Section 2776.20  Applicant Eligibility

a)         A qualified community foundation shall apply to the Commission for eligibility to participate in the Program. [110 ILCS 998/10-17]

1)         The qualified community foundation shall submit a complete Community Foundation Program Application to ISAC.  A complete application includes, but is not limited to, the following items, sufficient to the satisfaction of ISAC:

A)        An application form requesting basic organizational information, including but not limited to legal name and contact information and organizational leadership;

B)        A self-certification statement and, upon request, supplementary evidence that the qualified community foundation meets the qualifications under Section 170(b)(1)(A)(vi) of the Internal Revenue Code and substantially complies with the standards established by Community Foundations National Standards;

C)        A list of the names and addresses of all members of the governing board of the qualified community foundation and;

D)        A copy of the most recent financial audit of the qualified community foundation's accounts and records conducted by an independent certified public accountant in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States, government auditing standards, and rules adopted by ISAC under 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700.30.

2)         Providing documentation for items listed in subsections (a)(1)(B) through (D) is optional for any qualified community foundation that can instead provide documentation that it has been determined eligible to participate in tax incentive programs administered by other State agencies.

3)         To gain a better understanding of the community foundation's proposed loan repayment program, and to support required annual reporting, ISAC will ask community foundations to submit responses to supplemental application questions that will provide an overview of their intended loan repayment program design.  Responses to these questions are for informational and planning purposes only and will not be used as a basis for approval or denial of participation in the Program.

b)         Upon ISAC's finding that the qualified community foundation is eligible to participate in the Program, the qualified community foundation may enter into a community foundation Partner Participation Agreement with ISAC.

1)         A qualified community foundation's Community Foundation Partner Participation Agreement may automatically be renewed annually for a period of five years upon the annual submission of the following items to ISAC within 60 days of the close of its fiscal year.

A)        An annual report summarizing its loan repayment activity, as further defined in Section 2776.40(b).

B)        Notice of any changes or a statement of no changes to any of the required documentation listed in Section 2776.20(a).

c)         A qualified community foundation will be notified if their Agreement has been automatically renewed following the submission of the annual items listed in Section 2776.20(b), or

d)         A qualified community foundation that does not timely submit the annual items listed in Section 2776.20(b) will need to reapply for the Program, and if approved, may enter into a new community foundation partner participation agreement.