Tau Beta Pi

$100,000 is the minimum amount needed.

The minimum gift for this initiative is $5,000 payable in one lump sum.

Gifts toward endowments are often a bit larger than gifts for an annual fund. If we begin to accept gifts toward this initiative in lower amounts, we would incur additional overhead in maintaining the accounting for the endowment. Gifts of less than $5,000 still support our chapters, but through our annual Alumni Giving Program.

The $100,000 for a chapter will be put into TBP's endowment. Our current annual payout is 5 percent of the 48-month rolling average of the value of the endowment. It is our hope that within a few years, the fund will pay out approximately $5,000 a year. As detailed in Curt's editorial (pages 4-5), this will provide permanent funding for students of the endowed chapter to attend the annual TBP Convention, receive officer leadership training through the District Program, obtain professional development through Engineering Futures, participate and facilitate K-12 MindSET activities, support Headquarters operations, and conduct chapter-directed activities on the college campus and in the local community. .

The contributions to the Chapter Endowment Initiative shall be added to Tau Beta Pi’s endowment as a permanently restricted portion of the endowment.

The distributed earnings of the above noted endowment will be used for:

• Attendance at the annual Tau Beta Pi Convention;
• Leadership training on campus and at regional conferences through the District Program;
• Professional development through the Engineering Futures Program;
• Funding for MindSET (our K-12 STEM outreach program);
• Headquarters operations; and
• Chapter-directed activities in the chapter, on the college campus, and in the local community.

Yes, pledges are being accepted; the minimum gift/pledge is $5,000. Larger gifts may be accepted over a period of 3-5 years. We will work with you to determine how a pledge may be set up to best suit your situation. For example, a gift of $25,000 could be made over five years at $5,000/year. We can also "back-end" or "front-load" pledges.

Yes, there are two distinct ways to create naming opportunities:

1. An individual, company, or foundation will be recognized with a minimum gift of $100,000.
2. A trusted advisor, former professor, or friend, etc., can be recognized, honored, or memorialized if a group of individuals pool their funding to reach a total of $100,000 within a one-year timeframe.

That is something we would like to happen! Our goal is to endow each chapter with a minimum of $100,000.

No, the chapter's status is not in danger. For now, we have enough funding to cover all the chapters. What we are concerned about is making sure that we continue to have enough funds to support them all.

The Trust Advisory Committee (TAC), created by the 1964 Convention, is charged with instructing Tau Beta Pi's corporate trustee on the purchase and sale of assets. Members include: Brent S. Beardsley, TX D '93, W. Johnson, Jr., NC A '77, Harry W. Lange, MI Z '75, Yung B. Lim, NJ D '87, and David A. Liu, PA D '93.

As a non-profit organization, Tau Beta Pi is exempt from federal income taxes under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Therefore, your gift is tax-deductible to the full extent provided by the law.

We would be happy to speak with you about your specific situation. There are a number of ways to support this initiative. Checks can be made out to "Tau Beta Pi—The Engineering Honor Society" and sent to Tau Beta Pi, Attention: Curtis Gomulinski, , P.O. Box 2697, Knoxville, TN 37901-2697. In the memo line of the check, please write the name of the chapter or the name of the college/university so we know where to credit your gift. Or, if your gift is for "any" chapter, then please indicate this as well. Other options include gifts of highly appreciated stock held for over one year as well as including Tau Beta Pi in your estate plans.

Yes, we intend to provide an update at least once each year in The Bent listing the name of the donor, chapter supported or "any" chapter as the case may be, and the amount of the gift.

Yes, you can retain your confidentiality within this initiative; just let us know

Yes.

Please direct all inquiries about this program to Sherry Jennings-King, Director of Development, by phone at (612) 226-2922 or by email to .

Tau Beta Pi has a Trust Advisory Committee (TAC) made up of five members who have a background in finance and investments. They are granted discretion over the investment of the money in the endowment by the Tau Beta Pi Constitution, and such investments are made in a manner consistent with the investment policy of Tau Beta Pi. The TAC provides instructions to our trustee (Vanguard) who manages the day-to-day affairs of our investments.

The earnings made available for distribution will be determined at least annually by Tau Beta Pi’s Executive Council. All earnings from the endowment will be used to support the activities described in the first question.

Tau Beta Pi budgets its endowment spending based on an 84-month rolling-average of the investments. For the first few years, the value of your gift is averaged with a lot of zeros! In addition, Tau Beta Pi wants to ensure the value of the funds grow enough so a sudden downturn in the market doesn’t wipe out any earnings or the principal of your gift.

In extreme cases, as the annual payout grows to an amount exceeding the cost required to support a particular chapter, the additional funds may be directed to support chapters that do not have support from the Chapter Endowment Initiative. However, at this time, we expect to keep additional revenue directed to support the chapter designated by our members.

Tau Beta Pi may deduct reasonable and necessary investment and management expenses as approved by the Executive Council. Typically, the only management expense incurred on a regular basis is the fee we pay to our trustee and minimal expenses for the meeting of the Trust Advisory Committee. These expenses amounts to 0.1 percent of the investments (10 basis points).

If the purpose of the Chapter Endowment Initiative shall subsequently be determined to be unattainable or legally impermissible, Tau Beta Pi may modify the purpose of the program to remove the barriers to its successful utilization; provided, that the principal and income therefrom shall be utilized as closely as possible to the original purpose of the Chapter Endowment Initiative.

In the unlikely event that the post-secondary institution which hosts a particular chapter that is being supported through the Chapter Endowment Initiative ceases to function or decides to eliminate their engineering department, the annual payout would be directed to support another chapter. When possible, members who have donated to support a chapter impacted by such a change would be contacted to identify a different chapter to support.