The San Ramon Valley Education Foundation (SRVEF) is a Not-for-Profit Organization, operating as a 501(c) 3 under the approval of the Internal Revenue Service. SRVEF has been approved by both the IRS and the Franchise Tax Board to have unincorporated subordinates or affiliates, operating under it's Group Tax Exemption. Each year, each affiliate who wishes to operate under the umbrella of the SRVEF must agree to and sign our annual Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). The MOU has a number of requirements for each affiliate to follow and the SRVEF Board may cancel an Affiliates status based on failing to comply with the MOU.

Basic Requirements

  • Each Affiliate must have a set of By-laws that have been reviewed and approved by SRVEF
  • Each Affiliate must have a group of at least 7 individuals willing to serve as a Board of Directors and the Principal of the School must support the efforts of this group.
  • Each Affiliate has to agree to operate under any policies and/or guidelines that the SRVEF Board adopts as a whole and must operate in a manner that is consistent with SRVEF's purpose and be consistent with the rules for maintaining tax-exempt status.
  • The Funds of each affiliate need to be maintained in separate accounts from other funds at the school, such as the PTA or other school accounts.
  • SRVEF may require a cost share for expenses that are paid by SRVEF, but are for the benefit of all affiliates, such as General Liability Insurance and/or other costs that may come up.
  • Each Affiliate must provide a list of its current Board members and individuals authorized to sign on all Bank Accounts.
  • The Affiliate agrees to require two signatures on all banking transactions over $1,000 and that check signers shall not be related by blood, marriage or reside in the same household.
  • The Affiliate agrees to provide financial reports, tax returns and other documents as specified in the MOU to SRVEF.
  • The Affiliate agrees to provide insurance for all fundraising activities, naming the Foundation as additionally insured.
  • The Affiliate agrees to purchase bonding insurance for a minimum of $ 25,000. The bonding should cover all positions that will be handling money and/or are signatories on the Bank Accounts.
  • The Affiliate agrees to attend any meeting called by the SRVEF, a minimum of three meetings a year.
  • Allow SRVEF and/or the San Ramon Valley Unified School District to perform unannounced random audits of the affiliate's financial documents.
  • The affiliate working with its individual school may want to ensure that a lock-box and/or safe are available to safely lock up cash from events. Cash should be counted prior to being locked away and re-counted on removal from the secure location.

Required Financial Reports

The Treasurer/Financial Officer for the Affiliate shall provide for the affiliate board the following monthly financial reports:

  • A Balance Sheet (Statement of Position),
  • A Profit & Loss Report (Statement of Activities) which maybe combined with a Budget report and
  • A listing of all checks issued during that month, including the date, payee, amount and purpose,

SRVEF requires the following reports be submitted to the Foundation each year:

  • Balance Sheet (two times a year, as of December 31st and as of June 30th)
  • A profit and Loss Statement (twice a year, one covering July thru December and the other covering January thru June).
  • An Annual Budget (submitted by September 30th each year).
  • A copy of the Affiliate Tax Return (IRS 990, Franchise Tax Board 199 and Attorney General's RRF-1)
  • Internal Audit (two times a year, one covering the period July thru December and one covering the period January thru June).
  • The affiliate needs to notify SRVEF whenever it receives notices or letters from the IRS and/or Franchise Tax Board.

The Treasurer/Financial Officer should regularly reconcile all Bank Accounts and those reconciliations should be a part of the Internal Audit.

Basic Financial Procedures

Segregation of Duties

  1. Whenever possible the duties of receiving and recording financial information shall be separated, so as to provide protection for the volunteers, as well as the affiliate.
  2. Cash Handling - The handling of cash transactions should be controlled to minimize the opportunity for any one individual to have sole access to the cash, before it is counted and recorded. Activities that will generate regular cash contributions or volume should be controlled thru the use of tickets or other means so that cash is collected under the supervision of two individuals, preferably at a single location. All cash collected should be immediately counted and recorded and deposited.
  3. The collection of payments and/or donations thru checks and charges should be verified by the individual in charge of the activity and the Treasurer to ensure the prompt recording and depositing of funds in the affiliates bank accounts.
  4. Payments and/or donations that are received electronically should be verified whenever possible by the individual responsible for that transaction (i.e. eSCRIP) and the Treasurer.
  5. Checks and reimbursements should require receipts and/or back up documentation, two signatures and be regularly reported to the affiliate Board and recorded in the minutes of the fund. Individuals, who are approved check signers, should avoid being the second signer on checks made out to them.
  6. Bank Statements - shall be reviewed by an officer of the Board (other than the Treasurer) prior to their being given to the Treasurer for reconciliation process. This may be achieved thru the use of duplicate statements, mailing to a specific address (other than the Treasurer) or potentially electronic banking.
  7. Internal Audit - An individual, who can either be a Board member or an individual known to the affiliate board as a whole shall perform the internal audit of the books of the Treasurer. The audit shall consist of a review of all of the records for the time period, including, but not limited to, financial reports, bank statements and reconciliations, board minutes, cancelled checks and deposit information. The auditor shall issue a report and present in person that report to the full Board for adoption. Audits shall be done at a minimum twice a year (June thru December and January thru June), but shall be done if there is a change in any of the Check signers on the account and/or at a request of any Board member
    8.

Reports

  1. Budget - Each Affiliate shall develop and approve a budget for each year of operation. This budget should include the events and activities that the affiliate is planning on holding for the year, as well as any expected expense items for each activity and for general expenses (tax returns, supplies, postage, etc.). A copy of the budget should be sent to SRVEF by September 30th of each school year.
  2. Balance Sheet (Statement of Position) - This report shows the Asset and Liability and Net Worth for each affiliate at the end of each month. It should show all of the bank accounts of the affiliate. This report should be provided to the Affiliate Board each month and be sent to SRVEF after December and June are completed.
  3. Profit & Loss Statements (Statement of Activities) - This report shows the activities of the affiliate each month, including revenue received by category and expenses disbursed by category. Ideally, this report is combined with the budget to allow the affiliate to evaluate their progress to meeting the budget set for the year. This report is due to the SRVEF for the periods July thru December and January thru June. These reports should be run for each month and distributed to the affiliate board.
  4. Disbursements report (check register) should be distributed to the affiliate each month, showing the checks written, date, amount and payee. Those disbursements should be recorded in the minutes each month.
  5. Event/Activity reports - Each affiliate board should get a report at the conclusion of an event/activity (including registration) that indicates the revenue received due to the activity and any expenses against it. Those reports should match the financial reports of the organization.
  6. Tax Reports - The Affiliates of the SRVEF have all exceeded the minimum threshold that requires tax forms to be filed each year. Each Affiliate must file its own IRS Form 990, State Tax Form 199 (including a copy of the 990) and the Form RRF-1. These forms are required to be filed by November 15th of each year, if the affiliate opts to file an extension to complete the forms, a copy of that extension must be sent to SRVEF by November 30th of each that year. Copies of all Tax Forms are required to be submitted to SRVEF, no later than December 31st of each year. SRVEF believes that it maybe in the interest of each affiliate to have the tax forms prepared by an outside tax expert.
    7.

Internal Audit

The internal audit is a review of the books of the Treasurer of each affiliate. It usually covers a six month period (July thru December or January thru June). The goal is to verify the information provided and provide reasonable assurance for both the Treasurer and the Affiliate Board that everything is in order.

The Audit shall review the books of the Treasurer, which usually consist of a General Ledger (showing all accounts for the period); all bank statements and reconciliations, deposit tracking and slips and canceled checks, including those that have been void. The auditor should also review the minutes of the affiliate board to ensure that all transactions have been reported. The affiliates operate on a cash basis, so the audit is of each bank account (checking, savings or investment). It begins with the cash balance at the start of the period, records all income received and checks disbursed and accounts for any in transit transactions (deposits or checks that have not cleared) to get to an ending cash balance, which should agree with the Bank Reconciliations and the reports as of December 31st and June 30th. The audit should also verify that all bank statements have been reviewed, that two signatures were on all checks, review documentation (receipts) for all checks, but especially those that are made out to check signers.

The Auditor shall provide both a written report and a presentation in person to the Affiliate Board for any questions and approval/acceptance of the Audit. The Audit can also make comments on areas that might need improvement or that appear fine, but might cause problems in the future. Once the audit has been accepted by the affiliate board a copy of it is forwarded to SRVEF.

Back to Top
 
   
 
© Copyright 2008