{"id":1456,"date":"2017-03-23T07:48:51","date_gmt":"2017-03-23T14:48:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/?p=1456"},"modified":"2025-01-29T07:48:47","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T07:48:47","slug":"vccfs-fiscal-assessment-and-recommendations-on-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/vccfs-fiscal-assessment-and-recommendations-on-target\/","title":{"rendered":"VCCF's finanspolitiske vurdering og anbefalinger er i m\u00e5l"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>VCCF's finanspolitiske vurdering og anbefalinger er i m\u00e5l<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>Attorney General Findings Support Foundation\u2019s Report<\/strong><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Green Light to Implement New Fiscal Policies <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Camarillo, CA \u2013 MARCH 23, 2017<\/em><strong> \u2013<\/strong> In a much anticipated report, California\u2019s Office of the Attorney General confirmed Ventura County Community Foundation\u2019s (VCCF) earlier findings with respect to VCCF\u2019s prior financial issues that the Foundation released June 22, 2016.<\/p>\n<p>In September 2015, VCCF self-reported its financial issues to the AG\u2019s office providing extensive, detailed assessments of the concerns in addition to rigorous cost cutting and proposed self-corrective actions. Subsequently, working closely with the AG\u2019s office, VCCF proposed a reimbursement plan and new oversight procedures. The AG\u2019s letter instructs VCCF to take three corrective actions encompassing upgraded fiscal management policies, replenishment of certain restricted funds, and training for current and future board members. It also stipulates that VCCF\u2019s agreement to take the corrective actions will not be seen as a concession of any wrongdoing by the prior Board.<\/p>\n<p>Scott Hansen, who joined the VCCF Board in fiscal year 2014, and was appointed Chair this past January, said, \u201cThough the AG did not publish its report, VCCF requested and was granted permission to share its findings. It was good we acted immediately on what we discovered as the letter did not contain any surprises. We deeply appreciate the AG\u2019s guidance in this process and began implementing corrective action a year ago based on the assessment provided by our current CEO, CFO and their team.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>According to the AG\u2019s Letter<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>VCCF\u2019s prior management and board held unreasonably optimistic expectations in its prior capital campaign leading to the purchase of VCCF\u2019s office building. In purchasing the building, VCCF improperly used $3.8 million of endowment funds earmarked to support VCCF\u2019s operations.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Corrective Action: VCCF to restore those funds upon sale of the building or its final mortgage payment.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>VCCF\u2019s prior management and board made improper, over-investment of permanent funds into money market accounts and other observations found in the Foundation\u2019s independent fiduciary review conducted by KPMG.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 60px;\">Corrective Action: VCCF to replenish $1.8 million of lost (under-earned) investment income to the various affected funds, and to work with an independent consultant to develop new procedures and policies.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Current and future members of VCCF\u2019s Board must receive additional training on their fiduciary duties within six months of the letter or their respective date of Board appointment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>VCCF Chief Executive Officer, Vanessa Bechtel, who began her tenure in February 2015 said, \u201cWe\u2019re pleased to put this difficult chapter behind us and to continue to be a local and independent foundation, focused on serving Ventura County residents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Since last June, Bechtel and her management team have met with over 300 donor families and nonprofit agencies and shared the Foundation\u2019s plans to correct and improve operations in light of the anticipated report. More than one hundred additional meetings are calendared through the summer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am especially grateful to our donors and supporters for sticking with us through a challenging time,\u201d Ms. Bechtel added. \u201cThis reflects both our commitment to transparency as well as our 30-year track record of providing critical support to VC residents ranging from scholarships to programs for our disadvantaged residents.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In 2016, VCCF raised approximately $2.1 million in capital, and disbursed $3.5 million in funds on behalf of its donors for numerous philanthropic causes, programs and activities.<\/p>\n<p>Charles Maxey, VCCF Board member and Chair of Personnel Committee said, \u201cIt takes a person of exceptional courage and integrity to right the ship. We have the right CEO in Vanessa and her leadership throughout this journey proves the Board made the right choice in hiring her.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCFO, Bonnie Gilles, who was recruited just prior to Vanessa\u2019s hiring, was invaluable in developing the financial restructuring solutions that helped enable VCCF to remain independent and continue operations upon which thousands of VC residents rely,\u201d adds Maxey.<\/p>\n<p>Gary E. Erickson, current VCCF Board member who served as its previous chairman, notes, \u201cNo one wanted this report more than us. It isn\u2019t always easy, but transparency is the only path to fully restoring the trust and confidence of our donors and the community we serve. We regret the path that led to this situation and are taking aggressive steps to ensure it will never happen again. Going forward, we can never be too vigilant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to Hansen, that dedication is shared by the remaining board members who have redoubled their efforts to strengthening the Foundation, \u201cOur current Board is 100% committed to not only implementing the AG\u2019s recommendation but adding even more safeguards and training for our staff. We look forward to future board members joining forces in enhancing philanthropic services to all of Ventura County.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The tradition of charitable giving never stopped despite the fiscal corrections the foundation is making, according to Bechtel. \u201cIt is incredibly exciting to meet with our local philanthropists and hear about their visions for making Ventura County\u2019s resources accessible to all residents. Seeing donor contributions in action is a real joy and privilege,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p><strong>ABOUT VCCF<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>VCCF invests the charitable capital that drives the philanthropic engines of Ventura County. The Foundation was established in 1987 and endeavors to build philanthropy in the region and to give generously for the wellbeing of all in Ventura County.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">###<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":10745,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"give_campaign_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-coverage"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1456\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vccf.org\/da\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}