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Advocating for people with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities to lead full and equitable lives.
AHRC New York City

Advocating for people with intellectual, developmental, and other disabilities to lead full and equitable lives.

Section 4.06: Gift Policy for Staff of AHRC NYC

Section: 4.06
Issued: 11.01.1993
Updated: 04.11.2023

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to delineate the AHRC NYC gift policy.

Policy Overview

Gifts in the not-for-profit setting are a sensitive subject. No matter who is doing the giving, who is doing the receiving, or in which direction gifts may be flowing — from outsiders to Agency or staff, or to outsiders from Agency or staff — concerns may be raised because of uncertainty about the motivation behind giving. For instance:

Gifts may create an expectation of “something in return,” or at least lead to a perception that a reciprocal arrangement might exist. By way of example:

  • It may be perceived that one person we support would get better treatment than others — if their family supplied gifts to staff members providing care.
  • Or, it could be suspected that a vendor giving gifts to staff members with purchasing duties might gain a competitive advantage, or might not be as closely scrutinized, or might not give the best possible pricing to the Agency — compared with vendors who did not provide gifts.
  • Gifts can create conflicts of interest — in fact or in appearance.
  • Gifts in certain circumstances are illegal and receiving or offering gifts in these situations may subject giver and receiver alike to criminal sanction, while leaving the agency open to censure.

What’s a Gift? Who’s a Vendor?

For purposes of this policy, “gift” means anything of value given by one person or entity to another. Gifts include cash, meals, entertainment, tickets to events, and articles having immediate or future value. They also include anything that may be given directly to a staff member, or conveyed to his or her immediate family.

In this policy, “vendor” refers to a person or entity providing goods and/or services Gift Policy for Staff of AHRC NYC to AHRC NYC in return for payment.

Policy Specifics

The AHRC NYC gift policy is a natural extension of its Conflict of Interest Policy for Staff of AHRC NYC which is spelled out in Section 4.05 of the AHRC NYC Policy and Procedure Manual. Briefly stated, anything (such as the giving of gifts) that serves to distract Agency staff members from their fundamental duties — those of putting the Agency’s interest ahead of self-interest, and of caring for all people supported fairly and equally — is not to be tolerated. Based on these principles, AHRC NYC has created the following policies related to gifts:

AHRC NYC prohibits the receipt of a gift by any employee from an Agency vendor, from any person receiving supports from the Agency, or from any family member of a person receiving supports. There are two exceptions to this prohibition:

  • Receiving meals or entertainment in the course of doing business, limited in value to $75 per year from any vendor to any one person.
  • Receiving gifts such as food baskets or candies, which can be distributed to or shared with staff or given to the people we support.

Gifts from vendors to AHRC NYC may be accepted if receiving such a contribution is in no way a condition of doing business with AHRC NYC, and if such a contribution is made in the context of a bona fide event or campaign.

Neither AHRC NYC as an entity, nor any of its employees as individuals, may offer gifts to persons so as to induce them to receive AHRC NYC supports, or to influence them to induce others to do the same.

Violating any of these policies will result in disciplinary action up to and including termination.

Some Exceptions

Relations with certain Agency vendors may necessitate accepting invitations to meals or other events in the regular course of doing business — subject to the $75 per year limit. If this limit is to be exceeded, staff members must receive written permission from the CFO (chief financial officer) or the CPO (chief program officer) in the CFO’s absence before proceeding.

Firms with whom AHRC NYC does business occasionally may offer to provide training or other services to Agency staff, perhaps with meals included. The CFO or the CPO in the CFO’s absence must review these offerings prior to acceptance, and then provide written approval.

Vendors who attend official AHRC NYC fund-raising events may wish to invite Agency employees to be their guests at these activities. Since the purpose of these events is to generate resources for AHRC NYC, employees may attend as vendors’ guests — not subject to the $75-per-year limit.

It sometimes happens that vendors send unsolicited gifts to Agency employees. If such presents are of a personal nature, they should be returned to the sender along with a tactful note explaining that AHRC NYC policy precludes accepting gifts. If the presents are of a type that can be shared with other staff members or with the people we support, they may be accepted and distributed.

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