Petersen Fund & Rainbow Trust
Petersen Fund
The Petersen Fund of the IAGSDC was established in 1996 with funds from the estate of Joe Petersen of Denver. In his will, Joe created the Rainbow Trust to provide income for this fund. At the fund's creation, the Executive Board voted to name the fund in Joe's honor. The purpose of this fund is to:
- promote club growth and development through education, recruitment, and promotion
- assist in the establishment of new clubs
- promote and advance Gay & Lesbian square dancing and by doing so, advance the whole activity of square dancing
- inform non-dancers of the activity and its benefits
- preserve our Gay and Lesbian square dancing heritage as part of the long history of folk dance
Granting of Awards
The granting of awards is done by the Petersen Fund Committee of the IAGSDC. This committee consists of:
- the Vice Chairman of the IAGSDC (serves as the Committee Chairman)
- a representative of the Rainbow Trust
- three members elected for two year terms by the delegates of the IAGSDC Executive Board
- the current past Chairman of the IAGSDC (ex officio)
A positive vote by the majority of the committee is required to grant funds.
Request Guidelines
The IAGSDC Executive Board established these Guidelines for granting awards:
- All requests are considered individually.
- No request receives greater or lesser consideration based on club size, location, length of time or type of IAGSDC affiliation, or date application received (as long as it was received in a timely fashion)
- If an existing club makes a request, it must be an IAGSDC club in good standing.
- Individuals applying for assistance to start a new club in an area where no IAGSDC member club exists must belong to a group that anticipates applying for IAGSDC membership
- Any individual requesting funds for a special project must be a member of an IAGSDC club in good standing
- Awards will be made based on the greatest financial need and most beneficial use of funds.
- All requests must be made in the spirit of square dancing. The funds must be used to promote, enhance or preserve the activities of the member club or the IAGSDC as a whole, and to finance the development of new clubs.
- The decision to award funds will be made by a vote of a simple majority of the Petersen Fund Committee members.
Members of the Committee may not vote on requests made from clubs of which they are members. The vote will be transferred to the immediate past Chairperson of the IAGSDC, regardless of club membership.
After the tenth year, the Committee and the Board will evaluate how best to re-invest a percentage of the fund due to form principal of the Trust.
Relationship with the IAGSDC
The committee will have the ultimate authority on the awards granted.
The committee will issue a full report to the IAGSDC Executive Board at the annual meeting.
The committee will work closely with the IAGSDC officers throughout the year to ensure that the needs and goals of the IAGSDC are always being met.
At the annual meeting, three members of the committee will be elected by the Executive Board after the election of the IAGSDC officers.
Elected committee members will serve one-year terms beginning with their election and ending with the election of new members at the following annual meeting of the Executive Board.
How does an IAGSDC club make a request for funds?
- Complete the Application for Funds form (PDF format)
- Answer all contact and identification questions as completely as possible
- Give a narrative description of the activity or items to be funded.
- Fill out the financial information requested on Page 2. Use actual figures from the most recent 12 month period, if available
- Indicate the items to be purchased or paid with funds. If you have already spent money and are requesting reimbursement, indicate that
- Get the signature of at least one (preferably two) club officers who will be responsible for the receipt and disbursement of funds
- Mail your application and supporting materials to
- Petersen Fund Application
- Keith Gehrig, IAGSDC Vice-chair
- 23728-23rd Ave W
- Bothell, WA 98021-9206
For more information on the fund or the applying for an award, contact the IAGSDC Vice chair, who serves as the chair of the Petersen Fund Committee.
The Petersen Fund Survey
Please help the IAGSDC to help your club and others to make the most effective use of their Recruiting efforts by completing this survey. All Grant Funding Surveys will be summarized and the data provided for review at: www.iagsdc.org. No data will be identified with your club name or provided to other clubs with your name unless you give your consent.
Take the survey.
