Frequently Asked Questions
about the
Educational Fund
Following are some questions that are frequently asked about the Educational Fund:
- What kinds of projects are awarded grants?
- Are Grants limited to USPS Educational Department projects?
- Is any of the money I donate used directly to pay operating expenses for any department or person?
- Are donations to the USPS Educational Fund tax-deductible?
- How large is the USPS Educational Fund and is it invested safely?
- Who can be a USPS Educational Fund Trustee and how are they chosen?
- How large are USPS Educational Fund grants?
- Are grants renewable?
- Are squadrons and districts eligible for USPS Educational Fund grants?
- How can my squadron or district apply for a USPS Educational Fund grant? How soon will we know if it is approved?
- How do USPS members and the general public get to know about the many programs and projects underwritten by USPS Educational Fund grants?
- What oversight is provided to assure that grant monies are spent properly for the approved purpose(s) of a grant?
- I want to have my squadron or district on the EdFund Honor Roll this year. How do I do that?
- How can I determine the number of active members in a squadron on 01 December for Honor Roll purposes?
- When must contributions be made for the Honor Roll?
- How long does it take to receive an acknowledgment of a non-Honor Roll contribution?
- Can I still use my old envelope with a different address on it than what's posted on the EdFund web page?
1. QUESTION: What kinds of projects are awarded grants?
ANSWER: Most grants are awarded for development of new boating-related educational programs. A few grants have been awarded to purchase specialized equipment for USPS Headquarters that is to be used to greatly improve the operations of educational programs (e.g., a high-speed CD duplicator). Grants are not awarded to support on-going programs or to purchase equipment for squadrons or districts. For a complete list of all grants that have been awarded since the USPS Educational Fund was established in the early 1970's, click on Approved Grants on any EdFund web page.
2. QUESTION: Are Grants limited to USPS Educational Department projects?
ANSWER: No. In recent years grants have been awarded to other committees and departments in USPS, e.g., Headquarters (HQ) Marketing Department, Marketing & Public Relations Committee, Environmental Committee, Vessel Safety Check Committee, and Membership Committee. Grants have also been awarded to non-USPS organizations, e.g., National Association of Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA), National Boating Federation (NBF), American Boat & Yacht Council (ABYC), and United Safe Boating Institute (USBI). For a complete list of all Grants that have been awarded since the USPS Educational Fund was established in the early 1970's, click on Approved Grants on any EdFund web page.
3. QUESTION: Is any of the money I donate used directly to pay operating expenses for any department or person?
ANSWER: No. The money you and everyone else donates to the USPS Educational Fund is placed 100% in a trust fund. This Fund is invested in a variety of fixed income and equity assets under the guidance of an experienced investment management firm. The principal of that Fund is never spent. Only the yield (return on investments) is spent to pay approved expenses of awarded Grants. To get a picture of where the Fund stands financially, click on the latest Investment Report under Reports on any EdFund web page.
4. QUESTION: Are donations to the USPS Educational Fund tax-deductible?
ANSWER: Yes. The USPS Educational Fund is an independent IRS Section 501(c)(3) non-profit educational charity. Your donations are 100% deductible from your U.S. federal income tax, up to the limits for your tax bracket. The EdFund Administrator will send you a written acknowledgment of your donation for tax receipt purposes. To make a donation today on-line, click on the green Donate On-Line Now button on the EdFund Home page or click here.
5. QUESTION: How large is the USPS Educational Fund and is it invested safely?
ANSWER: As of 31 December 2020, the assets held by the Educational Fund totaled about $4.9 million. Day-to-day management of the portfolio is handled by an investment manager operating within guidelines established by the trustees of the EdFund. Those guidelines at present call for the assets to be invested conservatively within broad percentage ranges of total asset value, more-or-less as follows:
Cash 3% Equities 59% Fixed income 38%
6. QUESTION: Who can be a USPS Educational Fund Trustee and how are they chosen?
ANSWER: Almost any adult member is eligible to be elected a Trustee. As vacancies become available, the current Trustees screen and identify potential Trustee candidates. They submit their recommendations to the USPS Committee on Nominations, which in turn nominates Trustee candidates for election by the USPS Governing Board. For a list of current Trustees and their terms of office and of all Trustees from the start of the EdFund, click on Trustees on any EdFund web page. Anyone interested in serving as a USPS Educational Fund Trustee (for a term of three years) may submit a USPS resume to the USPS Committee on Nominations or send a letter to the current Chair of the Trustees.
7. QUESTION: How large are USPS Educational Fund grants?
ANSWER: There are no specific rules on that. In the past 10 years, grants awarded have ranged in size from $550.00 to $177,500.00. It all depends on the project being proposed and its relative significance in the realm of recreational boating education. If you are thinking of asking for a grant, use the Grant Request Submittal Form on this website to file your Grant Request.
8. QUESTION: Are grants renewable?
ANSWER: Yes and No. Some large grants have been split up into phases, with the phases being funded one at a time. That allows for performance and progress review by both the grantee and the Fund Trustees and helps avoid tying up too much grant money at one time.
On the other hand, grants are most often awarded for development of some new educational project, concept, or product. They are not awarded for continuing operational support of a program that has completed development. Monies to support such ongoing efforts are the responsibility of the organization running that program.
9. QUESTION: Are squadrons and districts eligible for USPS Educational Fund grants?
ANSWER: Yes. For example, one grant was awarded to a specific squadron for boat ramp signs promoting safe boating education. Another squadron received a grant to support development of a boating safety education program in cooperation with the public schools in the area. Other good sources you might want to explore for grants for squadrons and districts are the BoatUS Foundation and the National Safe Boating Council.
10. QUESTION: How can my squadron or district apply for a USPS Educational Fund grant? How soon will we know if it is approved?
ANSWER: First, flesh out the project you wish to undertake and calculate projected costs to complete it. When you are ready to submit your proposal, use the USPS Educational Fund Grant Request Submittal Form available on this website. Submit the Grant Request to the Secretary of the EdFund Trustees using the address on the form. The Secretary will assign the request a Grant Request number and forward it to the EdFund Chair. The Trustees will examine your proposal; they may ask for more back-up information; they will look at the monies available for award this year for this and other Grant Requests and then vote on it — either electronically or at a USPS national meeting. You can normally expect to get an answer within about 60 days after you submit your request form.
11. QUESTION: How do USPS members and the general public get to know about the many programs and projects underwritten by USPS Educational Fund grants?
ANSWER: One way is to visit this website as you are doing. Posted on the site is a list of all grants awarded since the start of the Fund in the early 1970's (click on Approved Grants on any EdFund web page). Also posted are copies of all currently open grants and their status.
A second, and perhaps more important, way is for the grantees to acknowledge the support of the USPS Educational Fund in their published and electronic media materials. The Trustees recently revised the “Conditions of Grant” to include the following statement: “All announcements, publications, and media presentations produced through or for this project will specifically acknowledge the role of the USPS Educational Fund in underwriting the project.” The “Conditions of Grant” statement also says: “Failure to comply may result in the disallowance of certain expenses and/or immediate cancellation of the Grant.”
12. QUESTION: What oversight is provided to assure that grant monies are spent properly for the approved purpose(s) of a grant?
ANSWER: Oversight is provided in two ways. First, as one of the “Conditions of Grant,” the grantee must agree that: “Grantee will send to the current chair of the Trustees a written report of the progress and status of the project 30 days prior to the USPS Annual Meeting and any USPS Governing Board Meeting, plus a final detailed report of the project, including expenditures, when the project is completed.” Failure to comply may result in the disallowance of certain expenses and/or immediate cancellation of the Grant.
Secondly, every invoice submitted by the grantee for reimbursement from the USPS Educational Fund is sent to the Treasurer of the EdFund Trustees. The Treasurer examines the invoice to be sure all items covered by it are valid charges against the awarded grant and that the approved total grant amount is not being exceeded. The approved invoice is then sent to USPS Headquarters for payment on all grants awarded to USPS entities or is paid directly by the Fund Treasurer for all grants made to non-USPS organizations.
13. QUESTION: I want to have my squadron or district on the EdFund Honor Roll this year. How do I do that?
ANSWER: To make the Honor Roll, a squadron must make a voluntary contribution to the EdFund Honor Roll program in the amount of one dollar (or more) per active member. Not every squadron member must have contributed a dollar; just that the total from the squadron equals the necessary amount.
The active member count used throughout the Honor Roll year is the active member count at the beginning of the EdFund fiscal year; that is, 1 December.
The contributions are payable by check, or on-line with a credit card. Be sure to designate the contribution for Honor Roll purpose.
Squadrons may raise the funds for the Honor Roll contribution any way they might wish, be it cookie sales, raffle tickets, regular squadron dues, passing the hat at meetings, or whatever works for each squadron.
For a district to be on the Honor Roll, every squadron within the district must be an Honor Roll squadron.
14. QUESTION: How can I determine the number of active members in a squadron on 01 December for Honor Roll purposes?
The Target column in the Honor Roll table shows the minimum squadron donation to reach Honor Roll status for the current year. The data is extracted from the USPS Headquarters membership records showing squadron membership numbers as of 01 December for the EdFund year, which runs from 01 December to 30 November. That information will be used to determine squadron contribution levels to attain Honor Roll status.
15. QUESTION: When must contributions be made for the Honor Roll?
ANSWER: Honor Roll donations should be received by the EdFund Administrative Assistant by 30 November. When the squadron sends the contribution, the amount should equal at least one dollar times the number of active members (as determined from the table mentioned in FAQ 14 above).
16. QUESTION: How long does it take to receive an acknowledgment of a non-Honor Roll contribution?
ANSWER: Notification of non-Honor Roll donations are received by the EdFund Administrative Assistant several days after the end of the month of the donation. The acknowledgment is usually sent within a week after receipt of the notification. Unforeseen postal delays may affect this time line.
17. QUESTION: Can I still use my old envelope with a different address on it than what's posted on the EdFund web page?
ANSWER: No, please don't use any old envelopes you may have for the EdFund if the address is not in Raleigh, NC. The correct address to use for postal mail is:
USPS Educational Fund
Administrative Assistant
PO Box 30423
Raleigh, NC 27622
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