(a) Purpose. The purpose of this program is to provide
matching funds to assist eligible public institutions in leveraging
private gifts for the enhancement of research productivity and faculty
recruitment.
(b) Authority.
(1) Texas Education Code, §62.122, establishes
the Texas Research Incentive Program to provide matching funds to
assist eligible public institutions in leveraging private gifts for
the enhancement of research productivity and faculty recruitment.
(2) Texas Education Code, §62.123, establishes
the rate of matching and authorizes the Board, to establish procedures
for the certification of gifts.
(3) Texas Education Code, §62.124, authorizes
the Board, to adopt rules for the administration of the program.
(c) Definitions.
(1) Bundled Gifts--Gifts that would otherwise be an
eligible gift, but that individually do not have sufficient monetary
value to be eligible for Matching Grants, that are combined by the
eligible public institution in an attempt to establish eligibility
for Matching Grants.
(2) Date of Certification--The date the gift was deposited
by the institution in a depository bank or invested by the institution
as authorized by law. A non-cash gift shall be certified as the date
the gift is converted to cash, and is considered to have been received
on that date.
(3) Eligible Funds--Gifts or endowments certified on
or after September 1, 2009, to an eligible public institution from
private sources in a state fiscal year for the purpose of enhancing
research activities at the institution, including a gift or endowment
for endowed chairs, professorships, research facilities, research
equipment, program costs, graduate research stipends or fellowships,
or undergraduate research. These include gifts that are bundled from
a private source. All gifts, cash and non-cash, must have been originally
donated for research purposes.
(4) Eligible Public Institution--An institution of
higher education designated as an emerging research university under
the Coordinating Board's Accountability System or a university affiliated
entity of an emerging research university.
(5) Gift--A contribution received by an institution
for which the institution has made no commitment of resources or services
that provide a direct benefit to the donor other than committing to
use the gift as the donor specifies. Gifts include cash, cash equivalents,
marketable securities, closely held securities, money market holdings,
partnership interests, personal property, real property, minerals,
and life insurance proceeds.
(6) Ineligible Funds--A gift for undergraduate scholarships
or undergraduate financial aid grants, bundled gifts, or any portion
in excess of $10 million of gifts or endowments received from a single
source in a state fiscal year or gifts that are bundled by a university-associated
entity.
(7) Private Sources--Any individual or entity that
cannot levy taxes, and is not directly supported by tax funds.
(8) Program--The Texas Research Incentive Program (TRIP)
established under Texas Education Code, Chapter 62, Subchapter G.
(9) University-Affiliated Entity--An entity whose sole
purpose is to support the mission or programs of the university.
(d) Matching Grants. Eligible funds will be matched
at the following rates:
(1) 50 percent of the amount if the amount of a gift
or endowment made by a donor on a certain date is at least $100,000,
but not more than $999,999;
(2) 75 percent of the amount if the amount of a gift
or endowment made by a donor on a certain date is at least $1 million
but not more than $1,999,999; or
(3) 100 percent of the amount if the amount of a gift
or endowment made by a donor on a certain date is $2 million but not
more than $10 million.
(e) Distribution of matching grants.
(1) Matching grants will be distributed in order of
the date of certification.
(2) All eligible funds with the same date of certification
will be considered in a block.
(3) If there are insufficient funds to match eligible
funds with the same date of certification, those eligible funds will
be prorated and any remaining unmatched eligible funds shall be eligible
for matching grants in the following fiscal years using funds appropriated
to the program, to the extent funds are available.
(f) Certification. Any gift must be certified by the
Board in order to be considered eligible for Matching Grants. In order
for a gift to be certified, the eligible public institution must submit
the following information to the Board:
(1) A written statement by the bank verifying the amount,
and date of the deposit, and name of the donor; or a credit card certification
showing the date the institution submitted a charge to the donor's
credit card company for payment;
(2) A copy of the fully executed donor agreement describing
the purpose and the restrictions of the gift meeting the definition
of eligible funds; and
(3) All information must be provided to the Coordinating
Board within 30 days of the date of bank or credit card verification.
(g) Eligible public institutions shall provide a complete
list of all university-affiliated entities to the Board upon initial
application for matching grants and thereafter apprise the Board of
any updates to the submitted list.
(h) If for any reason any portion of a donation matched
by this program is returned to the donor or for any other reason is
no longer eligible for matching, the institution must take the following
actions within 30 days of the change:
(1) The institution must notify the Board as to the
amount and date of the change; and
(2) The institution must repay the match to the Board.
In the event that only a portion of the donation is no longer eligible
for matching, the institution may only retain the portion of the match
that corresponds to the portion of the donation that remains eligible
for matching.
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