Page 16 - October 2023

TURTLE MOUNTAIN COMMUNITY COLLEGE SITE VISIT
SEPTEMBER 20, 2023
TMCC Meeting Participants
Dr. Donna Brown, President TMCC
Sheila Trottier, Dean of Career & Technical Education
Tracy Azure, Comptroller
Katrina Delorme, Workforce Training/Grants Officer
Mica Belgarde, Student Placement
Kodi Decoteau, Financial Aid Director
Stephanie Bear, Business Faculty
Diane Bercier, Business Faculty
Robert Monette, Business Faculty/Grants Specialist/Sponsored Programs Officer Jennifer Desjarlais, Small Business Student
JSF Meeting Participants
Rick Williams, Indigenous Programs Consultant Bobby Krause, CEO
Bobby and I arrived at the Turtle Mountain reservation on the evening of October 19th. We met Sheila Trottier and Dr. Donna Brown for dinner. We had a lovely dinner and got a chance to get to know each other. We drove out to Turtle Mountain Community College the following day and met with Dr. Brown and her staff.
After introductions, Bobby provided a brief update about the Johnson Scholarship Foundation. We then delved into the conversation about endowments. The following is the information background on the TMCC endowment. The endowment was created in 2007, and Turtle Mountain Community College contributed $100,000 in December 2007. This was matched with a contribution from the Johnson Scholarship Foundation of $100,000 in January 2008. There were no other contributions to the endowment until April 2010, when TMCC contributed another $100,000. In November of 2010, TMCC made another contribution of $100,000. In January 2011, JSF matched this with $100,000. There were no other contributions made to the endowment. All of these funds were placed in an investment account with UBS Financial. The total amount of contributions in the TMCC endowment was $500,000. We were advised that during this time, the comptroller and the president had left the institution. The TMCC endowment was moved to another office.
The investment continued to be monitored by TMCC, and there was a change in investment advisers from UBC to Morgan Stanley, and TMCC updated its investment policy. Later, they switched investment companies and hired Northwestern Mutual. During this time, the initial $500,000 had grown to $659,000. There is an unexplained increase to $ 759,000 in March 2021. This may have been a clerical error. The endowment fund appears to fluctuate with the market during this time.
From 2007 to 2020, there was no evidence that any money was withdrawn for scholarships.
In 2020, Rick Williams inquired about the endowment and asked for a report. In January of 2021, $10,000 was withdrawn; in August of 2022, $12,000 was withdrawn; and in 2023, $14,000 was withdrawn, all for scholarships. During this time, TMCC provided endowment reports to Rick Williams.
The original endowment agreement with TMCC was established in 2007 and was to run through 2010, where TMCC would have contributed $400,000, which was to be matched by JSF. The latest endowment report sent in July of 2023 shows $610,000 in the account.
Page 14 October Report