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Ramsey County │ Annex A: Volunteer and Donations Management 4 • People inside and outside the devastated area will want to donate money and goods to support local response, relief, and recovery efforts. • Unsolicited donated goods may arrive without warning and without proper packaging and/or labeling. • Businesses and other organizations generally make contributions of new goods, including palletized water, canned food, and other useful bulk goods. • Individual people generally make donations of used or previously purchased goods, including clothing, blankets, sleeping bags, household items, toys, food, and water. • Donations may not correspond to the needs of the individuals or community affected by the disaster. Similarly, many of these donations may be of a quality that renders them unusable. • Donated goods require significant attention and resources immediately following the event; if not promptly and appropriately managed, attention to this activity increasingly demands the diversion of resources away from service delivery. 1.3.7 FINANCIAL CONTRIBUTIONS • There will be financial contributions to assist disaster victims, without the designation of a specific agency to manage/distribute them. A fund management/distribution system will need to be established to receive, account for, and distribute these undesignated financial contributions. • Monetary donations are preferred over in-kind donations by virtually all emergency response/recovery stakeholder groups. • Donations may be received in the form of cash, checks, credit card payments, gift cards, stock options, cryptocurrencies, and complex assets, some of which may be paid for online or through text messages or other smartphone-enabled systems. • Unsolicited donations may come with conditions (such as going only to specific types of victims) or may only be made to appear like donations at first glance. A donor may expect repayment, publicity, or a tax write-off. • Donations or requests for donations could be illegal, fraudulent, or an attempt to take advantage of victims or responding/affected agencies or jurisdictions. • The need for monetary donations will exist well into the long-term recovery phase as unmet needs are identified after other resources are exhausted. 1.4 Policies Ramsey County Administrative Code 5.40.03 through County Board Resolution #97-374, passed September 9, 1997, and amended by Resolution 2003-159, passed on May 13, 2003, the following policies that affect donations to the County: • The County Manager’s office can accept donations to the County government of cash or goods under $10,000 in value. Donations valued over that amount may only be accepted through the