Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

September 27, 2002

Foundation openness policy nears approval

by Linda Charles
A few details have yet to be worked out and additional input gathered before a formal public information policy goes into effect, the Iowa State Foundation's board of directors decided Sept. 20.

"This is the first time the foundation has attempted to draft a formal, comprehensive policy on what information should be provided to our constituents," said Phyllis Lepke, vice president for communication with the foundation. "We intend to be as open as we can, while honoring our commitment to personal privacy and maximizing our fund-raising success."

There are few legal requirements about what information the foundation must make public. Legally, the foundation is required to disclose its tax returns for the last three years, tax-exempt status forms, articles of incorporation and its biennial report.

"The new policy voluntarily makes available significantly more information than required," Lepke said.

While developing the policy, the foundation board of directors sought input from several campus groups, including the Faculty Senate, Government of the Student Body and Alumni Association. Foundation representatives plan to meet with additional groups both on and off campus before the plan is finalized.

Under the new policy, most foundation information will be available to the public except for personal information on donors, prospective donors and employees, and strategic and competitive information, Lepke said. In some cases, information will be summarized to protect donor confidentiality. For example, the foundation will make public the total amount it spends on cultivating donors, but will not make public how much was spent on a specific person.

One of the significant changes under the proposed policy requires foundation staff to help the public understand the documents it will have access to, Lepke said.

"With the new policy, we are challenging ourselves not only to provide information, but to provide assistance so it can be easily understood," Lepke said. A member of the foundation staff will be designated an "information liaison."

In addition, the directors will review the policy regularly to see if additional information should be made public, Lepke said. The foundation also will conduct a public study to compare its expenditures against those of its peer organizations.

What's public
Under the new policy, the foundation will provide:

Administrative information, such as names of the foundation's governors and directors, the foundation's by-laws and tax returns beyond the required three years.
Financial information, including the foundation's annual audit, annual reports and operating budget summary.
Information related to fund raising, such as guidelines for named endowed positions and scholarships, gift acceptance policy and gift club levels.
Foundation investment information, including policies and financial investments.
Funds information, including the foundation's disbursement guidelines for endowments and the university's annual review of endowments.

What's not
The foundation will not provide:

Personal information, such as donors' families or residences or financial information, such as net worth, stock holdings, estate plans, gift amounts (unless the donor agrees it can be made public) and employee information. (The foundation also will honor donors' requests to keep information private, even if normally that information would be released.) The foundation will use a "reasonable person test" (information a reasonable person would agree should be kept private) to determine what falls under this category.
Strategic and competitive business practices, such as plans for a fund-raising campaign or lists of potential donors.