How the Fund Works
The Basics
The Rosen Ownership Opportunities Fund was not an endowment: it was designed to use the funds contributed to it, not to invest them. As of 2015, ROOF has disbursed all of its funds and ceased operations.
The largest contribution was from Phelps County Bank of Rolla, Missouri. Many other generous people supported ROOF, and all 78 are gratefully acknowledged on our donors page.
The largest supporters after Phelps County Bank are n-Link, SRC Holdings, and Sandra Green. Other major donors are Chang, Ruthenberg & Long, PC, The Foundation for Enterprise Development, Bill & Bonnie Pickens, Prairie Capital Advisors, Michael Quarrey, Robert W. Smiley, Jr., Cecil Ursprung, and Web Industries Inc. Their warmth and enthusiasm for this project touched our hearts and inspired us to work hard to make the best possible use of the funds they so generously entrusted to us.
Decision-Making Structure
An eight-member advisory committee provided guidance concerning the use of the funds. The members of the advisory committee were:
- Corey Rosen,
- Victor Aspengren (the former chair of the NCEO's board),
- Loren Rodgers (the NCEO's executive director),
- Tony Mathews (representing the Beyster Institute),
- Mark Lewis (representing Employee-Owned S Corporations of America),
- Bruce Brumberg (Editor-in-Chief, myStockOptions.com and myNQDC.com),
- J. Michael Keeling (representing the Employee Ownership Foundation and the ESOP Association), and
- Joseph N. Blasi (J. Robert Beyster Professor of Employee Ownership at Rutgers University).
Overview
ROOF received $142,500 in contributions through the end of 2011, plus unsolicited contributions of $1,450 in in 2012 and $5,055 in 2013, for a total of $149,005.
The funds were used to support five activity areas: academic awards, trade association outreach, state-level outreach, general outreach, and international programs.
| Activity | Amount Spent | % of Spending |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Academic Awards | $35,000 | 23% |
| 2. Trade Association Outreach | $26,520 | 18% |
| 3. State-Level Outreach | $61,582 | 41% |
| 4. General Outreach | $24,753 | 17% |
| 5. International Programs | $1,150 | 1% |
| Total | $149,005 | 100% |
The types of expenses were for sub-grants, contractors, direct expenses, and to cover NCEO staff time. On all of the projects involving staff time, some staff time is covered by ROOF and some was donated by the NCEO. There were no administrative expenses.
| Expenditure type | Amount Spent | % of Spending |
|---|---|---|
| Sub-grants | $45,000 | 30% |
| Contractors | $48,896 | 33% |
| Expenses | $8,158 | 5% |
| Staff | $46,951 | 32% |
| Total | $149,005 | 100% |
The final disbursement, a $5,000 award to the Rutgers University School of Management and Labor Relations to support the 2014-2015 Corey Rosen Fellow, was made on February 2, 2015.
The impact of the spending by activity area is described on our projects page.