SLA Board Votes on Coplen and Bender Fund Usage
Friday, April 12, 2024
(3 Comments)
Posted by: Deanna Bright
SLA Board Votes on Coplen and Bender Fund Usage Tuesday, April 9, 2024
On Thursday, March 27, 2024, the SLA Board of Directors held a special meeting to vote on the usage of the Ron Coplen Leadership Fund and David R. Bender Fund for International Development. The board approved the usage as recommended by the SLA Investment Policy Review Working Group. The vote was unanimous.
The total balances of these funds as of December 31, 2023 are found below:
Ron Coplen Leadership Fund: $25,604 David R. Bender Fund for International Development: $52,524
The Ron Coplen Leadership Fund was established in 1988, after Ron’s passing, and announced along with a posthumous John Cotton Dana Award. It was established and funded with money designated by the Board “to recognize the contribution made by Coplen to the Association”, and it has served as a source of funding for “the Ron Coplen Leadership Address at the annual conference or other appropriate meeting” per the available documents. No evidence of non-board contributions or donations to this Fund has been located to date.
Monies from the Ron Coplen Leadership Fund will be used to support leadership-themed programming and member activities at the 2024 SLA Annual Conference including:
The David R. Bender Fund for International Development was established in December 2000 by the SLA Board of Directors to honor SLA’s executive director upon his retirement on July 31, 2001. The Fund was intended to “support SLA's international membership development activities and fellowships that expand the influence of the Association.” An initial donation of $25,000 from Factiva and $5,000 from Vivian Hewitt, past president, Hall of Fame winner, and lifetime member of SLA, provided seed money for this Fund. Additional donations were accepted from various SLA Divisions and Chapters during this initial establishment phase. No further clear and explicit evidence of donations after 2001 has been found.
Monies from the David R. Bender Fund for International Development will be used to support international-themed programming and member activities at the 2024 SLA Annual Conference including:
The SLA Board of Directors has asked the Information Outlook Editorial Board to include profiles of Ron Coplen and David R. Bender in the July issue of Information Outlook to highlight and honor their service to SLA and feature the conference programming in their names.
“I know a lot of our members understand the precarious nature of our current financial situation,” said SLA President John DiGilio. “The board, the working group, and I have prioritized transparency while working hard to ensure that SLA returns to a more stable financial situation. The funds that we are using today are an investment in making the 2024 SLA Annual Conference a big success while remaining true to the original objectives of the Funds.”
“A huge thank you to the working group, who did a ton of research about these Funds,” added DiGilio. “The recommendations that they brought to the larger board were timely, well-considered, and appropriate. We will be using these funds to honor the namesake individuals, especially at the 2024 SLA Annual Conference in Kingston, Rhode Island..”
Both Funds have been unused for at least 15 years, and the Board is excited to see them used again for the benefit of our membership, and in a manner that once again recognizes the contributions of Ron Coplen and David R. Bender. The SLA Investment Policy Review Working Group is currently working on recommendations for better long-term investment policies for our funds. The current policies have not been updated in many years and do not reflect current best practices for non-profit entities like SLA. The working group and the board will continue working conscientiously to establish new investment fund policies that correspond to the mission and vision of the association and reflect its financial position.
Members of the Investment Policy Review Working Group include:
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