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frequently asked questionsof the ruritan foundation Are donations to the Foundation tax deductible? Yes. The Foundation is a 501-C-3 organization so contributions are tax deductible if you itemize expenses. Who manages the Foundation? The Foundation is managed by the National Office staff under the direction of 5 Foundation Trustees. Foundation Trustees are elected by the delegates to the National Convention for a 5 year term. A trustee is elected each year and must be a member in good standing of Ruritan while serving on the Foundation Board. What is the purpose of the Ruritan National Foundation? As stated in Article VII, Section C of the Constitution of Ruritan National, the purpose of the Ruritan National Foundation is to manage and maintain a trust for the encouragement, promotion, and financing of the charitable, educational, and benevolent principles and activities of Ruritan Clubs and Ruritan National. How do I get additional information about the Foundation? Contact the Ruritan National Foundation at Ruritan National. You can call, write, or email the National Office. Also, there are 5 National Foundation Trustees that will be happy to help you as well as District Foundation Promotion Chairs in each district. Foundation information is in the Club Officer Handbook and the District Officer Handbook. What programs are currently supported by the Foundation? The Foundation currently has an education fund to provide funding for individuals that wish to be educated beyond the high school level. This is the largest fund and primary emphasis of the Foundation. The Foundation also has the Operation We Care (OWC) program that is designed to collect and distribute funds for emergencies. The Foundation has collected funds for Habitat for Humanity, the Statue of Liberty fund, the D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, and other worthwhile charities as endorsed by the Foundation Trustees. What is done with the donations made to the Foundation? Funds donated to the educational fund are used for increasing the fund that generates income for student grants. This is the largest portion of the Foundation and income from this fund is used for administrative expenses of the Foundation and student grants. Currently the Foundation plans to give 425 Double Your Dollar Grants, a maximum of 40 regular Educational Grants, and several special Foundation grants annually. The number of grants given is based on the income of the Foundation as well as contributions received. Funds donated to OWC are collected by the Foundation and distributed as requested by the District Governor or Area Zone Governor or their designee. These funds are distributed in areas where a National or State emergency has been declared. OWC does not have a large trust fund, it simply collects and distributes money as needed. The Trustees made a $13,000 grant from OWC funds to the areas of Tennessee and Missouri hit by tornadoes in 2006. The Trustees met shortly after hurricane Katrina and immediately established a program for clubs and individuals to donate to the relief programs. Funds donated to the D-Day Memorial are collected by the Foundation and distributed at least annually to the Memorial. What is the Double Your Dollar Program? This is a program that was established by the Foundation and is reviewed annually for continuation. This program for 2007 will give 425 grants to the first 425 clubs that sent $300 to the Foundation in 2006 or were a carry over from the 2006 program. A maximum of 157 clubs will be carried over from the 2006 program. All of these grants were taken in period of days. If a club is one of the 425, it will select a student to receive a $600 grant in 2007. For your $300 investment, a student of your club’s choice will get a $600 grant. This is a very popular program and has all grants taken in a short period of time. A change for 2006 was to allow clubs that are not in the first 400 to leave their $300 with the Foundation and they will be the first clubs qualified for the 2007 Double Your Dollar program. There is no additional investment required by the club. The deadline for contributing to the 2007 program is September 1, 2006. What is a Tom Downing Fellow? A Tom Downing Fellow is a person that has had a $500 dollar one time donation made in their name. A club, an individual, or a group of people can make this donation. The only requirement is the donation has to be made at one time. The person selected for this honor receives a plaque and a pin with Tom Downing on it. This is a great way to honor a person and help the Ruritan Foundation at the same time. How are students selected to receive a Foundation Grant? Students have to submit an application provided by the Ruritan National Foundation. This application asks for basic financial information, a copy of the student’s transcript, two recommendation letters from Ruritan members, and a community service form. This application must be completed and submitted to the Foundation by April 1. The Trustees meet in April to determine funds available for grants and to select the students with the greatest need. Grant requests are judged based on income, number of family members in school, grade point average, college entrance test score, and community service. Students are notified of their selection for grants in May. The number of grants is based on available funds and is determined annually by the Trustees. Is it important to use the most current regular grant application? Yes. Applications change over time and a student without the most current application form may be doing more work than is necessary or may not have the necessary forms for current judging. If your clubs provide applications to schools, please be sure the most current applications are available. In 2006 the Foundation received some forms that were used in the early 1990’s. While we try to make adjustments it is not fair to these students. Please contact your local schools and provide them the current applications. Applications are available from the Ruritan National Foundation Office. What is a Permanent Fund? A Permanent Fund is a fund that has a balance of at least $1,000. This fund can be started with any donation. A record is maintained of donations until the fund has a balance of $1,000. Once the $1,000 level is achieved, the fund is permanently listed as a Foundation Fund. A Permanent Fund can be named for an individual, a club, or other organization as designated by the donor. While $1,000 establishes a permanent fund, you can continue to donate to the fund after it attains permanent status. This is a way to assure more students have opportunities to have Foundation grants. What is a Cornerstone Fund? A Cornerstone Fund is a fund of at least $5,000 donated over a period of time. This fund is a way for a donor to provide additional funding to the Foundation for its purposes. If a donor wishes to start a Cornerstone Fund, there are matching funds available for the first donation of up to $500 once a fund has been declared a Cornerstone Fund. What is a Friend of the Foundation Fund? A Friend of the Foundation Fund (FOF) is a fund of at least $10,000 that is donated over a period of time. Once a fund is designated a FOF and reaches the $10,000 level, a club can select two or more applicants annually for 10 years for a grant of 5% of the donated fund balance. At the end of the 10 year period, the FOF fund can be renewed for two additional five year periods at the request of the donor and approval of the Foundation. The Foundation Trustees will make the final selection of the individual to receive the grant. Full details on this program are available from the National Foundation Office. What is a Special Foundation Fund? A Special Foundation Fund is a one-time donation of at least $20,000. The donor and the Ruritan National Foundation will establish an agreement on grants generated by this fund. We currently have several of these funds. If you are interested in this type of fund please contact a Foundation Trustee or the Ruritan National Foundation Office. What is the College Partnership Program? The College Partnership Program is an agreement between the Foundation and select colleges to double the amount of the grant provided by the Foundation if the student attends the Partner College. For example, if a $600 grant is given to a student and that student attends Bluefield College, the amount of the grant is doubled to $1,200. A list of the Partner Colleges is available from the National Office. What are the eligibility requirements for the Presidential Freedom Scholarship? Students must meet the following eligibility requirements:
How can you use the Foundation Double Your Dollar grant for the matching funds requirement of the Presidential Freedom Scholarship? The Double Your Dollar grant will qualify for the matching funds requirement since the grant is based on a contribution from the local club. The requirements for a matching grant are shown below. In order for a student to receive the $500 scholarship from the Corporation for National and Community Service, the school must first obtain local scholarship funds - matching funds - of at least $500. The intent of requiring the local matching funds is to encourage strong partnerships between schools and communities and to clearly communicate the community's support and appreciation for the community service that its youth accomplish. Matching funds from the community may come from the school, local businesses, nonprofit organizations, or civic groups. Matching funds for one student may come from multiple sources. The funds should be provided to the student directly, preferably at the time of recognition. Please do not send funds directly to the Presidential Freedom Scholarships. Where is more information available on the Presidential Freedom Scholarship program? Additional information is available by going to the Presidential Freedom Scholarship web site, http://www.nationalservice.org/scholarships. Why is the Foundation considering changing to the Ruritan National Foundation, Inc.? The Foundation Trustees have looked at the legal status of the existing Foundation and have been informed that the Foundation is currently an unincorporated association. This type of organization has served Ruritan well in the past but the Trustees feel that incorporation is in the best interest of Ruritan National and the Foundation. Incorporation will clarify the relationship between Ruritan National and the Foundation. The Ruritan National Foundation, Inc. will have Ruritan National as its sole member. Incorporation will provide an additional layer of protection for Ruritan National assets and Foundation assets. Currently, if a judgment exceeds the assets of Ruritan National, the assets of the Foundation would be available to satisfy the judgment. The same is true if a judgment exceeded the assets of the Foundation then the assets of Ruritan National could be used to satisfy the judgment. In addition, incorporation of the Foundation will provide additional protection for the Foundation Trustees. Currently, the Trustees are personally liable in event of suit against the Foundation. The National Board of Directors approved incorporation of the Foundation in March of 2006. The delegates to the 2007 National Convention in Louisville, Kentucky will be voting on incorporation of the Foundation. If the Foundation were incorporated, would the current 501-C-3 status be in jeopardy? No. The current 501-C-3 designation would remain in effect for the current Foundation. The Ruritan National Foundation, Inc. will request a 501-C-3 designation by the IRS and will not accept funds until this designation is received from the IRS. The Ruritan National Counsel as well as an attorney for a firm that represents a number of non-profit groups has assured us that it should not be difficult to be approved for 501-C-3 status. How would directors be elected for the Ruritan National Foundation, Inc.? Foundation directors would continue to be elected by the delegates to the Ruritan National Convention. Directors of the Foundation would continue to be called Foundation Trustees to avoid confusion with the Board of Directors of Ruritan National. Foundation directors would continue to be required to be active members of Ruritan Clubs. |