---
kind: "section"
citation: "50 U.S.C. § 3512"
title: "50"
title_heading: "War and National Defense"
number: "3512"
heading: "Gifts, devises, and bequests"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/50/3512"
units:
  - "Chapter 46 — Central Intelligence Agency"
---

# §3512. Gifts, devises, and bequests

- (a) **Use for operational purposes prohibited—**
  - (1) Subject to the provisions of this section, the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) may accept, hold, administer, and use gifts of money, securities, or other property whenever the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) determines it would be in the interest of the United States to do so.
  - (2) Any gift accepted by the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) as a gift to the [Agency](/usc/50/3501.md?p=1) under this subsection (and any income produced by any such gift)—
    - (A) may be used only for—
      - (i) artistic display;
      - (ii) purposes relating to the general welfare, education, or recreation of employees or dependents of employees of the [Agency](/usc/50/3501.md?p=1) or for similar purposes; or
      - (iii) purposes relating to the welfare, education, or recreation of an individual described in [paragraph (3)](#a-3); and
    - (B) under no circumstances may such a gift (or any income produced by any such gift) be used for operational purposes.
  - (3) An individual described in this paragraph is an individual who—
    - (A) is an employee or a former employee of the [Agency](/usc/50/3501.md?p=1) who suffered injury or illness while employed by the [Agency](/usc/50/3501.md?p=1) that—
      - (i) resulted from hostile or terrorist activities;
      - (ii) occurred in connection with an intelligence activity having a significant element of risk; or
      - (iii) occurred under other circumstances determined by the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) to be analogous to the circumstances described in clause [(i)](#a-3-A-i) or [(ii)](#a-3-A-ii);
    - (B) is a family member of such an employee or former employee; or
    - (C) is a surviving family member of an employee of the [Agency](/usc/50/3501.md?p=1) who died in circumstances described in clause [(i)](#a-3-A-i), [(ii)](#a-3-A-ii), or [(iii)](#a-3-A-iii) of subparagraph (A).
  - (4) The [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) may not accept any gift under this section that is expressly conditioned upon any expenditure not to be met from the gift itself or from income produced by the gift unless such expenditure has been authorized by law.
  - (5) The [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) may, in the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2)’s discretion, determine that an individual described in subparagraph [(A)](#a-3-A) or [(B)](#a-3-B) of paragraph (3) may accept a gift for the purposes described in [paragraph (2)(A)(iii)](#a-2-A-iii).
- (b) **Sale, exchange and investment of gifts—** Unless otherwise restricted by the terms of the gift, the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) may sell or exchange, or invest or reinvest, any property which is accepted under [subsection (a)](#a), but any such investment may only be in interest-bearing obligations of the United States or in obligations guaranteed as to both principal and interest by the United States.
- (c) **Deposit of gifts into special fund—** There is hereby created on the books of the Treasury of the United States a fund into which gifts of money, securities, and other intangible property accepted under the authority of [subsection (a)](#a), and the earnings and proceeds thereof, shall be deposited. The assets of such fund shall be disbursed upon the order of the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) for the purposes specified in subsection [(a)](#a) or [(b)](#b).
- (d) **Taxation of gifts—** For purposes of Federal income, estate, and gift taxes, gifts accepted by the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) under [subsection (a)](#a) shall be considered to be to or for the use of the United States.
- (e) **“Gift” defined—** For the purposes of this section, the term “gift” includes a bequest or devise.
- (f) **Fundraising—**
  - (1) The [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) may engage in fundraising in an official capacity for the benefit of nonprofit organizations that provide support to surviving family members of deceased [Agency](/usc/50/3501.md?p=1) employees or that otherwise provide support for the welfare, education, or recreation of [Agency](/usc/50/3501.md?p=1) employees, former [Agency](/usc/50/3501.md?p=1) employees, or their family members.
  - (2) In this subsection, the term “fundraising” means the raising of funds through the active participation in the promotion, production, or presentation of an event designed to raise funds and does not include the direct solicitation of money by any other means.
  - (3) Not later than the date that is 7 days after the date the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) engages in fundraising authorized by this subsection or at the time the decision is made to participate in such fundraising, the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) shall notify the Select Committee on Intelligence of the Senate and the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence of the House of Representatives of the fundraising.
- (g) **Regulations—** The [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2), in consultation with the [Director](/usc/50/3501.md?p=2) of the Office of Government Ethics, shall issue regulations to carry out the authority provided in this section. Such regulations shall ensure that such authority is exercised consistent with all relevant ethical constraints and principles, including—
  - (1) the avoidance of any prohibited conflict of interest or appearance of impropriety; and
  - (2) a prohibition against the acceptance of a gift from a foreign government or an agent of a foreign government.

## Source credit

(June 20, 1949, ch. 227, § 12, as added Pub. L. 96–450, title IV, § 404, Oct. 14, 1980, 94 Stat. 1979; amended Pub. L. 112–87, title IV, § 411, Jan. 3, 2012, 125 Stat. 1889; Pub. L. 113–126, title IV, § 421, July 7, 2014, 128 Stat. 1410; Pub. L. 115–31, div. N, title III, § 303(b), May 5, 2017, 131 Stat. 810; Pub. L. 118–31, div. G, title IX, § 7901(g)(3), Dec. 22, 2023, 137 Stat. 1107.)

## Notes

### Editorial Notes

### Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 403l of this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

### Amendments

2023—Subsec. (a)(2)(A). Pub. L. 118–31 struck out closing quotation marks after “used only for—” in introductory provisions.

2017—Subsec. (f)(3). Pub. L. 115–31 added par. (3).

2014—Pub. L. 113–126, § 421(1), substituted “Gifts, devises, and bequests” for “Authority to accept gifts, devises, and bequests” in section catchline.

Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 113–126, § 421(2), in introductory provisions, inserted “by the Director as a gift to the Agency” after “accepted” and substituted “this subsection” for “this section”.

Subsecs. (b), (c). Pub. L. 113–126, § 421(3), (4), substituted “subsection (a),” for “this section,”.

Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 113–126, § 421(5), substituted “subsection (a)” for “this section”.

Subsecs. (f), (g). Pub. L. 113–126, § 421(6), (7), added subsec. (f) and redesignated former subsec. (f) as (g).

2012—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 112–87, § 411(1), designated existing provisions as par. (1), struck out “Any gift accepted under this section (and any income produced by any such gift) may be used only for artistic display or for purposes relating to the general welfare, education, or recreation of employees or dependents of employees of the Agency or for similar purposes, and under no circumstances may such a gift (or any income produced by any such gift) be used for operational purposes. The Director may not accept any gift under this section which is expressly conditioned upon any expenditure not to be met from the gift itself or from income produced by the gift unless such expenditure has been authorized by law.” at end, and added pars. (2) to (5).

Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 112–87, § 411(2), added subsec. (f).