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Mission Fund Procedures

Mission funds are used to cover small expenses for research purposes, such as research participant payments. Since most grants or other funds may not be reimbursed until the expense is incurred, a Mission Fund acts as an advance to help the research progress. In the procedures below, the “Custodian” is the researcher conducting the study and requesting the Mission Fund.

  1. Custodians requesting a Mission Fund will complete the Mission Fund Request form and submit necessary approvals via DocuSign workflow. The form can be found on the Controller's Forms Website under General Accounting Forms. Please note that the Custodian must sign the form, acknowledging that they have read and understand their responsibilities with regard to clearing the Mission Fund as outlined in these procedures.
  2. Once the Mission Fund Request form has been signed by all necessary approvers, it will route automatically to General Accounting, where it will be processed for payment.
  3. Once receiving the request, the General Accounting Manager will review, approve, and forward the request to the General Accounting Specialist.
  4. The General Accounting Specialist will enter the Mission Fund request into Chrome River Direct Pay payable to the custodian, charging the Controller’s clearing fund and mission fund advance account. If the request is entered into Chrome River by Friday morning 10:00 am, the Mission Fund will be issued to the custodian as a direct deposit in the following week's check run.
  5. The custodian uses the funds received to purchase gift cards and any associated supplies (if applicable). Note: The custodian should purchase only the number of gift cards they are certain they will need to distribute. Any leftover funds at the end of the study must be paid back to the University via a personal check from the custodian. Leftover gift cards cannot be turned in as repayment. If uncertain of the number of participants up front, the gift cards should be purchased in smaller batches. Custodians must keep receipts from all purchases of the gift cards/supplies. See the Gift Card Guidelines.
  6. The custodian will distribute gift cards to research study participants and complete the participant log with the following:
    • Participant Name (printed)
    • Participant email (for e-gift cards only)
    • Gift card amount received
    • UNCW Payroll indicator (Y/N)
    • UNCW ID (if applicable)
    • Have participant sign the log, acknowledging receipt of gift card (for gift cards given out in person)
    • If a gift card recipient is a UNCW employee, funds received (regardless of the amount) will be reported to Payroll by General Accounting. Amount will be added as income to the employee's W-2, as required by IRS regulations.
    • NOTE: if anyone who is not a UNCW employee receives a total of $75 or more in participant incentive gift cards, a completed W-9 form is required from that individual. An electronic DocuSign version of the form can be found on the Controller's Forms Website under Tax Forms. This DocuSign version of the tax form, once completed, is submitted automatically to a secure UNCW email for tax forms.
    • If a W-9 is required from a research participant, the custodian must send an email to newvendor@uncw.edu with the name(s) and contact information of the participant(s), from whom we should receive the completed W-9 form. The Vendor Specialist will let General Accounting know when this requirement has been completed.

      A signature from the participant on the log is required as an acknowledgment that gift card(s) in the stated value have been received. However, we recognize that sometimes gift cards may not be given out in person.

    • If E-gift cards are purchased, the custodian must get an email from each recipient acknowledging the amount of the gift card they received for their participation in [Name of Study]. The email should also state if they are currently on UNCW Payroll and, if so, list their UNCW ID number. When email acknowledgments are used, the custodian must add the participants’ email addresses to the log, and a printout of the emails received must be attached to the log in lieu of signatures.

      Some platforms, such as Amazon gift cards, have built-in acknowledgments stating when the recipient has “picked up” the electronic gift card. This can be used in lieu of an email acknowledgment from the participant. However, it is the responsibility of the custodian to note on the participant log if the recipient is a UNCW employee or not.
  7. By mid-June or whenever the research project has concluded (whichever comes first), the custodian is responsible for turning in the following documentation to General Accounting in order to clear the Mission Fund:
    • Completed Participant Log with participant signatures or other acknowledgments attached (as outlined in #6)
    • Original receipts of all gift cards and study-related supply purchases, if applicable. NOTE: if the gift card purchase receipt does not include the gift card numbers, please make a copy of the gift cards prior to distribution & include the copy with your clearing documentation.
    • Return any leftover funds in the form of a check payable to UNCW. As outlined in #5, leftover gift cards cannot be turned in to pay back unused funds.
  8. General Accounting will prepare a journal entry to charge the designated fund (as stated on the Mission Fund request form) for the gift cards and other related expenses (if applicable) as documented by the custodian. General Accounting will also deposit any leftover funds returned by the custodian to the Mission Fund clearing account.
  9. The deadline for clearing up all mission funds is in mid-June (fiscal year end deadlines are published annually in February), and all custodians of outstanding mission funds will be contacted with a reminder to clear out their funds in advance of that deadline. Please keep this fiscal year end deadline in mind when planning the start date of a research study that requires a Mission Fund. Requesting a Mission Fund in May does not allow for much time to finish the study and turn in all required documentation.
  10. If the study carries over to a new fiscal year, the custodian must clear out their current Mission Fund by the mid-June deadline with documentation as outlined above, including turning in any leftover funds. The custodian can then submit a new Mission Fund Request form for any leftover funds at the beginning of the new fiscal year.
  11. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCE – If a researcher is traveling to a remote area of the world that does not take a credit card AND the trip spans across the fiscal year end, we can assist with an alternative process for advancing funds to meet the needs of the researcher and comply with State guidelines.  Please contact General Accounting and Travel to set up a meeting.
  12. If the mission fund is part of a Travel pre-approval, please put a comment in Chrome River indicating that you are requesting a Mission fund and include your documentation and the amount requested. Note that the custodian/traveler is responsible for following all State and UNCW Travel policies.

Updated last on 10/20/2023

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