Donations to Stanford   Stanford is the fortunate recipient of generous property donations from many sources, such as corporations, companies, individual donors, other universities and sponsors. In order to insure continued benefit from this generosity and meet requirements established by the IRS and University policies, it is important that the procedures and guidelines in this section are followed. The appearance of donor documents vary considerably; however, the procedure for processing donations is consistent. The end of this section provides sample donation documents. It is important to remember that there should be a need or purpose for a donation of equipment and that the dean of the school must approve any equipment that may contain hazardous materials. Prompt recording is critical. Untimely recording of donations could jeopardize future donations; particularly from large corporate donors. In order for Stanford to comply with federal regulations regarding donations, PMO must receive copies of all documentation. In many cases the predonation paper work, including any type of proposal or letters related to planned donations will help determine if the donation is restricted or unrestricted. For example, the donation letter may specify that a donated microscope be restricted for use in biological/physical research. Stanford University is the owner of all donations, without exception. Donations are not the personal property of faculty, staff or students, although they may have been the primary contact or delivery point for the donation and designated end user. As of September 2003, property donations are recorded at a value of $5,000 or more.