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Earth Island Institute Project Procedures


Earth Island Institute
300 Broadway, Suite 28
San Francisco, CA 94133
415-788-3666

Earth Island Institute's work is accomplished primarily through its sponsorship of a network of projects. These procedures outline the purpose, structure, application process, benefits, and responsibilities associated with project sponsorship.

Organizational Purpose

Earth Island Institute (EII) projects pursue innovative approaches to building ecological awareness and solving environmental problems. We aim to assist emerging project work that is consistent with Earth Island's mission statement below:

Life on Earth is imperiled by human degradation of the biosphere. Earth Island Institute develops and supports projects that counteract threats to the biological and cultural diversity that sustains the environment. Through education and activism, these projects promote the conservation, protection, and restoration of the Earth.

David Brower added that EII's essential role is to bring ecological conscience to all spheres of society.

The Structure of Earth Island

Earth Island Institute is a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of California and is tax exempt and tax deductible under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Its Board of Directors has overall responsibility for the governance and actions of the organization and hires one or moreExecutive Director(s) (ED) to manage its work on a day-to-day basis. The ED manages the staff of Earth Island Network Services (EINS), which provides the administration of the organization. The Board of Directors retains overallresponsibility for the governance, adoption, evaluation, and termination of projects, although in certain instances these duties may be delegated to the Program Committee and/or the ED. The Program Committee considers new project applications in preparation for action by the full Board. Projects are reviewed once a year by the Board of Directors.

Once adopted, projects work under the general supervision of the ED. Projects are virtually autonomous on a day-to-day basis, because we have great confidence in the capabilities of individuals and groups to develop their own work. Earth Island gives creative, results-oriented people the freedom to develop program ideas, supported by services to help them pursue those ideas, with a minimum of bureaucracy. These basic services include accounting, general administration, counsel on program strategy, connections with other Earth Island efforts, project coverage through Earth Island Journal, and access to office facilities, to name a few. (For a complete listing refer to the Benefits of Project Sponsorship section within this document)

Earth Island Action Group is a separate corporation, tax-exempt but not tax-deductible, that exists to assist EII's mission and its projects legislatively and politically.

The Project Application Process

With the help of EINS staff, project applicants should inform themselves of what existing EII projects are undertaking and explain how a new project can complement or improve the Earth Island program. Project applicants are asked to complete the Project Application Form in consultation with Earth Island staff. Sometimes applicants are asked to consider whether their activities might best be merged with an existing EII project; in any case, existing EII projects are consulted by staff when a closely related project is proposed. The Program Committee has a running docket of projects under consideration and, in consultation with staff, decides when a project application is complete and ready for consideration. Project applicants may be asked to submit supplemental information for Program Committee consideration. The Program Committee may then propose to the full board that a project be adopted as proposed, that it be adopted with modifications, or that it be declined based on Program Committee deliberations.

Benefits of Project Sponsorship

Administrative

  1. EINS provides for its projects all routine accounting services, including processing deposits, disbursing checks, and issuing monthly financial reports for each project. Exceptional accounting services (processing of many small deposits, issuing of many small checks, sub-accounting for grant compliance purposes, etc.) are available only with the approval of the ED. The cost of basic administration services is partly offset by a charge of nine percent on project revenues.
  2. Projects may put employees on the Earth Island payroll and have access to the office health and dental insurance programs, even if theydo not have employees working at the EII offices. Under certain conditions, as dictated by law, EII project staff must be considered employees and treated as such, rather than independent contractors. Consult with the ED and the EII employee handbook for details. The cost of these optional services is passed on to projects.
  3. Office space and reception/phone answering services for projects are available at the 300 Broadway office and are charged to projects at cost.
  4. EINS handles compliance with governmental regulating and taxing authorities.

Project Development

  1. EINS provides informal consultationon project focus, campaign strategy, and fundraising.
  2. Projects are encouraged to submit draft copies of brochures and other outreach materials for advice from EINS staff.
  3. EINS staff regularly receives volunteer applications from the public and makes referrals to projects needing help.

Networking and Outreach

  1. Projects are identified quarterly in the EIJ and described in more detail in the EII Annual Report, and other publicity materials.
  2. Projects are encouraged to develop brochures and other publicity materials to be distributed to the public from the 300 Broadway office and through other EII outreach efforts.
  3. All projects can reserve use of the 300 Broadway library and conference rooms for meetings and special gatherings, on a space-available basis.
  4. All project staff members are invited to meetings of the Board of Directors andboard/staff retreats.
  5. Projects frequently collaborate on joint campaigns and outreach activities.
  6. The Earth Island Journal (EIJ) regularly invites news stories and reports written by project staff. The editor makes final editorial decisionsbased on news–worthiness.

Fundraising

  1. All projects are encouraged to develop joint project memberships, with the full amount of the yearly membership fee of $25 or more(except for a $2 yearly subsidized member maintenance charge made by EINS) going directly to the project. All suchmembers receive EIJ in addition to any mailings the project may do. (International members may be subject to a slightly higher member maintenance charge.)
  2. Contributions to projects through EII are tax deductible. Projects that receive funds directly from the public should become familiar with the limitations on tax-deductibility that individual contributors may claim. EINS development staff can provide this information.
  3. Projects have access to, and are encouraged to use Earth Island foundation funding files for reference on funding approaches. Project cooperation with EINS in approaching funders is essential to maintaining Earth Island's good standing in the foundation community. EINS coordinates access to foundation funding sources in accordance with its Foundation Access Model document, which can be obtained from the EINS development staff.
  4. EINS development staff members are available on a limited basis to look over project foundation proposals for comment and to help project staff to use the development resources available at EII.
  5. Access to and cost of mailing to names maintained on EII database by EINS and other projects can be negotiated with the "owners" of the names.

Additional Services Available to Projects

  1. The following services (not covered by the 9% overhead charge) are available to all projects at costs, where they are involved, established by EINS or other in-house projects that provide the services:
    1. Use of nonprofit bulk mail permit and business return mail permit.
    2. Use of office photocopiers.
    3. Use of office fax machines.
    4. Use of office phone systems(as available), long distance phone services, and phone travel card services.
    5. Use of EINS charge accounts.
    6. Maintenance of project member names on the Earth Island Institute membership database.
    7. Access to Internet and othercomputer telecommunications services.
    8. Special development assistance.
    9. Payroll services.

Project Obligations

Terms of Sponsorship

  1. Projects must identify a single director as the responsible party with whom EINS communicates about routine business matters. EINS recognizes the original person applying for project status as project director unless the director informs EII in writing of any change in responsibility. Also, projects may not shift its own goals significantly or take on subprojects that are significantly beyond the nature of its original goals without approval of the Board of Directors (via the Program Committee channel).
  2. Projects shall once a year, before the end of January, submit a brief report of their activities during the previous calendar year using a format provided by EINS, together with any publications or other work products from the year. This report will provide the basis for the annual Program Committee evaluation to the Board of Directors andthe Earth Island Institute Annual Report.
  3. To voluntarily withdraw a project from EII’s sponsorship, please consult the Decomissioning Policy (Attachment A).
  4. Earth Island is ultimately responsible legally and financially for the work of its projects. In the event that a project engages in actions that threaten the viability of Earth Island Institute, the ED may suspend a project until the matter is considered by the Board of Directors. In the event that a project is financially and programmatically inactive for a period of one year or longer, the Board, with the advice of the Program Committee, may decommission the project (Attachment A).
  5. Projects are encouraged to form an advisory board to assist project activities. Such advisory committees should not be confused with the EII Board of Directors, which is the only body that legally retains overall authority over project activities.
  6. All project stationery, brochures, and other material circulated to the general public must identify the project as "a project of Earth Island Institute."

Financial

  1. Earth Island charges a nine percent (9%) overhead charge on project revenue received each month,which helps to cover Network Services costs in supporting the network.
  2. Projects shall have only one fiscal or organizational identity. That is, the project is a project of Earth Island Institute only and has neither a separate corporate identity nor another organization serving as a fiscal sponsor. Each project shall forward all revenues directly connected to their project activities through Earth Island, with checks being made out to "[project name]/Earth Island Institute."
  3. To receive payment for invoices that are a (a) direct payment to a vendor or (b) reimbursement to individuals, projects must provide EINS full documentation of the expenses. Earth Island will advance money to projects before receiving the invoice or receipt for payment only by special arrangement approved by the ED.
  4. In no case may projects make expenditures beyond the level of available cash in the project account or enter into contracts that would do so. Project directors are required to inform the ED if project assets threaten to fall below the level of four months typical operating expenses.

    To help with the above policy, EINS will consult with existing projects to establish an amount that represents the typical four months’ operating expenses. This calculation will be based on the previous year's performance and any significant changes expected in the current year. The EINS staff will meet with new project directors and review a budget for the year to establish a base for the operating expense.

    Every month staff will review the financial statements and compare the project cash account to the four months operating expenses amount. If any project is near this threshold, a notice will be attached to its monthly statement pointing out this situation and requiring that the director communicate with the ED within one week concerning plans for financial stabilization. This situation will also be noted on the ED’s copies of the financial statement.

    If the project falls to two months' level of operating expenses, the project must present a financial stabilization plan and all project payroll and check requests will be reviewed by the ED and approved for payment. If the ED believes this plan is insufficient, notices giving two weeks notice of layoff will be sent to project staff.

    All projects receiving grants of $25,000 or more are required to submit a description of the grant noting any restrictions and a budget for the term of the grant to the Operations Director to review. This grant information will be used in assessing the cash requirements of projects in light of procedures for the proper accrual of income and expenses.

    In addition to the above Board policy that limits the executive directors' discretion to allow a project to be any more than $5,000 in the red. (7/21/92) When a project nears the $5,000 mark the executive directors must notify the Board president and treasurer who will set up an oversight committee to monitor the project's stabilization process.

  5. Projects are responsible for obligations to which they legally commit Earth Island, including areas such as purchases on account, contracts, and claims by former employees of or contractors to a given project. Projects may not commit themselves or EII to any contracts – written or oral – in excess of $1,000 without approval of the ED. In the absence of other arrangements, only the director of a project is authorized to enter contracts or approve expenditures for payment from project funds.
  6. Projects shall cooperate fully with any internal or external audit of all or part of EII financial affairs.

Liability and Legal Issues

  1. Before engaging in an activity or event for which liability insurance in excess of or in addition to Earth Island's current $1 million general liability coverage may be necessary or appropriate, the project must discuss the instance with the ED and may be asked to pay for any such additional insurance as a condition of proceeding with the activity. Projects shall discuss in advance any potential extensions or changes of Earth Island's exposure to liability with the ED.
  2. Project directors sponsoring or co-sponsoring an event, in which either a certificate of insurance is required or in which alcoholic beverages are going to be served must consult in advance with the ED about taking steps to satisfy liability concerns.
  3. Consistent with nonprofit law, no assets of an Earth Island project may be used for the direct profit or benefit of a private individual, corporation, or other party, except in reasonable compensation for services or goods supplied.
  4. Under certain conditions, Earth Island projects may lobby for specific legislation pending before any legislative body andencourage citizensto do so. Lobbying activity is limited by the project proportion of expenditures related to EII overall expenditures. Projects proposing to lobby must inform the ED and be subject to limits to which EII is subject. Neither Earth Island nor projects may work for the election of any political candidate. The separate organization Earth Island Action Group enables unlimited lobbying activity, and projects are encouraged to talk with the EIAG board of directors about the organization of large-scale lobbying. Contributions to EIAG are not tax-deductible.
  5. If a project engages a worker in compensated activity, and if the engagement is in the nature of employment (supervising the worker, providing the work location, etc.), then the worker must be compensated through Earth Island as an employee rather than an independent contractor. Earth Island as an employer must meet a number of criteria in its employee practices, depending on the state where the employee works. The EII Personnel Policy, explained in the EII Employee Handbook, applies to all employees of Earth Island Institute and its projects.

Fundraising

  1. All formal requests (letters and proposals) to foundation funders (private, public, community, corporate, or governmental agency) must be coordinated with the Director of Project Support. For more details refer to Foundation Coordination Model (in appendix).
  2. Any project applying for a federal grant must obtain the approval of the Director of Project Support before submitting its grant application. EII must be able to evaluate the impact of federal grants on the organization because, at certain yearly dollar amounts, the organization becomes obligated for additional financial reporting and audit requirements (OMB A-133). (Our experience in 1995, first established that an OMB A-133 audit adds expense and a great deal of work for the EINS staff.)

    The process differs from the Foundation Coordination Model in that once initial permission is given, the project must work with the Operations Director to develop a budget that included all the added costs, if any, of administering the grant. Final applications must be reviewed by the Operations Director and the Director of Project Support before submission.

  3. Sales of any merchandise as part of project activities must be cleared with the ED, and projects must assume responsibility for record keeping relative to merchandise sales and related state sales tax.
  4. Use of the bulk mail permit and business return mail permit are subject to approval by the ED.

SAMPLE

Statement of Understanding

I have read, understand, and agree to follow the below policies and procedures as an EII project. Please initial next to each item:

____ Standing Project Procedures, including decommissioning policy (attachment A)

____ EII Employee Handbook

____ Compensation Policy

____ EII Manual of Operations

____ Foundation Access Procedures

I am satisfied that all my questions about sponsorship have been answered and that I will consult the staff of EINS or the above listed documents for further clarification.

Project:  
Director’s Name:  
Director’s Signature:  
Date:  
Received by:  
Date Received:  

Attachment A

Policy for Decommissioning an Earth Island Institute Project

Decommissioning Policy

The following guidelines describe the process through which projects at Earth Island Institute become decommissioned, thus removing the project from fiscal sponsorship under EII’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. The process of decommissioning, as well as approval, is an exclusive function of the Earth Island Institute Board of Directors. The BOD reserves the absolute right to decommission a project at any time, without reason. If urgency requires it, the Executive Committee may act to decommission a project in place of the full BOD.

EII recognizes that the strength of our organization lies in our project model, which provides projects with a good deal of latitude within which creative, assertive Project Directors can pursue their unique vision. Earth Island Institute encourages focused and active projects to be developed under our organizational structure.

The decommissioning policy was developed as a tool to strengthen EII’s capacity to sponsor effective environmental projects. Earth Island’s organizational model strives to create fertile ground in which individual project efforts can thrive. The model, at its best, is still highly experimental, placing a high degree of confidence in activists and ideas that in many cases have not been tested before in the context of a formal environmental program.

EII’s policy for decommissioning was partly developed to address a situation in which projects may request sponsorship termination. Projects may want to pursue other fiscal sponsorship options, either with existing nonprofit organizations or through the formation of the project’s own 501(c)3 status. In some cases, a decision to change the fiscal sponsorship framework may improve the project’s ability to further carry out programmatic goals. In addition, project work may be time or goal specific, and projects may request decommissioning based on the completion of their work.

Another reason to develop a decommissioning policy is to address those efforts that do not develop to their full potential and the realization that critical sponsorship decisions may need to be made to terminate those efforts that are not developing into effective projects, not only from EII’s perspective, but also from the project’s perspective. These projects are efforts that largely become financially and/or programmatically inactive over time.

The most serious reason for developing a decommissioning policy is out of the need to address those projects that are in a clear violation of the Standing Project Procedures, which govern the terms of project sponsorship at EII. In some cases, a violation of these procedures may threaten the viability of EII’s 501(c)3 nonprofit fiscal status.

Reasons for Considering Decommissioning

A project may be considered for decommissioning if 1, 2, or 3 is true:

(1) The project requests termination of sponsorship under EII ‘s fiscal umbrella.

Projects may want to terminate the sponsorship relationship for a number of reasons. If a project wants to terminate this relationship, a memo should be submitted to the Program Committee Chair and then circulated to the BOD outlining the request for termination and suggesting how to proceed with the issues listed under the “Transition Procedures after Decommissioning” section of this document.

(2) A project fails to submit a year-end report and, if on closer review, it is determined that the project was programmatically and/or financially inactive for the previous year.

In December of each year all EII projects are required under the current Standing Project Procedures to submit a year-end report describing their programmatic and financial activity for that year and their plans for the upcoming year to the Program Committee. If a project does not submit a report in a timely fashion the Chair of the Program Committee will call the project director to request year-end information, and inform the project that it may be decommissioned by the Board of Directors if further information is not received within three weeks. If the committee still does not receive a year-end report or valid explanation from the project director why such a report cannot be submitted at that time, the matter will be referred to the Program Committee for discussion and possible recommendation to the BOD to implement decommissioning.

The Program Committee will be guided by the following criteria when considering a project for decommissioning:

(3) A project is in clear violation of the Standing Project Procedures.

EII is ultimately responsible legally and financially for the work of its projects. If a project violates the Standing Project Procedures, which govern project sponsorship at EII, an effort will be made to first rectify the situation in consultation between the Project Director and the Executive Director. If it is determined that the project is deemed unwilling to follow the terms set forth in the Standing Project Procedures, then the matter will be discussed within the Program Committee, where action may be taken to recommend decommissioning to the BOD.

If these violations are serious enough (endanger the financial, programmatic, or legal viability of the organization) the Executive Directors reserve the right to immediately suspend the project and refer the matter to the Executive Committee for decommissioning.

Process for Decommissioning

Once the Project is recommended for decommissioning by the Program Committee, the BOD may pursue actions under A or B.

  1. The Board of Directors may, based on all information available to it, decommission a project based on conditions set forth in 1, 2, or 3 above. A copy of the agenda for the Board of Directors meeting at which any action to decommission the project may be taken will be provided to the project in advance of such meeting.
  2. The Board of Directors may, in its discretion, determine to place a project on inactive status in lieu of immediately decommissioning the project. The term of inactive status is six months, during which time the project can be reinstated to full project status by the Program Committee if it can adequately demonstrate its financial and programmatic plans for the next year by submitting a written work plan. It will be the burden of the project to produce this work plan. A project in inactive status will not be allowed to undertake any financial or programmatic activities under EII's sponsorship. Furthermore, all projects in inactive status will have their names removed from all EII literature and will not receive monthly financial reports. At the end of six months, if the project has not met the requirements to be reinstated to full project status as determined by the Program Committee, it will be brought to the Board of Directors to be decommissioned under the procedures set forth in A.

Transition Procedures after Decommissioning

Once the Board has voted to decommission a project the following administrative steps must take place:

Reapplication for Project Sponsorship after Decommissioning

Any project that has been decommissioned is eligible to re-apply through the normal Program Committee process.

Attachment B

Project Sponsorship Criteria

For your information, the following criteria are used by the Program Committee and the Board of Directors in considering proposals for project sponsorship.

  1. Is the purpose of the project clearly stated and will it complement or advance the EII Program?
  2. Is the work of the proposed project consistent with the Earth Island Institute Mission Statement.
  3. Is the project willing to abide by the provisions of the EII Project Procedures?
  4. Does the proposal offer a strategically valuable approach to an important problem defined in environmental or ecological terms?
  5. Does the proposal offer a unique approach to that problem?
  6. Does the work of the proposed project complement existing or proposed Earth Island program strategies?
  7. Does the project offer potential for expanding Earth Island membership and the EII network of Centers? Is the project leadership interested in the development of the Earth Island Network?
  8. Is the project leadership capable of carrying out its purposes?
  9. Does the project stress grassroots mobilization for environmental change?
  10. What significance does the project have beyond its specific focus?
  11. Can the project expand the capabilities and resources of Earth Island?

Updated November 7, 2006