As University policy dictates, all gift cards received as a prize or gift that are given to students are considered taxable income. University policy dictates that gift cards must be $25 or less. No gift cards can be provided to students for virtual events.
When submitting your reimbursement request you must list the names of each person who received a gift card and the gift card amount.
If you are bringing in a speaker, volunteer guest, etc for an event a small thank you gift is a common practice at the Carlson School. You can use club funds to purchase a small thank you gift, examples being a coffee cup, pen, gift card, etc. No more then $50 should be spent on a thank you gift, with the average gift cost ranging around $25.
Best practice is to not get an employee of the University a gift card. A Thank You note is great!