1. Receipt of Negotiable Instruments
1.1 All gifts received in the form of negotiable instruments shall be immediately forwarded to the University System of New Hampshire Treasurer for pricing through recognized reference publications or brokers as of the date of transfer of title, and immediately offered for sale through a registered broker by the Treasurer.
1.2 When retention of the stock is requested by the donor, gifted instruments may be dealt with in accordance with the following procedures:
1.2.1 For gifts of stock valued at $25,000 or less, the Chairman, at his/her discretion, may invoke an exception to policy and retain the gifted stock in its original form for a period determined by the Chairman.
1.2.2 For gifts of stock valued in excess of $25,000, the Chairman through the Treasurer shall poll the Committee as to the donor's request before invoking an exception to policy.
1.2.3 All action taken by the Chairman and the Committee shall be reported to the Board of Trustees.
2. Holding Equity in Start-up Companies
2.1 The Board supports the transfer of technology and intellectual property from USNH institutions to industry by a variety of means including the granting of licenses to start-up companies in exchange for equity interests. Subject to the conditions established in this policy, USNH and its component institutions may acquire and hold equity interests in one or more start-up companies in exchange for the transfer of technology and other intellectual property.
2.2 The Chancellor, in consultation with the Administrative Board shall establish such System-wide policies as may be necessary to ensure the prudent management of equity interests acquired or held under this policy.
2.3 The Presidents shall establish such institutional policies as may be necessary to ensure the prudent management of equity interests acquired or held under this policy at their respective institutions.
2.3.1 Said institutional policies, at a minimum, shall address the following issues:
Conflicts of interest
By whom the decision to divest is made
On what basis the decision to divest is made
Distribution of the proceeds of divestiture
2.3.2 In no case shall an institution hold an equity interest after the start-up company's initial public offering, or as soon as permitted under governmental regulations.
2.4 On or before September 1 of each year, the President of any institution holding an equity interest in a start-up company at any time during the previous fiscal year shall report those holdings to the USNH Treasurer including, at a minimum, the date acquired, number of shares, book value, and name of the company.
2.5 On or before November 1 of each year, the USNH Treasurer shall report to the Finance Committee on Investments the information collected pursuant to the previous section.
3. Quasi-endowments (also known as Funds Functioning as Endowments)
3.1 State Delegation of Authority:
3.1.1 State law (RSA 187-A:16) delegates to the Board of Trustees powers for the management and control of all income received and due from all sources, including the authority to use the same in such manner as the Trustees may determine.
3.2 Trustee Delegation of Authority
3.2.1 The Board of Trustees delegates to its Financial Affairs Committee responsibility and authority for final approval of all interfund transfers, including transfers of current, loan and plant funds to establish or add to quasi-endowment funds.
3.2.2 The Financial Affairs Committee delegates to the Chancellor responsibility and authority for approval of transfers to quasi-endowments in amounts of $100,000 or less. It is the intent of this policy to aggregate like transactions when determining the applicable approval procedure.
3.3 Definition of and Accounting for Quasi-endowment Funds
3.3.1 Quasi-endowments are funds that have been transferred from another source to be retained and permanently invested in the Consolidated Investment Pool (CIP) with the true endowment at the direction of the Board of Trustees (or in the case of amounts under $100,000 at the direction of the Chancellor). Quasi-endowments differ from true endowments, which are amounts received by USNH subject to a requirement by a donor or other external provider that the funds be invested in perpetuity.
3.3.2 The original source of quasi-endowment funds may be current restricted, current unrestricted, loan, or plant funds. If the original source of funds was restricted as to purpose by a donor or other external resource provider, the quasi-endowment will be classified as restricted and the use of the annual distribution of endowment earnings will be similarly restricted.
3.3.3 Ordinarily the Chancellor will not authorize the establishment of a quasi-endowment of less than $25,000 unless there is a plan to build the fund to at least $25,000 through future transfers or a commitment to reinvest the annual earnings in the fund until it reaches a $25,000 balance.
3.4 Revocation of Quasi-endowment Funds
3.4.1 Because a quasi-endowment results from an internal designation as opposed to a legally binding external requirement, a quasi-endowment may be revoked in the future. A revocation of a quasi-endowment of any amount requires the vote of the Financial Affairs Committee.