406 South Pearl Street New London, Wisconsin 54961 • (920) 982-8519

Gift and Endowment Policy

Submitted by admin on 11/05/2009

Adopted: 5-1992
Amended: 11-21-00
Amended: 11-17-03
Amended:  02-20-06

Endowment Funds are gifts and bequests to the New London Public Library.  The Board of Trustees of the Library/Museum has established special separate accounts for these gift/endowment funds.

The purpose of gifts to the library is to enrich its services, resources and facilities beyond what would normally be available through public funding. 

This fund will be managed by the Clerk-Treasurer of the City of New London as directed by the Board of Trustees at no cost for administration.

Any contributions to these funds will be accepted subject to approval by the library director and the Board of Trustees in accordance with the following guidelines: 

(Note:  The term "Trust Officer" refers to the Clerk-Treasurer of the City of New London.)

  1. All cash contributions to the funds shall be deposited to the respective account/s at the financial institution designated by the Board of Trustees and Trust officer.
  2. Potential donors may be offered a choice of options to allow some flexibility in use, but specific enough to reflect the donor's interest whenever possible.
  3. Any gift or endowment given to the library shall be under the control of the Board of Trustees and be used under its direction.
  4. These funds are intended for programs, services, special equipment, collections, automation, and improvements to facilities and grounds of the library respectively, which are not part of the normal operation budget.
  5. Monetary gifts are always easiest to designate and control.  If a donor is considering a gift of a collection, stock, real estate, or any other type of specialized giving, it is recommended that the Board of Trustees, together with the Trust Officer, be designated to have full power to convert such type gifts to cash.  The proceeds will then be added to the endowment funds and used in accordance with the donor's wishes and recommendations of the Board of Trustees.
  6. Any funds generated by a Friends group are not to be deposited into endowment funds accounts.
  7. Any income from these gift/endowment accounts shall be added to the accounts, separate from the regular library budget.  No part shall be spent for on-going maintenance or operational costs.

All gifts shall be acknowledged by the respective recipient. 

The Board of Trustees shall approve all expenditures to be made from these funds.  The Trust Officer shall provide to the Board of Trustees a monthly report on the funds in the accounts with any additions, income and expenditures.

Individual, club business, and corporate contributions are welcome subject to this policy and guidelines.  As arms of the municipal government of the City of New London, all funds donated to the endowment/gift fund will be used for public purposes and are therefore tax deductible according to current IRS regulation.