Young Americans Center for Financial Education

“The Board of the Young Americans Center for Financial Education is the same as for the Young Americans Education Foundation and the Young Americans Bank. The Bank was founded by Bill Daniels. In order for the Bank to obtain a charter, Bill Daniels had to personally guarantee the losses. Since his death, the Daniels Fund, a private foundation created by Bill Daniels, has guaranteed the Bank's losses. Since the Daniels Fund has a significant stake in the operations of the Bank, they have requested a designated seat on the Bank's board to ensure that they have appropriate oversight of the funds provided. Young Americans has designated one seat for a Daniels Fund individual.”

“The Center engages an accounting firm to prepare the 990. Management works closely with the firm during the preparation and provides various schedules. A draft is provided to management, who conducts a review and verifies that the information in the return is consistent with organizational records. After management's review is completed, the draft 990 is provided to the Board of Directors for review. The Board of Directors reviews it and any questions identified are resolved. Once the Board is satisfied with the draft return, a member of the Board provides a summary of the return and highlights any relevant or significant items. The Board then has the ability to raise any additional questions. Once the Board is satisfied, the draft 990 is then approved and provided in final form to management, signed and submitted to the Internal Revenue Service.”

“The Young Americans conflict of interest policy requires that the Board and key employees disclose any conflicts annually. The annual disclosure forms are obtained and reviewed by the secretary of the Board who makes a summary of any disclosed conflicts. Annually, the Board reviews and approves any relevant conflicts. The organization is small enough and the Board and key employees are well versed in the conflict rules, that an annual review/disclosure has been deemed sufficient. Annually, each employee of the organization receives a copy of the policy and also submits a conflict of interest disclosure form. The organization's executive management has a heightened awareness and ability to identify conflicts and ensure that the policy is complied with (e.i., looks for possible conflicts with new vendors). Additionally, the Secretary of the Board has been assigned responsibility for ensuring that all of the forms are obtained and reports to the CEO when that has been accomplished, and provides a summary of conflicts, if any.”

“15a. The Executive Committee is responsible for reviewing and recommending changes related to the CEO/President's compensation. Annually, the Executive Committee completes a review (which is provided to the full Board) and recommends compensation adjustments to the full Board. The full Board discusses and approves the review and recommendation. All activities are documented in the Executive Committee minutes. The salary adjustment is not made in the payroll system until the Board's approval has been obtained. In determining the appropriate compensation range, adequate comparability data is obtained. Periodically, the ranges for all of the positions in the organization undergo an external review for appropriateness. The management team/key employees are the same for Young Americans Education Foundation, Young Americans Center for Financial Education and Young Americans Bank (which is an FDIC insured bank for individuals under the age of 22 whose purpose is to educate children on banking products). Due to the significant regulatory side of the banking business, the CEO of Young Americans must have a background in both banking and non-profit management. As such, the appropriate range for the CEO/President is a blend of CEO salaries for banks and non-profits. The Executive Committee reviewed all of the salary ranges (including the CEO's) for appropriateness during the annual review conducted in December 2013. 15b. The CEO/President is responsible for the evaluation and salary recommendations for the vice presidents (including the Treasurer/VP of Finance and the Secretary/VP of Bank). Again, adequate comparability data is obtained. Based on the data, the VP of Administration creates a range for each position. Periodically, the ranges undergo an external review. The last review was completed in 2013 and issued in 2014. The table is provided to the CEO/President and approved by the Executive Committee. The CEO/President conducts the annual review of the Vice Presidents and makes salary recommendations consistent with the salary tables, which are approved by the Executive Committee.”

“The organization's governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are made available to the public upon request. Each year, a packet is prepared which includes the relevant information and is distributed when requested.”

“The difference in the number of voting and independent board members relates to the President/CEO. Per the 990 instructions, members who receive compensation from the organization or from related organizations are not considered independent. Because the President/CEO is a salaried position, by definition he is not considered independent.”

“This process has not changed since the prior tax year.”

“Three of the programs, Young AmeriTowne, International Towne, and Rural Young AmeriTowne, require a large amount of space to operate. Young Americans Education Foundation (the Foundation), a related entity, owns the three buildings that the Center uses to run the programs. The buildings are located in Denver, Lakewood and Wray, Colorado. The Foundation provides the spaces at no cost to the Center. As such, the Center has recognized in-kind rent in the 2013 audited financial statements totaling $951,936 for the free use of the facilities. However, this in-kind revenue and expense is excluded on the tax return.”