Statement of Fellowship Selection Process

British Architectural Library Trust, Inc.

Taxpayer Identification No.: 46-4605388

BALT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Statement of Fellowship Selection Process

The BALT Fellowship, to be awarded annually, shall initially be a US$5,000 stipend. It will be awarded on an objective and non-discriminatory basis for the purpose of providing students currently pursuing graduate studies, and young professionals already at work, in the fields of architecture, landscape architecture, urban design and planning, architectural history, industrial, product and furniture design, and/or the decorative arts, with the opportunity to travel to and study at the British Architectural Library in London, United Kingdom. The goal, consistent with the broader aims of the Trust, is to promote the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of art and architecture by affording the grantees hands-on academic and cultural experiences at the British Architectural Library. The fellowship program will be consistent with: (1) the existence of the Trust’s exempt status under I.R.C. § 501(c)(3); (2) the allowance of deductions to individuals under I.R.C. § 170 for contributions to the Trust; and (3) the requirements set forth in the regulations regarding grant candidates, the criteria used in the selection process and the persons making the selections.

The Trust’s program shall include an objective and non-discriminatory selection process that is reasonably calculated to result in performance by the grantees of the activities that the grants are intended to finance; and a process by which the Trust shall obtain appropriate information in the form of reports to determine whether the grantees have performed the activities that the grants are intended to finance. In this regard, this statement shall set forth a description of: (1) the selection process; (2) the terms and conditions under which the Trust will make the grants; (3) the Trust’s procedure for exercising supervision over the grants; and (4) the Trust’s procedure for reviewing grantee reports, for investigating when it is indicated that grant funds are being diverted from their proper purposes, and for recovering diverted funds.

General Description of the Trust

and the Proposed Grant Program

The Trust is a charitable not-for-profit corporation formed under the laws of the State of New York. Its purposes are exclusively religious, charitable, scientific, literary and educational within the meaning I.R.C. § 501(c)(3). The Internal Revenue Service (the “Service”) determined that the Trust was exempt from Federal income tax as an organization described in I.R.C. § 501(c)(3) by letter dated September 15, 2014. The Trust’s purposes, among others, are to provide contributions, grants, sponsorship and other financial support of activities aimed at raising the awareness of the general public, both in the United States and abroad, as to the collections of the British Architectural Library and other similar organizations that are dedicated to the collection, preservation and dissemination of architectural drawings, models, plans, writings and other archival materials of historic, academic and cultural relevance in all mediums. The Trust’s by-laws contemplate the Trust’s furthering these purposes in various ways, including by supporting the development of qualified individuals through the underwriting their travel costs and expenses for study thereof.  

The fellowship program will enable the Trust to assist interested individuals to pursue such studies, as a supplement to formal academic education programs and professional work in the United States and abroad, by offering grants to qualified applicants who have demonstrated interest or academic record in directly related fields of study and want to experience the extensive archives and materials of the British Architectural Library first-hand. The Trust proposes to initially award one fellowship grant year of $5,000, to supplement and otherwise offset the costs of the grantees travel and accommodations. In the future the Trust will determine the number of grants awarded each year, and vary the amounts of awards to recipients, based upon the number of qualified applicants the program attracts and the availability of Trust resources. In each year the Trust will determine the maximum number of grants to be awarded that year.

Application, Selection, and

Monitoring Procedures

The Trust will solicit applications by advertising the grant program to and among undergraduate and graduate facilities within universities with strong art and architecture departments, as well as to those practicing in the respective professional fields to which the fellowship is directed. 

Each applicant will be required to submit to the Trust a resume describing the applicant’s academic background and the scope of their continuing studies, a description of purpose and use to which they would put the grant funds in support thereof, and an estimate of their budget. Applications would be required to be submitted by a stated date determined by the Trust and set forth in the distributed solicitations. 

The selection of proposed grantees from among the applicants will be made by a panel of jurors (the “Selection Panel”) to be composed of at least there (3) individuals selected by the Trust on the basis of their knowledge of and their familiarity with the areas of study and practice which the program will seek to enable. Panel members will change periodically. An effort will be made to divide the grants among graduate students and practicing professionals. The Trust’s Board of Directors will review and make the final determinations of grant recipients after reviewing the Selection Panel’s proposed grantees. The Board of Directors may accept any, all or none of the proposed grantees and determine the amounts to be awarded to each grantee.

The individuals on the Selection Panel will not be eligible to receive any grants from the proposed program for a period of two (2) years after serving in such capacity, nor will they otherwise be in a position to derive a private benefit, directly or indirectly, if certain potential recipients are selected over others. No member of the Trust’s Board of Directors and no officer or employee of the Trust shall be eligible to receive any grants from the proposed program. A grant recipient may not be nominated or receive a grant in a subsequent year but may serve as a member of the Selection Panel in subsequent years.

The group of eligible applicants described above will be sufficiently broad to fulfill a purpose described in I.R.C. § 170(c)(2)(B), to wit, educational purposes, and the group will be sufficiently large to constitute a charitable class. Moreover, the selection of individual grantees will be made by the Trust on the basis of criteria reasonably related to the purposes of the grant, including, but not limited to: the merits of the application and supporting materials submitted by the applicant, the importance of the proposed project to the art world and the applicant’s qualification to work on the proposed project given their previous experience.  

As a condition of receiving a grant, each recipient will be required to agree in writing to use the grant funds for the stated purpose of the grant. In addition, the Trust will require each grant recipient, upon completion of the period of study, to present their research at an Annual Lecture which shall be recorded and made available on the BALT Website and through Social Media. If the grantee fails to produce and record the Annual Lecture within a reasonable time after completion of their studies, or if the Trust receives any information from the submitted report, or otherwise, that indicates that all or any part of a fellowship award is not being used for the stated purpose of the grant, the Trust will initiate an investigation. 

If the Trust determines that any part of a grant has been used for improper purposes, the Trust will take all reasonable and appropriate steps to recover diverted grant funds or to insure the restoration of diverted funds and the dedication of other grant funds held by the grantee to the purposes being financed by the grant.

If the Trust determines that any part of the grant has been used for improper purposes, the Trust will (1) secure the grantee’s assurance that all granted funds will be rebated by the application of those funds to the purposes of the grant and that future diversions will not occur, (2) require that funds which cannot be applied to the purposes of the grant be rebated to the Trust and (3) require the grantee to take extraordinary precautions to prevent future diversions from occurring. 

The Trust will maintain records including (1) all information secured to evaluate the qualifications of potential grantees; (2) specification of the amount and purpose of each grant; and (3) the follow-up information required by subparagraphs (2) and (3) of Treas. Reg. § 53.4945-4(c).

Should there be any questions as to the foregoing, they should be direct to Theodore R. Gable, a Director and President of the Trust, at (212) 956-2100-0165, or the Trust’s representative, Lawrence F. Gilberti, Esq., at (212)521-5400.