Employee-family scholarship procedures receive advance approval

Plain-English summary

The IRS approved a private foundation's procedures for scholarships awarded to children and other relatives of employees through a public charity's nationwide competition. Applicants had to achieve finalist status through standardized testing and academic review, and independent committees selected recipients without involvement from the foundation or employer. Because any particular employee-relative had only an insignificant probability of selection, the program's primary purpose was education rather than extra compensation or an employment incentive. Grants following the approved procedures would not be taxable expenditures under IRC § 4945, although recipients remained responsible for determining scholarship income under § 117.

Ruling snapshot

• Question: Do the employer-related scholarship procedures satisfy the objective, nondiscriminatory grant requirements of IRC § 4945(g)?
• Outcome: Approved. The program met the facts-and-circumstances test, subject to continued compliance with the stated procedures.
• Key authorities: IRC §§ 117, 170(b)(1)(A)(ii), and 4945(d), (g); Rev. Rul. 81-217; Rev. Proc. 76-47

Full text (IRS public release)

Internal Revenue Service Department of the Treasury
P.O. Box 2508 Director, Exempt Organizations

Cincinnati, OH 45201

Number: 201420022 Contact Person:

Release Date: 5/16/2014
Identification Number:

Telephone Number:

Date: February 21, 2014
Employer Identification Number:

Legend: UIL:

B= scholarship program 1 4945.04-04.
C= program type 1

D= program type 2

E= business

F= organization

X= test 1

Y= test 2

Dear
:

This is in reference to your representative’s letter of April 3, 2012, requesting advance approval of your scholarship procedures under section 4945(g) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The information submitted shows that the scholarships funded by you will be administered and paid out by F, a publicly supported organization, under its B program. Organizations operating under the B program may elect the C option and/or the D option. You have selected the C option.

In the C option, you enter into an agreement with F to sponsor a specified number of college scholarships for children and/or other relatives of employees of E. Students enter the nationwide scholarship competition by taking a test called the X. Those students scoring within the top one-half of one percent on a state-by-state basis are designated as Semifinalists; they may advance to the Finalist level by confirming their scores on a second test, the Y, and by submitting an application form that includes a high school record (provided by their high school officials) showing strong academic performance, a personal essay, extra-curricular accomplishments and the recommendation of their high school principal or school official designated by the principal. F selects students from among those children of employees who attained the B level in the C program to receive scholarships sponsored by you.

The selection of recipients is made by selection committees designated by F. The members of the selection committee are totally independent and separate from you. F confirms the individual scholarship recipient's enrollment at the educational institution, makes payment of the award

-2-

through the appropriate financial aid office of the educational institution, and supervises and investigates the use of the funds by the recipients in their educational program.

You will not use the scholarships as a means of inducement to recruit employees nor will a scholarship be terminated if an employee parent or relative leaves the company. Scholarships will only be awarded to students who plan to enroll in an institution that meets the requirements of section 170(b) (1) (A) (ii) of the Code and which may further be limited by F. After the scholarship is awarded, the recipient will not be restricted in his/her course of study. In rare cases, sponsors may ask F to give preference in selection to individuals who propose to study in certain broad fields.

Section 4945 of the Code provides for the imposition of taxes on each taxable expenditure of a private foundation.

Section 4945(d)(3) of the Code provides that the term "taxable expenditure” means any amount paid or incurred by a private foundation as a grant to an individual for travel, study, or other similar purposes by such individual, unless such grant satisfies the requirements of section 4945(g).

Section 4945(g)(1) of the Code provides that section 4945(d)(3) shall not apply to an individual grant awarded on an objective and nondiscriminatory basis pursuant to a procedure approved in advance by the Secretary, if it is demonstrated to the satisfaction of the Secretary that the grant constitutes a scholarship or fellowship grant which is subject to the provisions of section 117(a) and is to be used for study at an educational organization described in section 170(b)(1)(A)(ii).

Revenue Ruling 81-217, 1981-2 C.B. 217, describes a situation involving a private foundation making grants to an organization that is not a private foundation to provide scholarships only to children of a particular employer. The organization that is not a private foundation evaluates the students according to its own criteria, including student performance on a qualifying examination. Since grant funds are distributed only to children of employees of a particular company, students who receive scholarships are not selected “completely independently” of the grantor. Accordingly, any such scholarships awarded and paid after March 8, 1982, are considered to be individual grants under section 4945(d)(3), for which advance approval of grant procedures are required under section 4945(g).

Revenue Procedure 76-47, 1976-2 C.B. 670, sets forth guidelines to be used in determining whether a grant made by a private foundation under an employer-related program to a child of an employee of the particular employer to which the program relates is a scholarship grant subject to the provisions of section 117(a). If a private foundation's program satisfies the seven conditions set forth in sections 4.01 through 4.07 of Rev. Proc. 76-47 and meets the percentage test described in section 4.08, the Service will assume the grant will be subject to the provisions of section 117(a).

Section 4.08 of Rev. Proc. 76-47 provides a percentage test guideline. It states that in the case of a program that awards grants to children of employees of a particular employer, the program meets the percentage test if the number of grants awarded under that program in any year to such children does not exceed 25 percent of the number of employees’ children who (i) were eligible, (ii) were applicants for such grants, and (iii) were considered by the selection committee in selecting the recipients of grants in that year, or 10 percent of the number of employees’

-3-

children who can be shown to be eligible for grants (whether or not they submitted an application) in that year.

As stated in section 4 of Rev. Proc. 76-47, if a sponsor's program satisfies the seven conditions set forth in sections 4.01 through 4.07, but does not meet the percentage test of section 4.08 applicable to grants to employees’ children, the question whether the grants are scholarship or fellowship grants subject to the provisions of section 117(a) of the Code will be resolved on the basis of all the facts and circumstances. In making this determination the Service will consider as a substitute for the percentage test of section 4.08 all the relevant facts and circumstances to determine whether the primary purpose of the program is to provide extra compensation or other employment incentive, or whether the primary purpose is to educate recipients in their individual capacities. These facts and circumstances will be considered in the context of the probability that a grant will be available to any eligible applicant.

Such relevant facts and circumstances could include the history of the program (such as the source of the program's funding), the courses of study for which the grants are available, any eligibility requirements imposed by the program (other than employment of the applicants or their parents and the age and grade level prerequisites for the studies for which the grants are available), the publicity given the grant program, the degree of independence of the selection committee, the particular standards used for selection, the specific means used to determine whether those standards have been met, the precise nature of the employee limitation or preference, the number of grants available, the number of employees or their children who would be eligible for them, the percentage of eligible employees or their children applying for grants who normally (e.g., on an average basis) receive grants under the program, and whether and how many grants are awarded to individuals who do not qualify as employees or children of employees.

In your case, the following facts and circumstances are considered relevant. Aside from the employment preference, F, a public charity, operates its private foundation sponsored B program in a substantially similar manner to its nationwide college scholarship program for academically talented high school students. No application is required. Individuals must achieve Finalist status in their respective competitions. Recipients are chosen by selection committees totally independent of the private foundation or the employer involved.

No limitations are placed on the recipients' choice of course of study after the scholarship is awarded.

Under the facts and circumstances as stated above, there is only an insignificant probability that any particular employee's child and/or other relative will be selected and, thus, the scholarship's primary purpose is not one of providing extra compensation or other employment incentive, and the facts and circumstances test of Rev. Proc. 76-47, section 4, is met.

Accordingly, based upon the information presented, and assuming your scholarship program will be conducted as proposed, with a view to providing objectivity and non-discrimination in the awarding of scholarships, we rule that your grants to F for the awarding of scholarships to children and/or other relatives of employees of E comply with the requirements of section 4945(g) (1) of the Code. Thus, such expenditures made in accordance with those procedures will not constitute "taxable expenditures" within the meaning of section 4945(d) (3) of the Code.

-4-

The recipient of the scholarship is responsible for determining whether all or part of the scholarship is includible in gross income under section 117 of the Code. We understand that F will advise the recipient that amounts granted are taxable income, if the aggregate scholarship amounts received by the recipient exceed tuition and fees (not including room and board) required for enrollment or attendance at the educational institution and fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for courses of instruction.

This ruling is based on the understanding that there will be no material change in the facts upon which it is based and that no scholarships will be awarded to relatives of members of selection committees, or for a purpose inconsistent with the purposes described in section 170(c)(2)(B) of the Code.

This ruling will remain in effect as long as the procedures in awarding scholarships under your program remain in compliance with sections 4.01 through 4.07 of Rev. Proc. 76-47.

Please note that this ruling is only applicable to scholarships awarded under the B program. Before you enter into any other scholarship or educational loan program you should submit a request for advance approval of that program.

Your procedures for awarding scholarships under the B program are considered to satisfy the facts and circumstances test of Rev. Proc. 76-47 and, therefore, will not be counted in determining whether the percentage test of Rev. Proc. 76-47 is met with respect to any other such program for which prior approval has been granted.

This ruling will be made available for public inspection under section 6110 of the Code after certain deletions of identifying information are made. For details, see enclosed Notice 441, Notice of Intention to Disclose. A copy of this ruling with deletions, that we intend to make available for public inspection, is attached to Notice 441. If you disagree with our proposed deletions, you should follow the instructions in Notice 441.

This ruling letter is directed only to the organization that requested it. Section 6110(k) (3) of the Code provides that it may not be used or cited by others as precedent.

If you have any questions about this ruling letter, please contact the person whose name and

telephone number are shown in the heading of this letter. Because this ruling letter could help to resolve any questions, please keep it in your permanent records.

Sincerely,

Director of Exempt Organizations
Enclosure: Notice 437