Rules and Restrictions for the Distribution of Funds

All proposals for financial or other support will be reviewed and approved in accordance with the following rules: 

1. Individuals and organizations applying for financial assistance will be requested to make a certification stating that, to the applicant’s knowledge, no member of the Advocate has any significant financial interest in the organization seeking the assistance, or if it does, that such interest will be fully disclosed. 

2. All organizations to which the Advocate provides financial assistance will either have tax exemption under the provisions of Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or otherwise qualify as a charitable organization. It is the intent of the Community Engagement Group that all donations will be made to organizations and in a manner which will preserve the Advocate’s own tax exemption. The Community Engagement Group will obtain from each applicant and will provide to the Vestry information on the applicant’s charitable status. 

3. The Advocate will not provide financial assistance to organizations in which a member has a significant financial interest except:

by vote of the Vestry

after full disclosure by the interested party, and

with any interested party not participating in the required vote.

4. In any review and decision process for a request for financial assistance, Advocate members will abstain from voting or participating in deliberations on a proposal from any business or organization by which they are employed, on whose board they serve, for which they act as consultant or in which they have a significant financial interest, unless specifically requested to comment by the Community Engagement Group or the Vestry. 

5. No member of the Advocate shall be considered eligible for financial assistance other than assistance that is:

Salary or compensation for employment or contracted services rendered which are approved by a majority vote of the disinterested Vestry members; or

reimbursement for reasonable expenses incurred in the course and scope of their service as a member of the Advocate, or

approved by the Vestry, or

offered equally to each member of the Advocate; or

offered through the presiding priest’s discretionary fund.

6. For the purposes of this policy, “significant financial interest” shall include compensated employment or contractual services by the interested member with the applicant organization; receipt or likely receipt of financial assistance from the applicant organization; investment by the interested member in the applicant organization; an investment in the applicant organization by any entity with which the interested member is affiliated; a proposed investment in the applicant organization being considered by the interested member or any entity with which the individual is affiliated. For the purposes of this policy, “significant financial interest” shall not include any investment which both constitutes less than 1% of the ownership of the applicant organization and has a market value of less than $10,000.00. 

7. Any proprietary information contained in financial assistance requests made to the Community Engagement Group will be reviewed only by a committee created by the Community Engagement Group, shall not be communicated to anyone other than the Vestry, and shall be kept in strictest confidence. 

8. In making decisions or recommendations to the Vestry regarding financial assistance, the responsible Community Engagement Group Vestry liaison must certify that the financial assistance proposal satisfies the terms of this Policy.

9. The Community Engagement Group recognizes that Advocate members and, specifically, members of the Community Engagement Group, may from time to time serve upon the boards of, or have a financial or other personal investment in, other organizations, and that in order to carry out its organizational purposes, the Advocate may from time to time receive and act upon financial assistance proposals from such organizations. This Policy shall not prohibit action on such proposals so long as the terms of this policy are complied with.