Minutes of 5-28-2013

The Excelsior Rotary Foundation Board of Trustees Meeting of May 28, 2013

The Meeting was Called to Order (1.0) by Chair Don Draayer at 1:10PM at Bay View Event Center on Tuesday, May 28, 2013.  In attendance were trustees Don Draayer (Chair), Randy Schumacher (Treasurer), Trustees Dave Peterka and Terry Roeser, President Tim Litfin, President Elect Molly Swenson and Steve Frazier (Secretary).   

Action on Minutes (2.0) was discussed and Dave Peterka moved and was seconded by Terry Roeser to accept the minutes of March 19, 2013as written and the motion was accepted unanimously.  

The Treasurer’s Report (3.0)   The Treasurer’s Report began with a review of the FUND ANALYSIS REPORT (3.1) by Treasurer Randy Schumacher who indicated that the Bank  Report for May showed that there was $28,375.38 in Checking; $14,246.51 in Savings; and as of 3-31-2013 the Investment Account had $82,731.24 in it.  Randy noted that the stock market is doing well and so is our fund. 

As the Trustees reviewed the Fund Analysis Report by line items, it was noted that the FUND ANALYSIS has a placeholder for scholarships but not the actual names of students who are given scholarships at the end of the fiscal year, nor whether the scholarship money to them is marked UNPAID or PAID.  That makes it difficult to adjudicate reported Foundation bank balances in checking and savings with the FUND ANALYSIS REPORT. 

Chair Don Draayer suggested that when the scholarship placeholder dollars are actually awarded to students, that the individual student names be shown on rows within the FUND ANALYSIS REPORT and be marked UNPAID or PAID, as the case may be.  It was agreed that Treasurer Randy Schumacher, President- Elect Molly Swenson and former Treasurer Dean Friesen meet to reconcile the accounts in the Fund Analysis Report and Foundation balances.  Treasurer Schumacher said he would correct the format issues and send for attachment to these minutes (Attachment 1). 

Chair Draayer shared his desire to have the FUND ANALYSIS be more descriptive and transparent and thus to maintain and build trust within the Club and among contributing community members that the expenditure of their charitable dollars are completely transparent and in keeping with the fiduciary responsibilities of the Foundation Board, which hopefully will result in more bequests by Rotarians and community members to the Foundation in the future. 

Randy noted that the Litfin Presidency had $906.74 remaining in it (Line Item #64).  Trustees also noted that the FUND ANALYSIS REPORT under the ANNUAL FUND for 2012-2013 (Tim Litfin’s year) had $6,000 reserved as a placeholder for SCHOLARSHIPS.  Trustees received the recommendation from the Club Board that $4100 be allocated for STRIVE SCHOLARSHIPS and $1900 for MAKE A DIFFERENCE SCHOLARSHIPS, thus spending the total $6,000.00 held in escrow within the Foundation Fund for 2012-2013.  Randy said he received the specific names of scholarship winners and will include them in future FUND ANALYSIS REPORTS as paid/unpaid, as the case may be.

Noted in the previous discussion was the situation that the total scholarship commitments from the Rotary Club Board for 2012-2013 exceeded $6,000.00 by $1,100 due to an inadvertent error that the MAKE A DIFFERENCE SCHOLARSHIPS would be repeated into the student’s 2^nd year of schooling.  Since this additional expenditure of $1,100 would exceed the $6,000 within the Foundation Fund escrow for scholarships, the Club Board had decided to pay the overage of $1,100 out of the HAPPY BUCKS EDUCATION and SCHOLARSHIP FUND.

Next and continuing the Treasurer’s Report (3.2) the trustees deliberated and took action on two requests from the Rotary Club Board of Directors for Charity Expenditures (3.2):

Proposal #1:  Fund the STRIVE Scholarships for 2013.                                                       PROPOSAL #1: On May 28, 2013, Frazier moved, Roeser seconded that the STRIVE Scholarships in the amount of $4100 be allocated from the Litfin Administration (line #56) and had been recommended by the Rotary Club Board.   STRIVE Coordinator Dick Glover had submitted the request with names to Treasurer Schumacher but no formal Fund Request Form was supplied.  The Trustees discussed the importance of documentation and how the Charitable Proposal Packet (to be discussed later in the meeting) will make the process much easier and clearer next year.  With that the Chair called for a vote and Proposal #1 carried unanimously.  

Proposal #2:  Fund Request for Make A Difference Scholarships.                                             PROPOSAL #2:   On May 28, 2013, Roeser moved, Peterka seconded that The Excelsior Rotary Foundation fund $1900 (Line Item # 56) towards the Make a Difference Scholarships with one of the recipients receiving $1500 and the other recipient to receive $400 (with the remaining $1,100 of the scholarship coming from the Happy Bucks Fund on the Club side of the ledger) and after discussion the motion carried unanimously.      

Treasurer Schumacher brought forward two other requests that he had received from former STRIVE Students requesting payment that had been granted in previous president’s years.  Having no record of specific STRIVE recipients within the FUND ANALYSIS REPORT under former year’s Presidents, the Treasurer was in a quandary about honoring the monetary requests.   Chair Draayer suggested that he would contact STRIVE Coordinator Dick Glover to work with him to form a list of STRIVE Scholarship recipients designated by Presidential years and if the awarded scholarships are PAID or UNPAID.  The Trustees discussed the need for a future discussion and formation of a policy that prescribes how long scholarship awards would be held for a winner.

At this point the Trustees continued their review of the Fund Analysis and discussed the Sherwood Fund (Line Items #98-103) to add a line item of the net amount remaining in the Sherwood Fund and then a line item for the Net Total General Fund.  Treasurer Schumacher indicated that he would add that change and have it ready in Attachment #1 to the Minutes.                      

The Treasurers Report (3.3) continued with Treasurer Schumacher circulating a Profit and Loss Statement that included Reconciliation Detail and an accounting of all transactions of the Foundation from 7-1-2012 to 5-27-2013.  Schumacher indicated that the upcoming meeting  Chair Draayer, President – Elect Swenson and Dean Friesen should result in final justification of all funds in the Foundation.  Chair Draayer reinforced the need to get all of the funds justified and reconciled so that incoming President Swenson knows what she has to work with and in the formation of her budget. 

Old Business (4.0) was the final review of the “Rotary’s Charitable Proposal Packet that includes a brief history of Rotary and the Excelsior Rotary Foundation, the two steps and two tracts for proposals, guidelines to be met and the actual “Expense Request Form”.  Chair Draayer discussed the importance of members being able to differentiate between requesting Track #1 funds acted upon by the Club Board and that of requesting Track #2 “charitable” funding through the foundation and that charitable funding must meet the criteria set forth in the Foundations Guidelines.  The Trustees discussed a previous proposal by President Litfin – subsequently withdrawn -- to use Foundation dollars for member year-end awards and how that that did not meet the Track #2 criteria for a charitable project.  Legal Advisor Gary Thompson concurred that club member recognition awards was not a charitable donation and thus did not meet the guidelines of the Foundation nor would it be acceptable to the IRS.

Chair Draayer polled the Trustees about the inclusion of the “Budget Overview Sheet” within the Rotary’s Charitable Proposal Packet.  All the Trustees agreed that it should be included so as to help members differentiate those funds that are part of the club and those that are separate and different from those of the Foundation.  The Trustees reviewed the Budget Overview Sheet and inserted an editorial change for the title of “Happy Bucks Education and Scholarship Fund.”  Steve Frazier moved and was seconded by Terry Roeser to adopt the “Rotary Charitable Proposal Packet” with the inclusion of the Budget Overview Sheet as amended and dated with Foundation acceptance on 5-28-2013.  The packet will now go to the Club Board for their review and action to use this process in making charitable proposals.

New Business (5.0) consisted of the Setting the Meeting Calendar Dates for 2013-14 (5.1) and to review the Master Calendar Checklist (5.2).

The Meeting Calendar Dates for 2013-14 (5.1) was reviewed by the Trustees and Roeser made the motion and was seconded by Schumacher to adopt the meeting schedule for the Rotary Foundation Year of 2013-14.

REGULAR MEETING SCHEDULE 2013-2014

THE EXCELSIOR ROTARY FOUNDATION BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Tuesday, July 23, 2013, 1:00 pm, BAYVIEW

August – no regular Board meeting

Tuesday, September 24, 2013, 1:00 pm, BAYVIEW

Tuesday, October 22, 2013, 12:00 noon

ANNUAL MEETING WITH ROTARY CLUB MEMBERS

Tuesday, November 19, 2013, 1:00 pm, BAYVIEW

December – no regular Board meeting

Tuesday, January 21, 2014, 1:00 pm, BAYVIEW

February – no regular Board meeting

Tuesday, March 18, 2014, 1:00 pm, BAYVIEW

April – no regular Board meeting

Tuesday, May 27, 2014, 1:00 pm, BAYVIEW

June – no regular Board meeting

The final New Business item 5.2 was to review the Master Calendar Checklist.  It was the consensus of the Trustees that this document is a helpful guide for present and future foundation members to remind them actions that need to be taken throughout the Rotary Foundation Year.

There being no further business Roeser moved to adjourn (6.0) and was seconded by Frazier and the motion carried unanimously.

The Next Foundation meeting will be on Tuesday, July 23, 2013 at 1:00 at Bay View Event Center (6.1).

Respectfully submitted by Steve Frazier, Rotary Foundation Secretary 2012-13.