to forward all documentation, including envelopes with postmark dates, with the gift transmittal.
Electronic securities transactions executed prior to 12/31 will also be processed as a 2019 gift. Credit card gifts made via the Foundation’s web giving page or any unit pages that link to the Foundation site are charged upon receipt. To be included as a calendar year 2019 gift, all credit card gifts must be processed through the website by 11:59 p.m. CST on December 31, 2019.
Credit cards received after December 31st will be processed on or after January 2nd as a 2020 gift. Any credit card gifts received via the website after December 31st at 11:59 p.m. CST will be processed as 2020 gifts. These deadlines keep us in compliance with IRS guidelines on the processing of credit card gifts.
A message is being added to the UIF public and online giving websites referring to these deadlines and instructions as well. Limited staff will be monitoring the online help emails until about 5:00 pm December 31st to assist any donors with last minute web giving problems.
I would greatly appreciate your assistance in conveying this information to the appropriate personnel within your department.
Please contact me with any questions.
Happy Holidays!
Christy Devocelle