Jumpstart Inc.

“Jumpstart's sole members are teamneo (formerly northeast ohio technology coalition or nortech) and case western reserve university who may appoint one trustee per each member to the board of directors.”

“Refer to response regarding members.”

“Process used to review the form 990: copies of the completed forms are provided to the members of the finance and audit committee and a meeting is held prior to the filing of the returns. The managing partner, operations and partner, finance operations present the returns for review and comment by the committee. The auditors prepare the return and are invited to the meeting with attendance at their discretion. All pertinent form responses and financial schedules are presented for comment and explanation. Upon full review and approval by the committee the returns are shared with the full board of directors and approved for filing, which will take place on a timely basis subsequent to the approval.”

“Compliance with conflict of interest policy: jumpstart staff and board of directors follow its conflict of interest procedure throughout the year. After an initial review by the managing partner, operations, the finance/audit committee of the board of directors reviews all staff and board conflict of interest disclosure forms to determine any that may warrant further investigation or internal control steps. In the event there are any, these steps are communicated to the board and staff so that all are aware of any potential conflicts that could arise during the normal course of business. If the conflict is such that an individual is deemed to be terminally conflicted, then that person must resolve the conflict which could mean steps up to and including resignation from the board of directors or employment with jumpstart inc. The most likely situation for an individual is a perceived conflict of interest which results in that individual disclosing this situation during the normal course of business, and subsequently recusing themselves from a vote or decision of the organization. The organization and its staff has a history of active monitoring of such situations. In the case of the board of directors and its committees, the minutes from meetings and voting records identify when a member recuses themselves due to perceived conflicts of interest. In the case of staff, it is common for an employee to contact their supervisor and the managing partner, operations when a question arises. The issue is discussed and in most cases the managing partner, operations provides the employee with an interpretation and instructions on how to proceed based upon the description of the situation. These activities take place via conversations as well as digitally at times using e-mail. If a situation is complex or unclear, it is elevated to the finance/audit committee for a decision with e-mail being the usual vehicle to do so. The organization also conducts annual training on compliance with our conflict of interest polices and educates new employees during orientation on all internal controls related to conflict of interest, ethics, whistleblowers, fraud prevention and accounting policies.”

“Determining compensation of ceo, executive director, or top management official: the compensation committee of jumpstart's board of directors is responsible for approving the entire organization's compensation each year. The compensation committee is made up of independent board directors and no organization staff. For the senior staff of the organization, the committee gathers comparable salary data from similar organizations as well as budget information for these. Annual salary and performance compensation survey results published by professional staffing organizations is used by the committee. Additionally, the committee has engaged with outside compensation consultants periodically to perform a compensation analysis. The salary and performance compensation history for any position being evaluated is also shared with the committee so that the historical total compensation progression can be taken into account when considering any changes going forward. The committee analyzes all data and meets with the jumpstart ceo to gain an understanding of the organization's recommended salary for the next budget year based on all factors including achievement of individual and organizational objectives, supervisory reviews and recommendations, and any other circumstances presented. Once this is done, the committee retreats and independently renders its recommendation for compensation for all staff and communicates that recommendation to the ceo and independently to the payroll department of the organization.”

“Jumpstart shares information that falls within parameters agreed upon by our funders, clients and portfolio companies. The most recently filed form 990 is posted on jumpstart's website. Governing documents and policies are not generally available to the general public, although the ohio secretary of state website provides public access to jumpstart's governing documents.”