Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Contributions to the USGS

By Office of Science Quality and Integrity

Legal authority - 43 U.S. Code § 36c- Acceptance of contributions from public and private sources

The USGS has broad authority under 43 U.S. Code § 36c to accept gifts and contributions, including money and personal property, as long as the gifts are unsolicited and freely offered and given.  

  • USGS employees may not solicit contributions from outside sources.
  • USGS employees may inform outside parties of the existence of the USGS contribution/gift authority but may not request or negotiate contributions.

Only the USGS may accept gifts under this authority.  Contributions are accepted by the USGS -- not individual employees.  Checks may not be written to individual employees; employees may not "sign over" or endorse a check for deposit into a USGS account. 

  • An honorarium (or speaker payment) offered to an employee may not be personally accepted by an employee, but the employee may inform the entity offering the honorarium of the USGS contribution acceptance authority.  

This webpage was last updated on January 13, 2023.