Philosophy in Allocations

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
FUND DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE

In seeking to fulfill its mission, the United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill assists its member agencies in improving and extending human services that meet the changing needs of the community. United Way endeavors to mobilize community resources by encouraging voluntarism and financial support.

The United Way is responsible for ensuring that community funds are spent in the most efficient manner possible. United Way and its member agencies have a mutual responsibility in the administration of funds and the planning of human care services.

1. Purpose, Composition and Tenure of Audit Review Committee
   
   
   1. Purpose: The purpose of the Audit Review Committee (ARC) is to assist United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill in fulfilling the responsibility of the United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill to ensure that funds are spent in an efficient manner. In this regard, the ARC is to provide professional guidance and consulting to the panel as it relates to the adequacy of the financial information provided to the United Way and to the community. The ARC will review all audit reports, management letters, and other financial data provided by the agencies.
      
      
   2. Composition: The ARC shall be composed of at least 5 members and no less than two members shall be certified public accountants.
      
      
   3. Tenure: The Audit Review Committee members shall be appointed for one-year terms.
      
      
2. Duties and Responsibilities of Audit Review Committee
   
   
   1. Committee Members:
      
      
      1. Obtain the most recent audited, reviewed, compiled or internal financial statements from United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill staff for all United Way member agencies.
         
         
      2. Review the most recent agency financial statements and management letters and summarize significant discrepancies, exceptions or problems with the audits and management letters.
         
         
      3. Review the results with the Agency Director and the Fund Distribution Panel Chair, noting significant discrepancies, and exceptions or problems. The finalized Checklist for Review of Agency Financial Statements is to be submitted to the United Way office.
         
         
      4. Determine if agencies should be required to submit audited, reviewed or compiled financial statements prepared by a CPA or if internal financial statements are adequate. Written approval for waiver of the audit requirement of the United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill will be required from the Audit Review Committee. Agencies with budgets less than $50,000 are not required to submit an audit.
         
         
      5. Be available to answer any accounting related questions that panels may have as they relate to financial statements or financial information submitted to them by the agencies.
         
         
3. Fund Distribution Committee
   
   
   1. Composition: The Fund Distribution Committee shall consist of a Chairman and at least four Panel Chairs who will head panels of at least four members. The members shall be representative of the contributing public. The Fund Distribution Chair, the four or more Panel Chairs shall constitute the Executive Committee of the Fund Distribution Committee.
      
      
   2. Tenure: The President of the Board of Directors, in consultation with the Fund Distribution Chair, shall appoint members to the Fund Distribution Committee, with the appointees being subject to approval by the Board of Directors. No member shall serve more than two consecutive years on any one-agency panel, unless he or she is serving the third year as Chair of the Committee.
      
      
   3. Eligibility: The members chosen should have knowledge of human services agencies, organizations and resources in Lawton or should have accounting skills. So as to ensure the impartiality and objectiveness of the entire committee, all ARC members will abstain from serving on any panel if they are not independent
      
      
4. Duties and Responsibilities of the Fund Distribution Committee
   
   
   1. Chair: The Chair is responsible for the overall operations of the Fund Distribution Committee and reports directly to the Board of Directors. He or she presides over all meetings of the committee and submits all recommendations made by the committee to the Board of Directors for review and approval.
      
      
   2. Committee Members: The duties of the Fund Distribution Committee will be to consider and make recommendations to the Board of Directors in regard to the establishment of annual budgets for member agencies. In addition, the Committee is charged with the responsibility of reviewing requests by member agencies for special fund raising and making recommendations to the Board of Directors regarding the approval of said drives. When necessary, the committee shall hold periodic reviews of member agencies.
      
      
   3. Attendance: All members of the Fund Distribution Committee are required to attend every meeting, unless the Chair excuses the member for a justifiable reason.
      
      
5. Purpose of the Fund Distribution Committee
   
   
   1. The Fund Distribution Committee makes an annual analysis of the proposed budgets of agencies requesting member status and agencies who are members from previous years.
      
      
   2. The committee, using a team system whereby agencies are divided into groups based on their similar services, for example, youth services, services to individuals, etc., analyzes the agencies as follows:
      
      
      1. After allocation requests have been received from the agencies, including complete budget information, each panel becomes familiar with all the operational details of its assigned agencies.
         
         
      2. The panels meets with the executive director of each of its assigned agencies, the head of the agency's volunteer Board of Directors and no more than two other members of the Board to review information in the allocations request and ask any questions.
         
         
      3. Panel members discuss their findings. Adequate time is allowed for disclosure of pertinent information that will facilitate the review procedure. Each panel agrees upon an allocation figure for each of the agencies it has reviewed.
         
         
      4. The Panel-Chairmen of the teams meet to discuss budgets and to make recommendations for allocations to the United Way Board of Directors.
         
         
      5. The Committee Chair and the United Way staff establish allocation schedules.
         
         
      6. Criteria used for scrutinizing funded agencies and programs:
         
         
         1. Each agency must be a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization.
            
            
         2. Each agency must provide services that directly or indirectly benefit the citizens of Lawton-Fort Sill, Oklahoma and extended service area.
            
            
         3. Each agency must perform a worthwhile, effective service in terms of the type of service provided and/or the number of people served.
            
            
         4. An agency's services must not be an unnecessary duplication of services already provided by another United Way agency or a tax-supported agency.
            
            
         5. Each agency must provide a working means by which its services are made available to low-income persons. Agencies should actively encourage these persons to make use of their services.
            
            
         6. A report of the monies sent by an agency to support regional, state or national offices should be readily available to the United Way.
            
            
         7. An allocation made to an agency will have, as a factor, the number of unduplicated persons served in the Lawton-Fort Sill community and the extended service area.
            
            
         8. Each agency must submit a sound financial statement and audit of its financial records and IRS Form 990 to the United Way each year.
            
            
         9. Each agency must keep a complete and regular set of financial records open to inspection by representatives of the United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill.
            
            
         10. Each agency must be registered with the State Auditor and Inspector if the laws requiring such registration are applicable to said agency.
             
             
         11. Each agency must maintain responsible local management with at least one representative in the Lawton-Fort Sill community.
             
             
         12. An agency may not conduct benefits, campaigns or solicitations for financial assistance within Lawton-Fort Sill without receiving approval to do so from the Board of Directors of the United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill as to the purpose of the drive, the type of campaign, the amount to be raised and to the time frame of the solicitation. Member agencies are restricted from any solicitation of businesses or corporations from August 1 through October 31. Failure to obtain approval will jeopardize United Way membership.
             
             
         13. An agency must notify the United Way of any changes that affect funded programs approved by the United Way. Agencies must understand that programs started with seed money have no priority for future United Way funding.
             
             
         14. Each agency must at all times be in complete compliance with the by-laws, standing rules and other regulations of the United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill as they pertain to member agencies.
             
             
         15. No agency may encourage designations of contributions to specific agencies during the annual campaign of United Way.
             
             
         16. Each agency is requested to state that it is a United Way member agency in its public relations efforts.
             
             
         17. Each agency must operate and render services on a non-discriminatory basis and sign the United Way form on non-discrimination to such effect.
             
             
         18. Each agency must support and actively participate in the United Way campaign.
             
             
         19. When applicable, an agency must comply with licensing requirements of the State of Oklahoma.
             
             
         20. Any of the above requirements may be waived by vote of the United Way Board of Directors when circumstances justify it.
             
             
      7. In preparing its recommendations to the Board of Directors, the Fund Distribution Committee should be guided by the following principles in regard to agency income derived from sources other than the United Way.
         
         
         1. Income produced from investments should be allocated to operating income unless otherwise specified by the donor.
            
            
         2. Income from membership dues or fees should be allocated to operating income except when prohibited by an agency's national organization.
            
            
         3. All other income should be allocated to operating income.
            
            
         4. Voluntary dollars should not be used to relieve the governmental sector of its legal responsibility in the areas of health, welfare and recreation.
            
            
         5. When legal, the fee for the service rendered should be greater than the actual cost of the service, with the fee being reduced if the individual's or family's ability to pay warrants the reduction.
            
            
         6. Agencies shall provide a full accounting of gross receipts, total expenses, net income and income accruing to the agency through outside United Way solicitations.
            
            
         7. Agencies shall provide a clear and concise description of the programs and special projects for which contributions are being solicited.
            
            
         8. Agencies providing goods, admission to fund-raising activities or other services in return for payment shall clearly disclose the portion of payment that constitutes a charitable contribution for tax purposes.
            
            
      8. In preparing its recommendations to the Board of Directors, the Fund Distribution Committee should be guided by the following principles in regard to salaries:
         
         
         1. Administrators and professional staff salaries should be reasonably comparable to those paid by similar agencies on a regional and local level, giving due consideration to job description and available comparison data.
            
            
         2. Clerical salaries should be reasonably comparable to those paid in the community for similar work.
            
            
      9. The Fund Distribution Committee should not reduce a proposed budget for the sake of reduction. Consideration of agency budgets is a two-fold operation involving the study of services and programs on the one hand and the analysis of financial data on the other. The committee's deliberations should give due emphasis to both.
         
         The Fund Distribution Committee is also responsible for analyzing the efficiently of an agency's operation as it relates to fiscal and personnel management.
         
         
      10. Recommendation of allocations will be made by a majority vote of the Fund Distribution Committee following each panel's complete analysis of assigned agencies. In the case of a tie, the Chair will cast the deciding vote. Such approval will then be forwarded to the Fund Distribution Executive Committee for review and recommendations to the Board of Directors.
          
          
      11. Unforeseen Contingencies and Supplemental Funding: Should an agency at any time encounter a contingency, or unforeseen funding, which could not reasonably have been foreseen at the time its budget was submitted, may submit a revised request. Such a request should be directed to the United Way office, which will refer it to the Fund Distribution Committee Chair for review by the Fund Distribution Executive Committee. The Executive Committee will be responsible for determining the reasonableness of the request. The Committee Chair will report the committee's recommendation to the United Way Board of Directors for action.
          
          
      12. Non-funded Agencies: If a need not currently being met by a United Way agency is presented, the United Way will consider one-time funding for that specific program. The review and allocations process would follow the same guidelines established for agency allocations.
          
          
      13. Budget Approval: Final approval of any agency's allocation or any supplemental request will be given only by the United Way of Lawton-Fort Sill Board of Directors.