Philanthropic Gifts Policy

Updated January 2026

Reviewed: 22 April 2020; further amended 13 April 2021; amended 14 July 2022; amended 28 March 2023; amended 15 May 2024; amended 7 November 2024, amended 26 January 2026.

Purpose of this policy
Policy
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Alumni and Supporter Charter

Purpose of this policy

The University welcomes and actively seeks philanthropic grants and gifts to support its work from a range of sources including alumni, other individuals, companies, charitable trusts and foundations.

To preserve the integrity and reputation of The Open University (OU), the Development Office (OUDO) must have a clear and transparent procedure for the acceptance or refusal of philanthropic income. These gifts and donations may be in the form of cash; property; shares, or gifts in kind, including goods and services.

As per the Charity Commission’s guidance, OUDO completes due diligence research to ensure we are ‘in line with internationally recognised standards', such as those set out in Financial Action Task Force Special Recommendation VIII (FATF SR VIII): “charities should make best efforts to confirm the identity, credentials and good standing of their beneficiaries and associates (and to) undertake best efforts to document the identity of their significant donors”. In addition, the Charity Commission states that charities “must avoid undertaking activities that might place the charity's funds, assets or reputation at undue risk.” In practice, this means that to meet their legal duty to protect charity assets with the necessary care and to assess risk, trustees must carry out appropriate due diligence on those individuals and organisations that the charity receives donations from, gives money to or works with closely.”

This document sets out the University’s policy in this regard, ensuring that the OU operates ethically in its receipt of philanthropic gifts and that the processes for accepting and refusing gifts are transparent. This policy also intends to ensure that the reputation of the OU is protected from any allegations of impropriety occasioned by the pursuit or receipt of a philanthropic gift.

Subject to the terms below, due diligence shall be required on philanthropic donors to the University, including alumni, other individuals, charities and businesses, regarding any gifts of £25,000 or more. The UK Government and its agencies, including its research funding councils, are not covered by this policy.

This policy does not replace the University’s policy on personal gifts, gratuities and hospitality received by individual members of staff.

Policy

1. Criteria for acceptance/refusal of gifts

The OU will not accept gifts which are inconsistent with the university’s mission, values and principles.
The OU will not accept gifts which have the potential to cause significant damage to its good reputation or its relationships with its stakeholders, or where there is scope to create an unacceptable conflict of interest.
The Development Office will not pursue fundraising partnerships or accept donations from any party who is involved in illegal or unethical activity (as defined by the University’s Statement of Social Responsibility), including but not restricted to slavery, pornography, the sex industry and child labour, as well as the tobacco industry.
Philanthropic donations to University research will also be subject to the specific exclusion on funders contained within the OU Research Code of Practice which can be found here: https://www.open.ac.uk/research/governance/policies
The Development Office will pursue with caution any collaboration with any party whose activities or source of wealth may create additional concern. For these entities due diligence will be completed regardless of the ask amount.
The OU recognises that perceptions of what is acceptable and factors affecting reputations may change over time. In the acceptance of charitable donations, the University will act in good faith according to the standards prevailing at the time of receipt.
The University may accept gifts from current students but will make it clear within the gift agreement and related communication that the gift will not have any influence on how the University treats the donor as a student.
The University may accept gifts from University staff but this will not confer on the donor any benefit or preferment, beyond the usual recognition and stewardship offered to donors.

2. Process for acceptance/refusal of gifts

Due diligence will be undertaken by the Prospect Research Team (PRT), who sit within the Development Office, on any philanthropic gifts above £25,000. Due diligence will be undertaken on gifts which are reasonably expected or have been pledged to the Development Office, before the acceptance of the donation and before a Gift Agreement is signed. The fundraiser responsible for securing the gift is responsible for informing the Prospect Research Manager (or if unavailable a member of the PRT) at the appropriate time.
For application processes with more than one stage, due diligence should not be requested until the application successfully reaches “Stage 2”. Where there is no formal application process, due diligence should be requested and completed once a specific funding idea has been shared and when conversations indicate positive intent towards a gift/ partnership.
Due diligence must be reviewed for each pledge or gift, even if the process has previously been completed for a prior gift from said donor. Due diligence should not repeat the research previously undertaken but cover the period since research was last completed.
Where multiple gifts totalling more than £25,000 are made within a twelve-month period, the standard approach to due diligence will apply, though in retrospect, i.e. once a donor’s cumulative giving threshold crosses £25,000.
If an unsolicited non-electronic donation is received, this should be stored in a secure location whilst due diligence is undertaken, before processing and appropriate conversations with the donor undertaken.
Different levels of due diligence will be undertaken according to the size of the gift proposed. For gifts of between £25,000 and £100,000, background level research will be undertaken; for gifts of £100,000 or more, advanced level research will be undertaken. In all cases, upon completion of the research the form in Appendix 5 will be completed.
This form should then be sent to one of the following: Head of Partnerships, Head of Philanthropy or Head of Alumni Fundraising. The recipient will review the form and, if no issues are identified, approve the gift in writing. Where issues are found, the recipient will then discuss the results with a second member of the leadership team (from those listed above). Together the recipients should review the areas of concern and try to seek a joint judgement. If both agree that the issues merit further review, the report can then be escalated to the Director of Development who must confirm approval or rejection of the gift or escalate the decision as agreed for final approval. When escalating, all correspondence should include the PRT to maintain the audit trail.
If a pledge is made that sits below the £25,000 threshold and a member of staff or fundraiser is concerned about the background of the donation, or the motivations of a donor, full due diligence should be requested as soon as possible in the process. Similarly, due diligence may be requested at any earlier stage than that outlined above if there are any concerns about the donor or the origin of the funding. It is important to note that every member of staff involved in the solicitation of gifts must be vigilant at all times and should alert the Prospect Research Manager or Director of Development if they are concerned about any donor or partner. In this situation due diligence should be requested and completed, irrespective of gift amount.
This process will also apply when the Development Office receives a legacy notification for pecuniary gifts of over £25,000 or residuary gifts where it can be reasonably assumed that the value is expected to be over £25,000.
1. Upon receiving notification, the Prospect Research Manager (or if unavailable a member of the PRT) should be notified and the appropriate due diligence undertaken on the deceased.
2. This research does not have to be carried out when soliciting legacy gifts, or at the point of pledge (as circumstances could change between then and subsequent notification of gift).
3. If residuary gifts are unexpectedly over £25,000 the due diligence will be undertaken as soon as this becomes apparent.

3. Escalation

Where a due diligence report identifies issues which require further consideration within the University, the Director of Development may, in consultation with the Director of Marketing & Communications escalate the decision-making process to the following as necessary:

University Secretary and/or
Development Advisory Committees

Where a due diligence report requires escalation, it should be sent to the appropriate staff member’s OU email address, as an attachment, by the Director of Development. This email should be marked as highly confidential, should not be forwarded further, and must be deleted once the review has been completed.

A record of the decision made must be returned to the Prospect Research Team and logged with the completed report.

Where a decision is made not to accept a gift the reasons must be clearly stated.

4. Recording and reporting

Completed due diligence reports are stored securely in a restricted area of the Development Office network folders. This area can only be accessed by members of the Prospect Research Team, Director of Development, Head of Partnerships, Head of Philanthropy and Head of Alumni Fundraising. A copy of the final decision about the acceptance of the gift will also be stored in this area.

A copy of the decision is additionally saved in the correspondence area of the Stratum database and a record of the decision and the date made is noted on the Prospect Research tab of the Stratum database.

5. Returning a gift

The University will not normally return a gift which has been accepted in good faith and in compliance with this policy. Exceptionally, subsequent events or the subsequent availability of additional information may give rise to the need to review a previous decision to accept a gift, in which circumstance the decision will be reviewed, following thorough and up to date due diligence research, by the Director of Development, in conjunction with the Director of Marketing & Communications in the first instance. Final recommendations will be submitted to the University Secretary, taking into account additionally the University’s good reputation and any wider implications, for final approval.

Contact us

All Alumni and Supporters may update their communication preferences and opt-out of receiving some or all communications from us at any time.

If you are an alumnus, you can:

Update your preference via the Communication Preference Website by logging into the alumni portal at alumni.open.ac.uk
Email: [email protected]
Write to us at The Open University Development Office, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AA or call us on 01908 655044.

If you are not an alumnus or a supporter you can:

Email us: [email protected]
Write to us at: The Open University Development Office, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes,MK7 6AA
Call us on 01908 655044
Respond to any recent correspondence you have received from the Development Office

Please direct any queries about the way we process your personal information, or requests to exercise your rights as a data subject, to our Data Protection Officer using the contact details below.

Email: [email protected]
Telephone: +44(0)1908 653994
By post: The Data Protection Officer, PO Box 497, The Open University, Walton Hall, Milton Keynes, MK7 6AT

Data subjects within the EU can contact:

The Data Protection Officer c/o The Open University in Ireland, Holbrook House, Holles Street off Merrion Square, North Dublin 2

To view our fundraising charter, please visit giving.open.ac.uk/privacy

Alumni and Supporter Charter

This charter, available at giving.open.ac.uk/privacy outlines the commitment to supporters by The Open University. We have registered with the Fundraising Regulator, and as such we agree to ensure our fundraising is legal, open and honest and respectful. The standards for fundraising are set out in the Code of Fundraising Practice.