§1907 Helen Keller National Center Federal Endowment Fund

Summary

Creates the Helen Keller National Center Federal Endowment Fund to help the Center become financially independent. The Secretary and the Center’s Board can set up the fund and make needed agreements. The Secretary will pay into the fund amounts that match non‑Federal donations (not counting transfers from other Center endowments), if Congress provides the money. The Center must invest the fund carefully in low‑risk accounts and securities, not in real estate, and not in companies controlled by its officers. The Center may not borrow against the fund corpus without the Secretary’s written permission. For 20 years after a Federal payment, the Center cannot spend or withdraw the Federal payment or the matching non‑Federal contributions that make up the corpus. After 20 years, the corpus and any income may be used to benefit people who are deaf‑blind. Income can be used for running the Center (like operations, staff, building work, community programs, technical help, and research) but not for commercial purposes. Normally the Center may not spend more than 50 percent of total endowment income earned before the withdrawal; the Secretary can allow more for a financial emergency, a life‑threatening disaster, or another urgent situation. The Center must keep accurate records, have an annual audit, give the Secretary the audit report within 15 days after it is finished and accepted, and send an annual report within 60 days after each fiscal year. After notice and a hearing, the Secretary can recover Federal payments if the Center misuses funds, breaks the investment rules, or fails to account properly. “Endowment fund” means a fund or tax‑exempt foundation to support the Center. “Endowment Fund corpus” means the Federal payments plus non‑Federal contributions. “Endowment Fund income” means the fund’s market value minus the corpus. Money was authorized as needed for fiscal years 1999 through 2003 and stays available until spent.