Chapters are encouraged to solicit and accept donations of funds or services from outside sources to assist them in their activities.

SCORE cannot solicit donations from clients in any way that would appear to be in return for the mentoring or educational services provided.

SCORE clients may donate to SCORE as long as it is clear that the client is in no way receiving any benefit from SCORE in exchange for their donation. Donations through publicly accessible ‘donation buttons’ are not considered to be solicited and are allowable.

See Donations and Gifts Processing Procedure for additional information.

SCORE chapters may not accept non-cash donations or gifts, including but not limited to real estate, tangible property, retirement assets, or other investment assets, without prior approval from the SCORE VP of Finance.  SCORE Chapters may accept cash and in-kind gifts and donations. In-kind donations may include services rendered on behalf of a chapter, free or reduced rent, etc.

"Nominal" Resource Policy

SCORE may use nominal award funds and other grant resources to solicit cash and in-kind contributions from the private sector to support the costs of carrying out the purposes of SCORE’s mission. Funds raised through such activities will not be considered program income where the SCORE Association makes only limited use of SBA-provided resources (computers, email, telephones, printers, etc.). No form of compensation can be received by SCORE volunteers or employees for time spent engaging in such efforts, and these fundraising activities may not involve more than a minimal additional expense to the Government. Contributions that do not meet these requirements must be treated as program income.

Please see the Fundraising Toolkit for more resources here on the Support Center.