Resources You Can Use
Reminder: Council Offices Closed for Wellness Week — June 30 - July 4
As schools close for summer vacation, it's a reminder that sometimes taking a break is necessary. We’re taking this to heart at the Council, where our office will be closed from June 30 through July 4, during our annual summer Wellness Week.
If you need anything from us, please reach out this week or when we return on July 7!
Legal Question of the Month with Staff Counsel Remy Barnwell
Question: We have a company that would like to create a scholarship fund for the employees of the company that are going on to college. Is this a sufficient size pool? Can return to work each summer be used as a requirement for multi-year scholarships?
Answer: As an initial matter, it’s important to note that employer-related scholarships (i.e., scholarships where the recipients are limited to either employees or children of employees) have special rules that govern their distribution. The size of the pool of potential recipients does matter but only after other criteria are met. The availability of the scholarship has to fall outside the pattern of employment — meaning continued employment cannot be a requirement of distribution, the grants may not represent compensation for future or past services, and the grants may not limit recipients to undertake studies or research primarily for the benefit of the employer.
So, the fund cannot require recipients to return to work each year for multi-year scholarships. The recipient’s studies also may not be limited to paying the apprenticeship fee or limiting the studies recipients undertake to only include those which benefit the company. Once those and a few additional requirements are met, then there is a percentage test for employer-related scholarships that are distributed to employees. In any given year, the percentage awarded may not exceed more than 10% of the (i) individuals who were eligible, (ii) actually applied, and (iii) were considered for the scholarship.
You may find the Mastering Foundation Law chapter on Scholarships helpful when answering some of your questions.
Council members are able to send their questions to our legal team for expert advice and analysis. You can take advantage of this member benefit by becoming a member today.
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CF Insights Highlight
Plus Members, Join Our First Peer Connections Event: Using Benchmarking Data to Keep Your Board Informed
How can community foundations leverage peer data to track their own progress toward the achievement of long-term operational goals, and what are the most useful, relevant data points to package so that you and your board stay on the same page?
On July 24th at 2p.m. ET, join Elizabeth Day, the President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Frederick County, for an interactive, peer roundtable discussion about how you can use CF Insights benchmarking data to compare your own community foundation’s performance to peers and track progress over time, and explore the best ways to package that data to put your board in the best position to help make informed, impactful decisions. Register today to be sure you don't miss it!
If you’re ever interested in learning more about Plus Membership or CF Insights, visit cof.org/cfinsights, or email cfinsights@cof.org.
NEW: Member Communications Briefings
We've launched a new monthly peer discussion open to communications staff to stay informed on developments in the field, including how the evolving policy environment may impact philanthropy and how we can move forward together. If you couldn't make it to our first session last week, join us and your communications peers at community foundations for our next session on August 20.
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