Congressional Award - Past Financial Uncertainty

Past Financial Uncertainty

Now totally resolved, the Congressional Award Foundation did experience a brief period of financial uncertainty. In a GAO audit of the Congressional Award Foundation’s 2005 and 2006 financial statements, the office identified

two significant matters related to the Foundation’s financial statements. These matters concerned (1) the Foundation’s ability to continue as a going concern, which has been resolved, and (2) inconsistency between functional expenses reported in the Foundation’s annual information return (Form 990) filed with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the audited financial statements for fiscal year 2005.

The first "significant" matter referred to various problems, including a serious decline in the foundation's assets: as of September 30, 2006 the value of the foundation's asset had declined to under $8,500. Within a year, the asset value had grown to $125,000. The GAO also noted that the CAF's national director paid over $23,000 to cover the costs of the foundation's Gold Award Ceremony during the CAF's 2006 fiscal year; she was reimbursed for all but $664 by December 2006.

The inconsistency described in the second matter was resolved in the Form 990 and audited financial statements for fiscal year 2006.

Congress created the Congressional Award Fellowship Trust in 1990 to "benefit the charitable and educational purposes of the Foundation"; the CAF withdrew $20,000 from the trust in order to support its 2007 operations.

The Congressional Award has enjoyed financial stability in the subsequent years, and its proactive fundraising initiatives are working to ensure that it will never again face a budget shortfall.