Gifts made to an endowment are invested in perpetuity to generate earnings to support the purposes of the endowment. The gift(s) form the principal of the endowment. The principal is never spent; the scholarships are provided by the earnings from the principal.

For a named endowed scholarship, the minimum initial principal is $10,000. When the minimum is reached, the scholarship is considered vested. Scholarships may also be endowed by planned gifts.

The principal must be vested for an entire year before the first scholarship awards can be made. (Example: for a scholarship to be awarded in December 2009, $10,000 would need to be placed in a fund by December 2008. The scholarship could be awarded before December 2009, but could not be paid until December 2009.)

Endowments are invested by a financial institution designated by the Pierre Educational Foundation, unless otherwise specified and managed by the donor.

Distributions are made from endowment earnings. The current “spending rule” is 5%. Should the corpus earn more than 5%, unspent earnings are reinvested to preserve the purchasing power of the endowment, so that scholarships can continue to be awarded during lean economic times, as well as good ones.

Scholarships are awarded annually at T.F. Riggs Awards Night in the spring. Donors may restrict awards on the basis of need or merit. Criteria determined by the donor in consultation with the Pierre Educational Foundation can give preference to students seeking particular careers, participating in certain activities, and holding a particular grade point average.

Unless otherwise specified by the donor, scholarships are not paid out until after the scholarship winner has completed the first semester or quarter in an accredited college or university, and a transcript of grades is received by the Pierre Educational Foundation. If the scholarship winner fails to enroll in an accredited college or university OR if the student does not complete the semester or quarter, an alternate winner will be selected by the committee.

A current PEF Board Member or board designee will sit on the scholarship selection committee.

The donor may not name scholarship recipients. The donor will be kept fully informed of who is selected.

The donor cannot serve on the selection committee.

The donor may provide input on who they would like to serve on the scholarship selection committee. These suggestions will be taken into consideration by the Pierre Educational Foundation.

Criteria may not compromise the Pierre Educational Foundation’s tax exempt status or accreditation or violate the law.

Purpose of the scholarship

Minimum size of the award

Is there a maximum size of the award? If the maximum is reached, will an additional scholarship be awarded?

Qualifications pertaining to recipients:

• GPA requirement?

• SAT / ACT requirement?

• Involved in particular classes?

• Involved in particular school / non-school activities?

• College / University requirement? (in-state / out-of-state / designate specific college or university?)

• Letters of recommendation required? How many?

• Financial Need?