Property Acquisition / Donation / Transfer

1. By submission of an online purchase order to Procurement Services and the subsequent preparation of a purchase order to a vendor.
2. By submission of an on-campus requisition form to on-campus suppliers or by creating a Stock Transfer Order within SAP.

Non-monetary donations and gifts (equipment, land, textiles, manuscripts, etc.) with a combined value of $5,000 or more that are received from outside sources need to be reported by completing the Donation/Gift Form. The value of each donation will be recorded to your department's 27 donation/gift WBS.* The donor must provide a dollar value of the gift when it is donated.  If the donor refuses to provide a value, the department/college is responsible for obtaining an appraisal so a value can be established.  Donations cannot be valued by University staff/faculty. The recorded gift revenue and corresponding expense will net to zero and have no effect on the balance in the provided cost object. If the value of the donation or gift meets the criteria in the capitalization policy, it will be tagged and capitalized. Departments receiving non-monetary donations directly (not through the Foundation) should provide the Assistant Vice Chancellor for Financial Services the donor contact information, description of item(s) donated, and value.  The Assistant Vice Chancellor for Financial Services will send a letter to the donor acknowledging receipt of the item(s) and thanking them for their generosity.

If you plan to dispose of the donated property within three (3) years of the date of the donation, please be aware of the IRS requirement related to Form 8282 (https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8282.pdf).  Such disposal may have a negative impact on the charitable income tax deduction claimed by the Donor.  If you have any questions, please contact Liwei He 472-4316.

*If your department does not have an established donation/gift WBS, please contact your Grant Coordinator in Sponsored Programs.

INTERDEPARTMENTAL TRANSFER

Departments may transfer items internally with prior approval from Inventory, Surplus & Asset Management.

Once approved, please fill out the Interdepartmental Transfer Form.

High value items may be transferred to the receiving department at a cost, determined by the transferring department.

Property which has been returned to the Inventory, Surplus & Asset Management Department is screened, and if still useable, is made available to other University departments through an excess/surplus property redistribution program. Property items acquired through Inventory, Surplus & Asset Management which bear a University ID number will be added to the inventory list of the receiving department. To view these items, visit the Surplus Warehouse during the weekly open house.

Property received from the federal or state excess/surplus agencies becomes the property of the University and is to be used only for University projects. In no way is this property to be used for personal use.

Federal Program
The State of Nebraska
Department of Corrections
Federal Surplus Program
2200 West Van Dorn Street
Lincoln, NE
Phone: (402) 471-2677

State Program
The State of Nebraska
Department of Administrative Services
State Surplus Program
5001 South 14th Street
Lincoln, NE
Phone: (402) 479-4890

Federal Reporting and Compliance for Government Furnished Equipment

Federal Property Management Procedures

The following are property management standards for capital equipment (single item with unit acquisition cost greater than or equal to $5,000) which is Federally-owned.

1. Records for Federally-owned equipment at UNL will include the following:
   • A description of the item
   • The manufacturer’s serial number, model number and UNL’s inventory asset tag number
   • Fund source of equipment, including an award number
   • “Owner” with whom title is vested, usually a Federal agency
   • Item acquisition date
   • Information for determining the calculation of Federal participation in cost of item, usually 100%
   • Location and condition of equipment and date the information was last reported
   • Unit acquisition cost of the item
   • The ultimate disposition data, including the date of disposal
2. Equipment owned by the Federal Government is identified to indicate Federal Ownership
3. A physical inventory of all government-furnished equipment will be taken and results reconciled with equipment records at least once every two year.
   • Any differences between physical inspection and accounting records will be pursued to determine the causes of the difference
   • Inventory will verify the existence of the equipment, and make inquiries and observations to determine whether the equipment appears to be currently used
4. Principal Investigators (P.I.s) are to notify the Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) and UNL Accounting within 60 days upon receiving government-furnished equipment from a granting or contracting agency. Upon notification, UNL Accounting will create an asset number and assign a Federal ID number.  Inventory, Surplus and Asset Management will send a tag memo with attached Federal ID tag to the Property Manager of said department.  The entire process is to be completed within 90 days.  Typically, the University will not own that equipment and will be required to account for it annually.
5. The P.I.s of Federally-owned property must within 60 days report any change in the location of equipment to be found off campus or off site from its typical research locale.
6. Any loss, theft, or proposed disposal activity of Federally-owned equipment must be reported to the Property Control Supervisor immediately after the loss or prior to voluntary disposition.
   • Inventory will contact OSP who will work with the P.I. or P.I.’s department for disposal instruction of such equipment
   • Actual disposition of such equipment will occur within the property standards of OMB Circular A-110, Subpart C.34g, and F.A.R., part 45.

Federal Reporting Procedures for Federally-Owned Equipment

Annual Inventory Reports

1. Once yearly, OSP will prepare and submit Annual Inventory Reports for contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements where required. These reports will be submitted in accordance with the requirements of the various agencies that provide the Federally-owned equipment.
2. Letters will be sent out to all sub-contractors after September 1 of each year requesting an inventory of equipment be submitted with the next invoice for the sub-contractor.

Final Inventory Reports

1. When a final inventory report is required by an agency, OSP will provide the report to the sponsoring agency.
2. The final inventory report will be in a format as prescribed by the sponsor. A cover letter should be attached requesting title to the equipment on the newly-closed account and stating that this is the final report.
3. It should be noted that some agencies require negative reports when is not equipment listed on a specific award.

Property System Surveys

A Property Control System Survey is conducted annually by the Office of Naval Research. This includes a review of the University’s property system as it impacts government-owned property and the expenditure of Federal funds. The survey may include a physical inspection of government-owned equipment to verify University inventory identification numbers, government ownership tags and locations of equipment. The review may also include interviews with P.I.s who use the equipment. The survey may also include a review of equipment records for each Federally-funded item. ONR may also include other miscellaneous requests in conjunction with this Survey.

Excess Property

1. When equipment is no longer needed in the performance of a contract or grant, it should formally be declared as excess property to the sponsoring agency.
2. Requests to the sponsor will be in the manner and format as defined by the agency and will be handled in the same manner as equipment purchased with government funds where UNL retains title. Directions may be found at the Equipment Purchased with Federal Funds page.

Marking Government-Owned Equipment

1. Each item of government-titled property should have an inventory identification sticker.
2. Each item of government-titled Property should have a “Property of the U.S. Government” sticker affixed to it to identify it as government-owned.
3. Stickers for equipment will be provided by Inventory.
4. Ownership of equipment can be obtained from each contract or grant agreement. Contact OSP if there are questions regarding the ownership of the equipment.

Miscellaneous Requests for Equipment Information

1. OSP must perform sub-contractor property system verifications.
2. The P.I. must complete and provide information to UNL Accounting when fabricating equipment. These guidelines may be found at; http://accounting.unl.edu/fin-acct-reporting/fabricated-equipment
3. OSP must respond to requests from sponsors and sub-contractors to return or dispose of equipment.