NEW LEGAL REQUIREMENTS

To be in compliance with Pension Protection Act of 2006 (H. R. 4), all funds under management at the Solano Community Foundation must abide by the following rules and regulations.

For Non-Scholarship Funds

1. Under the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (HR4), the Solano Community Foundation retains exclusive legal control over all fund assets.
2. All contributions to the Solano Community Foundation continue to be tax exempt if no goods or services were received in return.
3. Only grants recommended to qualified nonprofit organizations with current 501c3 determination letters from the IRS can be authorized.
4. No distributions may be made from any Fund to pay program expenses, including vendors, reimbursements or invoices.

For Scholarship Funds

1. All scholarship recipients must be selected by a committee, and it must be a competitive process.
2. The donors' advice is limited to his/her role of serving as a selection committee member.
3. The donors do not appoint a majority of the committee or otherwise control the committee directly or indirectly.
4. The selection committee must consist of a minimum of three individuals, two of them must be disinterested parties.
5. No applicant for a scholarship from this Fund may be in any way related to the Donors or agents of the Donors. Similarly, the Donors or Donors’ agents must not have any involvement in the financial or personal affairs of any applicant.
6. The Solano Community Foundation Board of Directors must appoint all members of the committee. Donors may make recommendations of committee members. These do not have to be named individuals, but instead may be titles or positions of individuals (e.g. school principal, guidance counselor, music teacher.)
7. The Foundation Board must approve procedures for selecting recipients insuring they are made on an objective and nondiscriminatory basis. A form detailing processes and procedures is attached as part of this Agreement.
8. The Foundation Board must annually review selection criteria and procedures.
9. All grants made from your Fund can only go to qualified nonprofit organizations (those with IRS 501c3 status in good standing). This means that your scholarships will be awarded to the institutions to which the students will be going, not to the individual student him/herself. At the time these grants are made, the Foundation will also send the institution a form they must complete, sign and return stating their acceptance of the requirement that they are responsible for sending the Foundation a transcript of the student's work at the end of the academic year in which the scholarship is awarded. We share those documents with the donors if desired.
10. Grants may not be made from your Fund to any vendors, nor can your Fund reimburse individuals for program expenses, nor pay expenses from invoices or purchase orders.
11. Grants may not fulfill pledges and/or be made to secure benefits from the distribution recipient.
12. Donors, advisors, or related parties may not receive grants, loans, compensation, or expense reimbursements from your Fund.