Money

Here at the beginning of 2006, the project has assets of about $200,000. All of this is available to be given to 501(c)(3) charities or spent on in-house projects.

Where did the money come from?

The bulk of the money came from Brian's mom, in a series of gifts from 1996 to 2003.

Where is the money now?

The money is in two pools. One pool, amounting to about $125,000, is being held in a donor advised fund. The other pool, with slightly more than $80,000, is being held by Brian.

What is a "donor advised fund"?

A donor advised fund is an investment fund run by a community foundation or other public charity. The donor (which in this case is Brian) deposits money in the fund by making donations to the organization that runs the fund. The donor can't ever withdraw the funds, but the donor can recommend that specific grants be made to eligible charitable recipients. The organization that runs the fund is free to accept or reject the recommendations, although in practice these organizations accept the vast majority of recommendations made.

Where can the money be given?

The money held in the donor advised fund can only be given to organizations that qualify as exempt under the United States Internal Revenue Code. In the past I have only given to 501(c)(3) non-profits, although it may also be possible to give to other 501 charities, or to organizations that qualify under section 509(a)(1), 509(a)(2), or 4942(j)(3). Like the money in the donor advised fund, the money being held by Brian could be given to any qualified non-profit organization, but it could also be used for other projects, if there was a compelling reason to fund some effort that was not organized as a tax exempt charity.

How is the money invested?

All of the money is invested in the stock market. It's now invested primarily in international index funds, although in past years a lot of it was in cash or in Silicon Valley tech stocks. I have the money in the stock market in an attempt to maximize the investment appreciation, in order to have more money to give away. I used index funds because of their convenience and relative low volatility. And I chose international index funds because I have strong feelings about the importance of internationalism, and the importance of global economic development, and the importance of breaking down national barriers.

What are the current account balances?

January 1, 2006
$ 124,174	donor advised fund
$ 82,553	held by Brian
$ 206,727	total

Do you have old bookkeeping records from the years before the openagenda project started?

Yes, there's a table of summary info from previous years available on a separate page of old bookkeeping records.