It is recognized that federal, state, and county tax funds are the major source of support for extension programs and that some educational efforts provided through extension cannot be supported properly with tax funds alone. When considering investment-type activities as an alternative way to raise needed funding, we must take into account the following guidelines:

1. Additional funding raised to support Cooperative Extension programs must be done so for a specific educational program need. Raising funds without defining the need for them is an activity unrelated to our educational purpose and could be fully taxable and possibly jeopardize our nonprofit status.
   
   
2. All funds appropriated, given, or raised in support of Cooperative Extension programs are public funds and should not be put at risk regardless of how small.
   
   
3. All funds appropriated, given, or raised in support of Cooperative Extension programs must be readily available at all times to support approved expenditures.
   
   
4. The use of county appropriations, state fair funds, or other restricted-use funds such as grants to support investment activities, is outside the scope of what these moneys are to be used for and should not be done.
   
   
5. The county extension director is the senior administrative officer representing the College and University in each county cooperative extension office. The county extension director is responsible for all local funding available to support extension programs. The county extension director must review and approve all plans for investment activities before funds are raised and they are set up.
   
   
6. County cooperative extension offices establishing investments must report these activities to their respective regional director and the associate director of cooperative extension and outreach in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Reports will be in the form of correspondence that will state the type and amount of the investment, source of funding, identified educational need and purpose it will support, names of individual(s) who will manage the investment, and acknowledgment that the investment is being administered in line with these guidelines.
   
   
7. County cooperative extension offices thinking of establishing investments should review information on Penn State’s Endowment Program which can be obtained from the College Development Office (also see University Development page at World Wide Web address: www.development.psu.edu). This approved approach provides guaranteed returns that are market competitive and there are no management costs associated with the program. The program provides spendable interest income to support identified needs and also builds upon the principal investment to guard against inflation.