Endowment Fund Policy

Endowment Policy from IRE's By-Laws (Updated June 15, 2006)

"The purpose of the IRE Endowment Fund is to fund the operations of IRE."

The IRE Endowment Fund is monitored by an endowment committee which may advise the board on investment practices.

The endowment committee consists of five members of IRE, including the IRE treasurer, who chairs the committee, and four others, only one of whom (besides the treasurer) can be an IRE board member. These four are nominated by the IRE president in June and approved by the board, for two-year terms.

Endowment principal cannot be spent except for fiscal emergency, and only then after at least two-thirds of the IRE board members have approved of such an expenditure.

The sources of donations to "The Endowment Fund" are accepted according to board policy. The endowment committee will prepare an annual report to be presented at the annual membership meeting.

Additional Information on IRE Endowment Fund Investments

Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) maintains an endowment for the purpose of funding core staff and programs by utilizing the interest earned by the endowment corpus.

It is the policy of IRE to invest the endowment funds in a prudent manner; a responsibility entrusted under IRE by-laws to the Endowment Committee. Endowment funds shall be invested in a manner designed to preserve the endowment corpus. Investments shall stress safety and strive for growth. It is IRE policy to achieve this goal through a diversified portfolio of investments. The portfolio may include mutual funds, individual stocks and bonds, government securities and certificates of deposit.

It is IRE policy to use proceeds from endowment investments to fund the core program of IRE including specifically staff salaries and other operational expenses. But, IRE's expressed desire is to permit the endowment corpus to grow as much as possible. Accordingly, it is the organization's intent that the bulk of investment proceeds be reinvested.

The $25 club

The $25 club recognizes that not everyone can make million-dollar contributions to IRE's endowment fund, but every dollar counts.

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