About the Foundation
Mission
To provide the necessary funding through a variety of fundraising programs to support both the current and the future operations of the Nebraska Academic Decathlon Program.
Vision
To create the appropriate financial conditions to achieve three key outcomes:
- To expand the Nebraska Academic Decathlon Program to a sufficient number of high schools to legitimately award a State Champion in the following divisions: Large School, Medium School, Small School and Very Small School.
- To create a scholarship program that recognizes the efforts and performance levels of the participating students.
- To endow the Nebraska Academic Decathlon Program.
Fiscal year
The fiscal year starts on July 1 and concludes on June 30.
Meetings format
The full Board of Directors will meet monthly on the second Wednesday. If this day does not match the time commitments of a majority of the full Board, the day can be changed with a majority vote. Established subcommittees will meet monthly. The subcommittees can use electronic means to fulfill the monthly meeting requirement
Membership on the board
Membership is open to all individuals who can commit to both the mission and vision of the Nebraska Academic Decathlon Foundation, Inc. The term of service is three years and individuals have the opportunity to serve up to three terms. In order to facilitate continuity, the terms will be staggered.
Any current member of the Board of Directors can nominate a person for membership. All nominations will be considered by a committee of two individuals external to the Board of Directors. All favorable nominations from that committee require a favorable majority vote to secure membership on the Board.
Roles and responsibilities of the board members
The members of the Board of Directors have two areas of responsibility: fundraising and public awareness.
- The fundraising area deals with developing a variety of methods to directly solicit donations from individuals, foundations, organizations, trusts and service organizations. Each member of the Board of Directors will be involved in giving his/her efforts to this crucial area of responsibility. The leadership of the Fundraising Committee, composed of at least six Board members, will provide oversight of this area of responsibility.
- The public awareness area deals with creating and maintaining the appropriate image of the Nebraska Academic Decathlon Program through the development and application of a meaningful public relations program. In addition, this area deals with enhancing the base of support for the program in Nebraska by developing a series of means to interact with a wide variety of publics. The Public Awareness Subcommittee, composed of at least four Board members, will address the work of this area.
Committee structure of the board
In addition to the two basic committees noted above, there will be a Finance Subcommittee and an Executive Subcommittee.
The Finance Subcommittee fulfills:
- The management of all financial accounts in accordance with the donor guidelines.
- The maintenance of the financial records of the organization.
- The development of the necessary accounting statements for the quarterly meeting of the full Board of Directors.
- The presentation of the organization’s records to the designated accounting firm in order to secure a compilation of the financial data. This subcommittee should be composed of at least five members of the Board.
The Executive Subcommittee will be charged with the responsibility of handling all required Foundation business dealings between regular meetings of the Board. In addition, it will deal with the necessary orientation of new members to the Board and the monitoring of the effectiveness of the two basic areas of responsibility. The membership of this subcommittee will be the President, the Vice President, the Treasurer, the Secretary and the chairs of the two basic committees. This subcommittee will meet when necessary.