Of course, this donation was made more complicated by the fact that the Dorset Museum is located in the UK. If it were a US institution, the gift could have been made directly and the related use provision would have been much simpler. While this loan does address the issue, CAF America needed to implement other critical elements of our charity due diligence protocols to ensure that we were following all regulations, mitigating any potential risks, and overall protecting our donor’s reputation from any negative outcomes.
For us, this meant that we passed the Dorset Museum through our Equivalency Determination protocol before approving the loan, which means they can also receive grants from any other CAF America donor moving forwards.
CAF America strongly recommends that any donor looking to support a foreign charity, whether through a grant, a loan, or any other giving vehicle, ensure that they have done extensive due diligence on the organization before finalizing their support.