What Specific L100 Bylaws Are Violated by the $5 Mil. Donation?

EDITOR’S NOTE: Yesterday we quoted directly from the Leadership 100 website and explained how their own guidelines and criteria were violated…  Please take a look below at “Requests that will not be considered” (under 3) which specifically prohibits “capital requests for the planning, construction, renovation or purchase of buildings, or for the acquisition of land”.  (Here is a link to their website…)

1) Leadership 100 has already donated $ 1 million – also a violation of the same bylaws.

2) It is clear that the $5 million donation will be used for building purposes and that is prohibited (above).

3) The $5 million donation will be used to facilitate a financial obligation or a debt.

4) Furthermore, the $5 million will be given while the criminal federal investigation continues AND IT INCLUDES PAST ABUSES OF FUNDS RELATED TO BUILDING ST. NICHOLAS.

5) Ii seems that the proper deadlines and procedures provided by the by-laws were not followed and also the amount of $5 million is unclear that meets the guidelines set by the bylaws of the organization…

6) Many other questions remain unanswered, especially regarding the possible involvement of the NY State and Federal authorities in case of proven mismanagement of the Fund.

BELOW YOU CAN SEE HIGHLIGHTED (in bold and italics) WHAT MAJOR ITEMS OF L100’S BYLAWS WERE LIKELY VIOLATED BY THE $5 MILLION DONATION TO THE “FRIENDS OF ST.NICHOLAS” (HERE IS A DIRECT LINK TO THE WHOLE CHARTER)

ARTICLE IX DISTRIBUTIONS

A. Use of Endowment Fund’s Assets.

1. It is the intent of the contributors to the Endowment Fund and this Corporation that after paying reasonable and proper expenses of administering the Endowment Fund, the total of the contributions to attain membership shall be preserved inviolate and that only the amounts specified in paragraph B.2 of this Article be used to satisfy the purposes herein expressed.

2. The assets of the Endowment Fund shall not be used for the general operating purposes of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and shall not be distributed, loaned, hypothecated, pledged or in any other manner subjected to claims of creditors of this Corporation or of any other person or entity, including the claims of any Orthodox body or authority or the claims of creditors or institutions of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese, which, together with its National Ministries, is the intended beneficiary of this Fund. Subject to the provisions of subsection B.2 of this Article, distributions from this Fund shall be at the sole discretion and direction of the Executive Committee, each of the members of which serves in his or her individual capacity; provided, however, that all proposed directions for the distributions shall be in writing and shall be reviewed by the Ex-Officio Member who, within thirty days after receipt of the proposed directions for distribution, may disallow any or all directions for distribution which the Ex-Officio Member determines in his sole discretion is or are not consistent with the priorities of the National Ministries of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese. In the event of any disallowance by the Ex-Officio Member, including, without limitation, any disallowance of a redesignation of direction for distribution, the Executive Committee shall either

(a) redesignate how the amount so disallowed will be distributed, provided that all of the redesignated directions for distribution shall be subject to review by the Ex-Officio Member who shall have the right to disallow any or all of such redesignations within thirty days after receipt of the proposed redesignations or (b)submit the disallowed direction for distribution or redesignated direction for distribution to the Board at a duly called and convened meeting and if seventy-five percent (75%) of the full Board votes affirmatively at that meeting to authorize the disallowed direction or redesignated direction, such proposed distribution without the need for any further action or approval shall be made in accordance with the direction or redesignated direction, as the case may be, of the Executive Committee. No distribution from the Endowment Fund shall be made if the Ex-Officio Member has not received thirty days’ written notice of the direction or redesignated direction therefore, except for distributions made pursuant to the procedure contained in this subparagraph

(b). If the Ex-Officio Member does not disallow a proposed distribution direction or redesignated direction within thirty days of the receipt of such proposed written direction or redesignated direction, then such proposed distribution automatically, without the need for any other action or approval of any kind or nature whatsoever, shall be made in accordance with the direction or redesignated direction, as the case may be, of the Executive Committee.

B. Method of Distribution.

1. The Grant Committee of Leadership 100, as established under Article V, Section I, shall meet to review in detail all grant requests after the deadline for submission of grant applications on September 15 of each year and report the committee’s decisions and recommendations for each request to the Executive Committee no later than thirty days prior to its meeting closest to February 1 of each year, at which meetings such recommendations shall be acted upon. At least annually, the Chairman of Leadership 100 and the Chairman of the Grant Committee shall consult with the Archbishop as to his goals and priorities for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese and its National Ministries. Distributions shall be made only after due consideration of the goals and priorities of the Archbishop and the recommendations of the Grant Committee. The Chairman of the Grant Committee shall personally deliver the report of the Grant Committee at the Executive Committee meeting at which the requests will be voted upon. The Executive Committee shall vote upon each request, immediately following its presentation by the Chairman of the Grant  Committee. Continuation of distributions after the first year of a multi-year grant shall be subject to timely submission and approval of the required progress reports showing performance measured against plan. The Executive Committee shall review the Grant Committee’s report and recommendations prior to authorizing further distributions. A member of the Grant Committee or Executive Committee may speak to the merits of a grant request from an organization on whose Board the member or member’s spouse sits, but shall thereupon recuse himself or herself from discussion of and voting upon such request. The Chairman of Leadership 100, acting pursuant to direction of the Executive Committee shall have the sole responsibility for authorizing the payout of all grant monies.

 2. Commencing with distributions to be made in the year 2000, and each year thereafter, the annual amount available for distribution shall be determined as follows: 

Substantially all of the amount so determined may be distributed each year pursuant to the direction of the Executive Committee, subject to the provisions of subsections A.1 and A.2 of this Article, at a meeting or meetings duly called to vote upon such matters, at which a quorum is present; provided, however, notwithstanding the provisions of subsection A.1 in no event shall less than 85% of the net income of the Endowment Fund be distributed each year or within the immediately succeeding year; provided, further, however, that subject to the approval of the ExOfficio Member, a lesser percentage of net income may be distributed for specific reasons.

3. Any net amount available for distribution in any year not distributed in that year may be distributed in subsequent years upon approval of the Executive Committee, subject to the provisions of subsection A.2 of this Article. Such remaining amount shall be distributed only for the purposes and in accordance with the procedures described in these Regulations.

C. Determination of Income.

The “amount available” for distribution is determined as specified in Article IX subsection B.2. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection C, any determination as to the allocation of any receipt between income and principal shall be made in accordance with the provisions of Section 11-2.1 of the New York Estates, Powers and Trusts Law, as amended from time to time.

D. Financial Review.

The books of the Endowment Fund shall be audited annually by an accounting firm retained by the Board. In addition, a firm, which is an expert in the field of measuring performance of investment advisors, shall be retained to provide at least an annual review and comparison with investment indices and the performance of other advisors of the investment results of the Corporation’s investment advisors. Such firm shall submit a written report to the Executive Committee, a copy of which report shall be immediately delivered to each member of the Board and the Ex-Officio Member. The annual review by such firm, or a comprehensive summary thereof, shall be provided to all members of Leadership 100 and the Ex-Officio Member.