Sme Education Foundation

“Sme is the sole shareholder of sme education foundation.”

“All elected directors are approved by the sme executive compensation committee and serve at the pleasure of the shareholder, sme.”

“The sme-ef bylaws are reviewed and approved by the sme executive compensation committee.”

“Sme and sme-ef utilize an independent accounting firm to complete the form 990 and related schedules. A detailed review of the federal form 990 is performed by the chief financial officer and the chief executive officer of sme and sme-ef. When the return is finalized, it is presented to the executive director/ceo for discussion and review and all comments are addressed. The return is then presented to the sme/sme-ef's combined audit committee of the board of directors for approval, as delegated per the governing bodies. The signed return is made available to all board members prior to filing.”

“All employees sign a disclosure form when they are hired and are reminded of the policy annually. If a conflict arises, they are evaluated by the vice president, human resources and the sme executive director/ceo. Corrective action is taken if required.”

“All sme-ef staff are employed by sme, which also provides access to employee benefit plans. Sme-ef reimburses sme for its employee costs. Benchmark studies have been performed when determining the compensation to be paid to the sme ceo/executive director and all top management. A third party performed an independent assessment using multiple local and national surveys. Target compensation is based on these benchmark studies. The executive compensation committee conducts an annual performance review for the ceo/executive director against previously set objectives. The ceo/executive director conducts an annual performance review of all top management against previously set objectives. Merit increases are awarded annually by the executive compensation committee for the ceo/executive director and all top management, based on performance reviews. Executive incentives are awarded based on the executive incentive plan.”

“Sme-ef makes its conflict of interest policy, articles of incorporation and audited financial statements available to the general public upon request. Electronic and printed copies are both available.”

“Allocation of compensation among organization and related org. The executive director & ceo and cfo provide services to both sme-ef and society of manufacturing engineers, a related organization who also serves as the common paymaster. Additionally, the vice president, sme-ef and educational programs officer perform work solely for sme-ef, but are compensated by society of manufacturing engineers. Compensation for the executive director & ceo and cfo has been reported in part vii, column (e) as paid by a related organization, in accordance with irs instructions. Compensation for the vp, sme ef and director, education programs has been reported as paid by the sme-ef, in accordance with the 990 filing instructions, since 100% of their time is spent on the filing organization.”

“E. To conduct any and all such activities and exercise any and all such powers as are necessary or desirable to the achievement of the foregoing and furtherance of the purposes of the corporation.”

“Number of employees on form w-3 the number of employees reported (11) corresponds to dedicated sme-ef employees, although all wage/w-3 reporting is solely through sme, the common paymaster. All sme-ef staff are employed by sme, which also provides access to employee benefit plans. Sme-ef reimburses sme for its employee costs.”