March of Dimes Foundation

“The march of dimes has a volunteer board of trustees who are considered members by the irs definition and have the authority to elect other members as well as make decisions which are subject to approval by other members.”

“The march of dimes irs form 990 is prepared by staff and reviewed by management. Upon its completion it is then reviewed by a paid preparer, the president and the foundation's audit committee of the board of trustees prior to electronically filing with the irs. The final form 990 is provided to all members of the board prior to electronically filing with the irs.”

“Annually the march of dimes asks their board members and officers (both national and chapter) to review and sign a conflict of interest policy. Volunteer board members are given a hard copy to sign. Employees access the foundation's intranet website to review and sign the policy. The foundation's legal counsel determines whether a conflict exists and resolves any actual conflicts. Any board members with a conflict in a matter requiring action by the board are prohibited from participating in the board's deliberations or decisions regarding the matter under consideration.”

“Determination of executive compensation at the march of dimes is a three stage process, designed to ensure an independent and transparent approach to the review of the march of dimes officers and ensure that their compensation reflects fair market value. The first stage of the process is performed by the executive compensation committee. The executive compensation committee was organized to clarify and simplify the compensation review process for the president, staff officers and key executive management. The committee is comprised of 4 independent trustees who meet annually to review and discuss the salary ranges for the president, staff officers and key executive management of the march of dimes, including merit, variable pay and benefits. It typically receives a benchmarking report from an outside consultant, which compares the compensation data to other similar charities. The committee then makes its recommendations to the executive committee. The second stage of the process is the presentation of the executive compensation committee's findings and recommendations to the executive committee. The executive committee considers and discusses the recommendations, and then takes a vote on compensation. The third stage is when the full board of directors is briefed on the executive committee's findings and conclusions. Minutes are taken contemporaneously to record the discussion and conclusions reached, and are kept on file. This process is in keeping with the march of dimes by-laws and the responsibilities of the executive committee, and also is intended to comport with regulations on intermediate sanctions promulgated by the irs.”

“The march of dimes foundation makes its annual report and irs form 990 accessible via our website, www.marchofdimes.org and upon request.”

“The Foundation has experienced a decrease in net assets in 2015 and 2014. Although a portion of the net asset change is related to changes in the pension and postretirement amounts in 2014, the cash used for operations during 2015 and 2014 was $23,286,000 and $16,664,000 respectively. The Foundation has undertaken a variety of steps to reduce the operating deficit and improve revenue. In 2014, a strategic realignment study began to look at how to best optimize revenues for the Foundation. In 2015, the plan was finalized and implementation began. In November 2015, headcount reductions were made and severance costs of approximately $2,200,000 were incurred. Additionally the pension plan was frozen to new accruals effective December 31, 2016. Management believes that the Foundation has sufficient liquidity through December 31, 2016 to support operations and continues to monitor the progress of the realignment.”

“LINE 9 OTHER CHANGES IN NET ASSETS THE OTHER CHANGES IN NET ASSETS IS MADE UP OF PENSION/POST RETIREMENT CREDITS of $19,409,152 AND LOSSES ON PRIOR YEAR PLEDGES OF $369,470. THE PENSION/POST RETIREMENT CREDITS AMOUNT IS THE NET RESULT OF INCREASES IN PREVAILING INTEREST RATES AND OTHER CHANGES IN PLAN ASSUMPTIONS THAT ARE USED TO VALUE PENSION LIABILITIES. FURTHER, A PLAN AMENDMENT IN 2015 CLOSED THE NON-CONTRIBUTORY DEFINED BENEFIT PLAN TO NEW BENEFIT ACCRUALS AFTER 12/31/16. THE IMPACT ON EXPENSE WILL BE RECOGNIZED OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL YEARS. SEE AUDITED FINANCIALS (NOTE 9) FOR MORE INFORMATION.”