ACE Leadership Fund

The Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources, and Life and Human Sciences (ACE) is a professional development organization led by volunteer members who are elected by the membership or appointed by the ACE Board of Directors to specific positions. Board members receive no financial remuneration. Many ACE leaders’ (or potential leaders’) institutions provide financial support for their leadership experience, including time away from work, travel expenses and conference and workshop registrations. However, ACE members who do not have this level of institutional support to fully execute ACE leadership responsibilities may be discouraged from actively pursuing and participating as an organizational leader because of the notable personal financial expense. In particular, the ACE president has many responsibilities throughout the year-long presidency, which may include traveling to the ACE Conference and other ACE-related functions.

A strategic need of the organization is proactive leadership development of future leaders, especially supporting those diverse, dynamic leaders demonstrating exemplary leadership potential. Few resources are available to the ACE president to support (a) a president’s leadership vision and (b) the development of current and/or future leaders. The ACE Leadership Fund will establish financial support for these leadership development initiatives.

The ACE Leadership Fund, therefore, is intended to support ACE by providing:

• Flexible financial assistance to the ACE president to support his/her leadership vision and programs.
• A discretionary fund available to the ACE president to encourage and enhance the development of future ACE leaders, as identified above.
• A pathway for inclusivity and increased diversity attracting members of the association who may be underrepresented yet qualified and lack access to adequate resources.

Any allocation from the ACE Leadership Fund must be justified in writing to the ACE Board of Directors for approval. The fund is intended to be a quasi-endowment, i.e. it may be invested like an endowment, but the principal can be distributed and spent at any time (see Quasi Endowment Fund vs. Endowment Fund - Hawkins Ash CPAs for additional explanation).

Purpose

The spendable income of the Fund shall be used to support the ACE president in fulfilling his or her duties. It is a discretionary fund meant to support travel, program development, communication, recognition and any other actions that the ACE president deems essential to effectively lead the organization.

If, in the best judgment of the ACE Board of Directors, all or part of the Fund cannot be used in the manner described in this Agreement, the Board may use the funds for other purposes as nearly aligned to the original intent as the Board deems appropriate under the circumstances.

Administration

The ACE organization will establish and manage the Fund in accordance with the prevailing management and investment policies of the organization and use the spendable income from this endowment to support the purpose(s) outlined above. The ACE president, or his or her designee, will be the initial administrator of this Fund.

Recognition

The donor's contribution may be noted in ACE communications, including the ACE website, newsletter and annual conference program.

To donate to ACE:

• ACE accepts donations by check or credit card.
• To donate from an IRA or other fund, please contact the financial institution that administers your account and identify ACE as the beneficiary of the donation. ACE’s federal tax ID is 37-6047781. Checks can be mailed to: ACE Officer, 8120 Lehigh Ave, Suite 100, Morton Grove, IL 60053.
• To donate directly, please click here. Or call the ACE office at 847-647-8861
• Each donation is acknowledged with a letter of receipt by the ACE office and includes the donated amount for tax purposes.