Whether or not a donation is considered temporarily or permanently restricted depends on the donor's wishes and or, the fund that they donate it too.
If a donor says “here you go” then it's unrestricted, free for them to use it on whatever they choose.
If the donor says “This is to be used for XYZ program” then it's temporarily restricted for the use of the program only. It becomes released from this restriction when they spend the money on that program.
If a donor says, ” here is this building/land, and I want the use to be for XYZ programs only, forever” then that becomes a permanently restricted donation. A lot of endowment funds are funded this way, where the donor gives cash and stipulates that the principle given is never to be spent on anything, but the investment earnings it creates can be spent on the non-profits mission etc. In this case, the principle is permanently restricted, and it's earnings are temporarily restricted until they are spend on the purpose designated, then the earnings only become unrestricted.
AUD - Jan 9,13 Pass
REG - Aug 30,13 Pass
BEC - Oct 26,13 Pass
FAR - Dec 4,13 Pass
Licensed CPA in the state of Oregon
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