FAQ: Handling Cancelled Events, Donations and Other Matters During COVID-19 Restrictions

Originally posted: March 18, 2020

We have updated this blog to include new questions and answers from our weekly live forums.

School booster clubs are being hit with the need to cancel events, return donations, and otherwise deal with the impact of school closures and social distancing restrictions during the COVID-19 health emergency. To help you manage these issues, Parent Booster USA (PBUSA) is providing some answers to frequently asked questions, and other tools. Please let us know as other questions arise. We will continue to provide as many additional resources as we can.

Our school is closed. Do we have to cancel our events planned during the closure?

Generally, if your event is planned using school facilities, you likely will need to cancel while the school is closed. If your event is planned for an off-site venue, you should follow the directions of your school, and local, state and federal government and health authorities.

Our contract does not have a cancellation provision, or the cancellation provision does not mention epidemics or health emergencies. Can we still cancel? If there are penalties in the contracts, are the penalties enforceable?

Many events will need to be cancelled while schools are closed, and government officials are recommending or requiring social distancing precautions. If your contract does not include a provision allowing for cancellation due to the current circumstances, the vendor may be able to enforce the penalty provisions. Try to work with the vendor to mitigate the situation. Some ideas include: (1) agreeing to reschedule for a later date, (2) agreeing to a "credit" for amounts paid to be used at a later date, a (3) a reduction in the cancellation penalties so that each party, the vendor and the booster, each share in the hardship.

Should a vendor send your organization a notice and bill for cancellation fees, you may consider waiting to pay the fees. In most cases there is time to negotiate with the vendor and attempt to come to a reasonable agreement. If the vendor hires an attorney and you receive a "lawyer's letter", it is still o.k. to try to negotiate with the attorney yourself or hire your own attorney to negotiate for you. Once there are attorneys involved, however, you should communicate through the attorneys rather than directly with the vendor. Should you receive a notice from a court, you may still attempt to negotiate through the date stated to appear in court. The bottom line is that you are generally in a better position to talk and negotiate before any fees or penalties are paid.

We received donations for an event that now must be cancelled. Are we required to return the donations?

We recommend that organizations be as flexible and reasonable as possible. Consider contacting all the donors, whether individuals, corporate or private foundations, advise them of your situation, and offer to refund the donations. If your organization can still use the donations for a future event, you may consider asking the donors if they are willing to let your organization keep the donation for the future event or need.

To the extent that we all can be kind, reasonable and flexible, we can weather the current situation together.

We have a tradition to give our seniors gifts at the end of marching season. Is that acceptable?

Federal law and IRS rules require that nonprofit organizations tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, which includes most school booster clubs, use funds raised "exclusively" to support the organizations approved tax-exempt mission. In the case of a marching band, this means funds raised are to support the arts, namely the band. The funds raised may not be used to benefit individuals. This is because the funds raised by the organization are exempted from paying federal income tax. Exempt, tax-free dollars must be used to support a "public" purpose, and not to benefit individuals.

Frequently booster clubs host banquets and recognition events. These events may be considered to support the organization's tax-exempt purpose by, for example, promoting participation and encouraging camaraderie. The amount spent on such events, however, including any amount spent on gifts to seniors should be very minimal in comparison to how much is spent on promoting the tax-exempt mission.

I have heard that the IRS may frown upon giving each graduate a gift card in lieu of a lock-in for Project Graduations. Why? Do you think there would be exceptions made under the circumstances?

Federal law requires that all funds raised by a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization be used exclusively for the tax-exempt purpose of the organization. The IRS has specifically said that 501(c)(3) organizations may not use the funds raised to benefit individuals. As a result, if your organization provides a $100 gift card to each senior to use as desired, this is using your organization's funds to directly provide a financial benefit to the seniors.

We recommend that organizations, instead, seek out alternative options to celebrate your seniors. Some organizations, for example, are purchasing yard signs for the seniors. Others may hold online events that include prize giveaways each hour. Using the funds in this way is more in keeping with IRS 501(c)(3) rules against providing a direct financial benefit to individuals.

Can my nonprofit buy gift cards from my sponsors and give out to my members to support my sponsors?

Based on federal law and IRS rules that prohibit using a 501(c)(3) organization's funds to provide direct financial benefit to the members of the organization, PBUSA generally recommends that gifts to members be avoided. In addition, federal law and IRS rules provide that a donation is tax-deductible only to the extent that the donor does not receive any significant benefit in return for the donation. The value of any benefit the donor receives must be deducted from the amount of the donation.

For example, if a donor makes a $500 cash donation to your organization, and in return your organization buys $250 in gift cards from the donor, the donor may deduct only $250 as a donation. The same is true of equipment, items or other property that you might buy from a sponsor.

At the end of marching band season, the band director asked for gifts for her staff is this something that is allowed? The staff is paid by the school.

These types of solicitations are OK, provided the donors understand that gifts or payments made are not tax-deductible. It should be understood that the gifts are voluntary, are not required to participate in the band program or related to favoritism in any way, and that the gifts are not tax-deductible contributions to the band program itself.

How do we handle the change of officers for the next booster year, especially with some of our officers leaving the school, being their student is/was a senior? Our bylaws state that new officers will be elected in at the end of April, to be installed by June of the year.

Officer elections should be handled as described in your organization's bylaws to the extent possible. Therefore, if your bylaws require an election to take place at the April meeting, consider holding the meeting virtually. Most state statutes provide that a virtual meeting, during which all participants can hear one another and participate in the discussion, may legally be considered the equivalent to an in-person meeting. For an election, you also will need an electronic or other method to submit and authenticate votes. You may also want to take a look at PBUSA's other resources relating to how to manage a booster club virtually.

Can we refund money from parents that was not fundraised? It was a personal check written for the season and the season was cancelled 2 weeks later.

Yes, nonprofit organizations may make refunds of payments made for services or expenses for cancelled events. Note, however, that if a payment is a donation for which a deduction was taken on the donor's tax return, the donor must amend his/her return if a refund of the donation is received.

We have a question about board elections...this month and next we are scheduled to take nominations and hold elections. Can we vote to delay elections and hold at a later time?

Nominations and elections should be handled in accordance with your organization's bylaws. If the bylaws do not require that elections be held on a certain date, delaying the election is fine. If the bylaws require the election to be held during a certain month, you should first vote to amend the bylaws prior to moving the election.

We rented a concert hall for a performance and they canceled the performance but only offered a 50% refund. If they will only give 50% back should we ask for a credit so we can reschedule?

First, you should review the terms of your contract. Many contracts include a "force majeure" clause, also known as an impossibility clause, that allows one or both parties to cancel an event due to "acts of God" or events that could not be controlled. This often includes epidemics/pandemics. The contract should state what happens when the event is canceled, such as whether all or a portion of the amounts paid are refunded. Asking that the terms of the contract be followed is generally your first step.

If the contract is silent on how payments are handled due to a cancellation, it makes sense to be reasonable when negotiating a settlement. Accepting a partial refund, with the remainder credited toward a future event is a fairly common settlement.

Do you have any recommendations for online pay vendors with low fees for nonprofits (e.g., Venmo, PayPal, etc.)?

We do not. We recommend checking a variety of services, including looking at the service fees per transaction charged, and whether the vendor provides any software or hardware with their service. You might check out My School Bucks, a PBUSA sponsor and a service targeted directly to the needs of schools and their support organizations.

My Home School Association (HSA) has been offered a $5,000 donation to support 2020 graduation projects. My question is, is there a specific limit to donation amounts that we can accept? May we roll-over any amounts that exceed the costs of this years' plans?

We are not aware of any IRS or state rules or laws that limit the amount of donations that you may accept, or the amount of funds that may be retained and rolled over from year to year. The IRS may raise questions if funds are never used, and an excess amount appears to be saved for no specific purpose. However, many nonprofits have reserve accounts to fund operations in future years, fund capital projects, and the like.

If you have additional questions related to COVID-19, school closures and the like, please email us at [email protected]. We will respond as quickly as we can, and provide updates to this blog as questions come in. Parent Booster USA provides information and resources to help schools and volunteers set up and manage booster clubs and parent teacher organizations. Our resources are for educational purposes. Please consult an attorney or other professional if you need help with your organization's specific facts and circumstances.