Chapter 7 - Charitable, Educational, Religious And Other Societies
CHAPTER 7 - CHARITABLE, EDUCATIONAL, RELIGIOUS AND OTHERSOCIETIES
ARTICLE 1 - IN GENERAL
17-7-101. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-102. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-103. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-104. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-105. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-106. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-107. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-108. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-109. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-110. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-111. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-112. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-113. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-114. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-115. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
17-7-116. Repealed by Laws 1992, ch. 53, 3.
ARTICLE 2 - UNIFORM MANAGEMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS ACT
17-7-201. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 185, 2.
17-7-202. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 185, 2.
17-7-203. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 185, 2.
17-7-204. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 185, 2.
17-7-205. Repealed By Laws 2009, Ch. 185, 2.
ARTICLE 3 - UNIFORM PRUDENT MANAGEMENT OF INSTITUTIONAL FUNDSACT
17-7-301. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the UniformPrudent Management of Institutional Funds Act.
17-7-302. Definitions.
(a) As used in this act:
(i) "Charitable purpose" means the relief of poverty,the advancement of education or religion, the promotion of health, thepromotion of a governmental purpose or any other purpose the achievement ofwhich is beneficial to the community;
(ii) "Endowment fund" means an institutional fund orpart thereof that, under the terms of a gift instrument, is not whollyexpendable by the institution on a current basis. The term does not includeassets that an institution designates as an endowment fund for its own use;
(iii) "Gift instrument" means a record or records,including an institutional solicitation, under which property is granted to,transferred to or held by an institution as an institutional fund;
(iv) "Institution" means:
(A) A person, other than an individual, organized and operatedexclusively for charitable purposes;
(B) A government or governmental subdivision, agency orinstrumentality to the extent that it holds funds exclusively for a charitablepurpose; or
(C) A trust that had both charitable and noncharitableinterests, after all noncharitable interests have been terminated.
(v) "Institutional fund" means a fund held by aninstitution exclusively for charitable purposes. The term does not include:
(A) Program-related assets;
(B) A fund held for an institution by a trustee that is not aninstitution; or
(C) A fund in which a beneficiary that is not an institutionhas an interest, other than an interest that could arise upon violation orfailure of the purposes of the fund.
(vi) "Person" means as defined by W.S. 8-1-102;
(vii) "Program-related asset" means an asset held by aninstitution primarily to accomplish a charitable purpose of the institution andnot primarily for investment;
(viii) "Record" means information that is inscribed on atangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and isretrievable in perceivable form;
(ix) "This act" means W.S. 17-7-301 through 17-7-307.
17-7-303. Standard of conduct in managing and investing institutionalfund.
(a) Subject to the intent of a donor expressed in a giftinstrument, an institution, in managing and investing an institutional fund,shall consider the charitable purposes of the institution and the purposes ofthe institutional fund.
(b) In addition to complying with the duty of loyalty imposedby law other than this act, each person responsible for managing and investingan institutional fund shall manage and invest the fund in good faith and withthe care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise undersimilar circumstances.
(c) In managing and investing an institutional fund, aninstitution:
(i) May incur only costs that are appropriate and reasonable inrelation to the assets, the purposes of the institution and the skillsavailable to the institution; and
(ii) Shall make a reasonable effort to verify facts relevant tothe management and investment of the fund.
(d) An institution may pool two (2) or more institutional fundsfor purposes of management and investment.
(e) Except as otherwise provided by a gift instrument, thefollowing rules shall apply:
(i) In managing and investing an institutional fund, thefollowing factors if relevant shall be considered:
(A) General economic conditions;
(B) The possible effect of inflation or deflation;
(C) The expected tax consequences, if any, of investmentdecisions or strategies;
(D) The role that each investment or course of action playswithin the overall investment portfolio of the fund;
(E) The expected total return from income and the appreciationof investments;
(F) Other resources of the institution;
(G) The needs of the institution and the fund to makedistributions and to preserve capital; and
(H) An asset's special relationship or special value, if any,to the charitable purposes of the institution.
(ii) Management and investment decisions about an individualasset shall be made not in isolation but rather in the context of theinstitutional fund's portfolio of investments as a whole and as a part of anoverall investment strategy having risk and return objectives reasonably suitedto the fund and to the institution;
(iii) Except as otherwise provided by law other than this act, aninstitution may invest in any kind of property or type of investment consistentwith this section;
(iv) An institution shall diversify the investments of aninstitutional fund unless the institution reasonably determines that, becauseof special circumstances, the purposes of the fund are better served withoutdiversification;
(v) Within a reasonable time after receiving property, aninstitution shall make and carry out decisions concerning the retention ordisposition of the property or to rebalance a portfolio in order to bring theinstitutional fund into compliance with the purposes, terms and distribution requirementsof the institution as necessary to meet other circumstances of the institutionand the requirements of this act;
(vi) A person who has special skills or expertise, or isselected in reliance upon the person's representation that the person hasspecial skills or expertise, has a duty to use those skills or that expertisein managing and investing institutional funds.
17-7-304. Appropriation for expenditure or accumulation of endowmentfund; rules of construction.
(a) Subject to subsection (d) of this section and to the intentof a donor expressed in the gift instrument, an institution may appropriate forexpenditure or accumulate so much of an endowment fund as the institutiondetermines is prudent for the uses, benefits, purposes and duration for whichthe endowment fund is established. Unless stated otherwise in the giftinstrument, the assets in an endowment fund are donor-restricted assets untilappropriated for expenditure by the institution. In making a determination toappropriate or accumulate, the institution shall act in good faith, with thecare that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise undersimilar circumstances, and shall consider, if relevant, the following factors:
(i) The duration and preservation of the endowment fund;
(ii) The purposes of the institution and the endowment fund;
(iii) General economic conditions;
(iv) The possible effect of inflation or deflation;
(v) The expected total return from income and the appreciationof investments;
(vi) Other resources of the institution; and
(vii) The investment policy of the institution.
(b) To limit the authority to appropriate for expenditure oraccumulate under subsection (a) of this section, a gift instrument shallspecifically state the limitation.
(c) Terms in a gift instrument designating a gift as anendowment, or a direction or authorization in the gift instrument to use only"income", "interest", "dividends", or"rents, issues or profits", or "to preserve the principalintact" or words of similar import:
(i) Create an endowment fund of permanent duration unless otherlanguage in the gift instrument limits the duration or purpose of the fund; and
(ii) Do not otherwise limit the authority to appropriate forexpenditure or accumulate under subsection (a) of this section.
(d) The appropriation for expenditure in any year of an amountgreater than seven percent (7%) of the fair market value of an endowment fund,calculated on the basis of market values determined at least quarterly andaveraged over a period of not less than three (3) years immediately precedingthe year in which the appropriation for expenditure is made, creates arebuttable presumption of imprudence. For an endowment fund in existence forfewer than three (3) years, the fair market value of the endowment fund shallbe calculated for the period the endowment fund has been in existence. Thissubsection shall not:
(i) Apply to an appropriation for expenditure permitted underlaw other than this act or by the gift instrument; or
(ii) Create a presumption of prudence for an appropriation forexpenditure of an amount less than or equal to seven percent (7%) of the fairmarket value of the endowment fund.
17-7-305. Delegation of management and investment functions.
(a) Subject to any specific limitation set forth in a giftinstrument or in law other than this act, an institution may delegate to anexternal agent the management and investment of an institutional fund to theextent that an institution could prudently delegate under the circumstances. An institution shall act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarilyprudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances,in:
(i) Selecting an agent;
(ii) Establishing the scope and terms of the delegation,consistent with the purposes of the institution and the institutional fund; and
(iii) Periodically reviewing the agent's actions in order tomonitor the agent's performance and compliance with the scope and terms of thedelegation.
(b) In performing a delegated function, an agent owes a duty tothe institution to exercise reasonable care to comply with the scope and termsof the delegation.
(c) An institution that complies with subsection (a) of thissection is not liable for the decisions or actions of an agent to which thefunction was delegated.
(d) By accepting delegation of a management or investmentfunction from an institution that is subject to the laws of this state, anagent submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state in allproceedings arising from or related to the delegation or the performance of thedelegated function.
(e) An institution may delegate management and investmentfunctions to its committees, officers or employees as authorized by law of thisstate other than this act.
17-7-306. Release or modification of restrictions on management,investment or purpose.
(a) If the donor consents in a record, an institution mayrelease or modify, in whole or in part, a restriction contained in a giftinstrument on the management, investment or purpose of an institutional fund. A release or modification may not allow a fund to be used for a purpose otherthan a charitable purpose of the institution.
(b) The court upon application of an institution, may modify arestriction contained in a gift instrument regarding the management orinvestment of an institutional fund if the restriction has become impracticableor wasteful, if it impairs the management or investment of the fund, or if,because of circumstances not anticipated by the donor, a modification of arestriction will further the purposes of the fund. If the institution is agovernmental institution as defined by W.S. 17-7-302(a)(iv), the institutionshall notify the attorney general of the application, and the attorney generalshall be given an opportunity to be heard. To the extent practicable, anymodification shall be made in accordance with the donor's probable intention.
(c) If a particular charitable purpose or a restrictioncontained in a gift instrument on the use of an institutional fund becomesunlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve or wasteful, the court, uponapplication of an institution, may modify the purpose of the fund or therestriction on the use of the fund in a manner consistent with the charitablepurposes expressed in the gift instrument. If the institution is agovernmental institution as defined by W.S. 17-7-302(a)(iv), the institutionshall notify the attorney general of the application, and the attorney generalshall be given an opportunity to be heard.
(d) If an institution determines that a restriction containedin a gift instrument on the management, investment or purposes of aninstitutional fund is unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve or wasteful,the institution, not less than sixty (60) days after notification to theattorney general, may release or modify the restriction, in whole or part, if:
(i) The institutional fund subject to the restriction has atotal value of less than twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00);
(ii) More than twenty (20) years have elapsed since the fund wasestablished; and
(iii) The institution uses the property in a manner consistentwith the charitable purposes expressed in the gift instrument.
17-7-307. Reviewing compliance.
Compliancewith this act shall be determined in light of the facts and circumstancesexisting at the time a decision is made or action is taken.