Bellevue College Foundation

“The form 990 draft is reviewed and approved by the finance committee. Upon approval, form 990 is distributed to all members of the board of directors for comment and questions prior to filing.”

“All officers, board members and board committee members,executive employees and any other manager or supervisor identified by the board of directors ("bod") or board president as exercising substantial influence over the operations of the bellevue college foundation are required to complete a conflict of interest questionaire ("coi")on an annual basis. New board members are asked to immediately submit their coi forms. The foundation reviews and retains the completed coi forms and investigates indentified conflicts. The foundation executive director investigates and discloses to the bod all conflicts of interest reported under this policy. The bod evaluates disclosures and material facts relating to the transaction or arrangement giving rise to the potential conflict of interest to determine whether an actual conflict of interest exists and to develop alternatives to remove any conflict from a transaction or arrangement. An individual who has an actual or potential conflict of interest shall not be present for this discussion unless required to make a presentation, provide additional facts or answer questions. Resolution to a disclosed conflict will be based on the specific facts and circumstances of the situation and may include suspension from voting or participating in decisions with regard to the conflict transaction. Every board meeting agenda includes a written statement asking board members to inform bcf of any changes which may present a potential conflict of interest and to submit updated coi forms to document the changes so they may be evaluated.”

“Compensation for the executive director and finance director of bellevue college foundation is set and revised not by the foundation but by the trustees of bellevue college, a separate but financially interrelated public agency. The executive director and financie director of the foundation are employees of bellevue college and perform varying percentages of their work for the college. The foundation reimburses the college for a portion of these employees' time spent on the foundation's work but does not separately provide compensation directly to the individuals. The college trustees base their approval of compensation on surveys of the responsibilities, duties and compensation of persons in comparable positions inside and outside the system of washington state community and technical colleges, washington state employees as a whole, and the broader spectrum of similar positions in the seattle metropolitan area. This periodic survey is conducted by a professional firm specializing in the area of compensation reviews. Meetings of the trustees are open to the public and minutes are kept of all actions.”

“All applicable tax forms - forms 1023 and 990 are available upon request in our offices during normal business hours. In addition, the foundation's governing documents, conflict of interest policy and financial statements are also available for review upon request in our office during normal business hours. Some or all of these documents may also be available at our website at www.bellevuecollege.edu/foundation.”

“Income from funds held and managed by outside organization: the seattle foundation holds, invests and manages the baz fund endowment for the sole benefit of bellevue college foundation in support of student scholarships and program enhancements in the bellevue college interior design program. The seattle foundation reports the corpus value of the endowment to be $2,100,958. The fund is included as part of "funds held in trust by unrelated outside organizations" in part ix of other assets on schedule d. Direct reports from the seattle foundation have only recently become available. Cumulated earnings held at the seattle foundation were $524,742 at 6/30/15.”

“Luncheon and other meeting expenses: bellevue college foundation sponsors an annual "become exceptional luncheon" to serve as a showcase for bellevue college, its students and their achievements and as an opportunity to encourage donations to the foundation. All luncheon costs are recorded as fundraising expense under conferences, conventions and meetings. Total luncheon expenses of $65,338 for the 2015 tax year include space rental, promotion and donor recognition of $40,569 meals and food service of $24,769. Additional, expenses of $3,619 were recorded under management and general expenses for supplies and refreshments for board of director and board committee meetings, workshops, receptions and other meetings.”

“Audit oversight and selection of independent accountant: the process has not substantially changed from the prior year. The finance committee annually appoints the independent accounting firm which is to perform the audit, meets with the auditors and approves the audited financial statements. At board discretion, the board of directors may also meet with the auditors and review the audited financial statements.”