Corbett Endowment

The Corbett New Initiatives Fund

1.      NAME:  The name of this endowment shall be the "Corbett New Initiatives Fund.”

2.      PURPOSE:  The purpose of this endowment shall be to provide monies to support a new initiative or new initiatives that an RSA President might envision.  The endowment provides the RSA President with the flexibility to take up any kind of special RSA initiative that might occur to him or her within the limits of RSA goals and aims and within the limits of the money that this fund provides.  The RSA President takes on the responsibilities of the office without compensation, and so this fund is meant to make some discretionary monies available to the President without the need for Board approval—as long as the use is in keeping with RSA aims and goals and not for personal use. The endowment thus honors Edward P. J. Corbett’s contributions and longtime RSA leadership, and serves to make the RSA presidency attractive to potential candidates for the office.  (This fund does not preclude the Board from giving further discretionary funding to the President via the regular RSA budget process.)

3.      AMOUNT and SOURCE OF FUNDS:  The initial principal of this fund will be established through gifts made to the Rhetoric Society of America (RSA). RSA will match contributions up to a total of $10,000; and the fund will become active when it reaches $20,000.  Additional contributions may be made by interested persons or organizations after the endowment becomes active.

4.      EXPENDITURES:  Expenditures shall conform to RSA rules and regulations.  Available funds shall be used to support a special initiative or special initiatives of the RSA President, within the limits of RSA goals and aims.  The RSA Board, which is responsible for ensuring compliance, shall be informed of all uses of the funds.  Any available monies not awarded in a particular year shall either be added to the principal or retained for award together with the monies available for expenditure in the following year, as determined by the Executive Director of the RSA.

5.      ENDOWMENT MANAGEMENT:  This endowment shall be subject to general guidelines and policies as adopted by the Board of the RSA for the management of endowed funds, including the application of fees associated with fundraising and investment administration.  Stability of endowment support and preservation of purchasing power against inflationary pressures shall be achieved by limiting spending to an annually determined spending rate approved by the RSA Board.  Actual investment returns, either greater than or less than the actual spending allocation, are retained in the endowment pool and reflected in the market value of each individual RSA endowment.

6.      AMENDMENT:  The Board of the RSA, in consultation with the donors when possible, shall have the authority to make changes in these guidelines which are necessary to ensure the fulfillment of the fund’s objectives.