fiscal policies handbook

VII. Award and Endowment Funds

VII.A General

All awards are set at the Winter Meeting (Board Minutes, 06/2016, 07.) See note about Bradley below since it is temporarily suspended.

Donations made throughout the fiscal year that are designated for a particular award fund are initially deposited into the checking account and are transferred to their targeted Temporarily Restricted accounts (regular or socially conscious) at the end of each quarter. In 2010, the Association created a separate “Awards Account” with Fidelity to shield the current year’s award monies from market fluctuations. (Board minutes, 09/2009, III) After award amounts are determined, and before they are paid, the Finance Committee will direct the Administrative Officer to transfer an amount equal to the total of all award payments for that year into the Awards Account. Disbursement of awards to the designated recipients will be made from this fund.

Spending policy should be uniform for all temporarily restricted award and endowment funds, unless directions exist from original donors. Unless otherwise stipulated for a particular fund, MLA will use up to 4.5% of the assets in any award or endowment fund to fund the corresponding award or program, i.e., MLA will fund the awards based on a formula of spending not to exceed 4.5% of the assets in each fund, calculated by averaging the December 31 value of the fund over the past five calendar years. The amount of the award may be less than the maximum 4.5%. The same policy will guide spending from endowment funds other than the MLA Fund. [The MLA Fund has a different cap; see above.] This policy supersedes all previous policies. (Minutes, 09/2012, 09.g)

If an award or endowment fund is split between socially responsible investments (currently Calvert) and traditional investments (currently Fidelity), determine the percentage of the total fund deposited in each and transfer a proportional amount from each to fund the award or program. For example, if 60% of the total fund is in a traditional investment account and 40% in a socially responsible account, 60% of the award amount will come from the traditional account and 40% from the socially responsible account. This policy supersedes all previous policies. (Minutes, 09/2012, 09.g)
Note: the draft endowment policy submitted by the Development Officer and reviewed by the Administrative Officer (and Assistant AO) and Pat Wall was approved. (Board minutes, 7/2014, 3)

VII.B MLA/IAML Award and Endowment Funds Summary

Placeholder for donation/asset/amount table

The board voted to set all the awards, not just the research awards, at the winter meeting, to reduce confusion, and so the Publications Committee could know the amounts before the late spring board meetings. (Board minutes, 07/2016, 09.j)

VII.C Named Funds -- Development Goals

In collaboration with the Board, the Development Officer charts the Association’s course of fund developments. Below are goals for each fund (based on Target Award amounts being 4.5% of that Goal).

Placeholder for Fund Tracking Chart. Asterisk below relates to Amount in Fund category.

*As of March 2016. Goals were articulated and added to Fiscal Policies Handbook as part of the Development Officer’s plan (in consultation with the Board) to post fundraising meters to the MLA website. This table will be updated in summer/fall 2018.

VII.D Bradley Fund

The Carol June Bradley Award was suspended after the 2014 Annual Meeting, with a fundraising campaign to be initiated to bring the fund to $25,000 by 2019, at which point MLA would resume granting the award. (For the past few years, MLA had used Silent Auction proceeds to pay for the Bradley Award and to increase the principal in the fund, which currently was not generating enough income to pay for the award.) (Board minutes, 09/2013, 08.c)

VII.E Lenore Coral US-RILM FUnd

Donations made to the Lenore Coral US-RILM Fund are designated as temporarily restricted and are to be deposited in an appropriate investment vehicle. (Minutes, 10/2003, X.C)

VII.F Lenore Coral IAML Travel Grant

Usually offered biennially, in even numbered years, or more frequently at the discretion of the MLA Board of Directors. (Minutes, 06/2011, 09.1)

VII.G Epstein Fund

Beginning in the year 2025, the MLA Board of Directors will review the endowment every five years, and may extend the life of the endowment for an additional five years or may dissolve the endowment by transferring its assets to the general endowment of MLA.

Up to twenty-five (25) percent of the income generated from the endowment each year shall be added to the principal to offset inflation.

The remaining income will be devoted to grants-in-aid of research, but at the end of each year, all unexpended income will be added to the Endowment’s principal.

The MLA Administrative Officer will monitor the income from the endowment and will prepare annual reports on the income, expenditures, and principal and send copies to the Fiscal Officer and to the Epsteins.

The MLA Finance Committee will recommend an amount for the grant to the Board of Directors annually. This figure will be included in the annual announcement inviting applications.

(All of the above verbiage re: the Epstein award is excerpted from the Endowment Guidelines for the Fund, dated May 2, 1995)

VII.H Kevin Freeman Travel Grant

Winners of the Freeman Travel Grant will be granted free registration at annual meetings. (Minutes, 09/1996, XI.B.2) The wording of the first paragraph of the Call for Applications shall read: The Freeman Award provides a cash award of up to $750 for travel and a room at the convention hotel (at half of the double-occupancy rate). In addition, MLA will waive the conference registration fee. (Minutes, 10/2004, XI.B.3)

VII.I Gerboth Fund

Less than $1,000.00 can be awarded, but potential applicants need to know that they can apply if they need less than that. Applications should include a budget, and the budget should accompany the committee’s recommendation to the Board. (Minutes, 02/1992, VII.B.2.b)

VII.J Wicker Family Fund

Proceeds from the Wicker Family Fund shall be applied to the funding of the First Time Attendees reception at the annual meeting. (Minutes, 09/1998, IV.A.3.f.5)

VII.K Diversity Scholarship FUnd

Established in 2017. The winner of the 2017/2018 Award will receive a tuition stipend of $2,250. Until such time as it is possible to calculate the award amount from the five-year average according to the standard rubric, the average each year will be calculated according to the number of years of the scholarship’s existence that year. (Diversity Scholarship Award Criteria and Procedures; Board Minutes, 5/2017, 0.b)