Southborough tricentennial committee and Friends clarify who holds and approves event money

Town of Southborough Tricentennial Committee members discussed how sponsorships and event payments should flow at their Sept. 10 meeting, settling on a process that keeps the Friends 501(c)(3) as the repository of private funds while the committee recommends event spending.

The discussion centered on who receives and signs sponsorship forms, who signs vendor contracts and what approvals are required. “The Friends is formed solely for the purpose of raising funds to support the tricentennial,” a Friends representative said, adding that the Friends hold and disburse donated money for tricentennial purposes.

The committee’s proposed tracking document — described by a committee member as a “tricentennial funds tracking process” — would record sponsors, funds committed or pledged, funds actually received, and funds spent. The committee member who drafted the proposal said the sponsor would complete a Southborough tricentennial sponsorship form and that whichever group (a committee member, the fundraising working group or the Friends) receives it should ensure it is emailed to the Friends and to the fundraising working group so a paper trail exists.

Why it matters: the committee does not have the legal authority to hold or disburse donated funds. Committee members stressed they must avoid committing the town or obligating money that has not been received. A Friends representative noted the Friends would typically sign vendor contracts because the Friends “have possession of the money” and told the IRS their mission supports the tricentennial.

Key clarifications offered at the meeting: - The town appropriated $30,000 at Town Meeting as seed money for tricentennial activities; the committee controls how that town-appropriated money is spent subject to town rules for timing and procurement. The Friends do not control that $30,000. (Committee discussion) - A Friends member told the group that, “including the town, 30,000, about a 130,000 committed right now,” describing the current mix of committed funds and pledges. - The Friends will prepare a written report listing sponsors and funds for the tricentennial committee in advance of committee meetings so the committee knows what has been received versus pledged.

Direction given: the committee agreed that two committee members should meet offline with the Friends (and a Friends representative) to refine the written tracking process and to add detail about timelines, reporting frequency and who submits vendor contracts and payment requests. A committee member who drafted the template said she would email her spreadsheet to the group.

What remains undecided: the committee and Friends agreed on roles in principle but left several operational questions to the offline sub‑work: how the Friends will document vendor invoices and approvals; how the committee will request Friends payments for specific events; and whether some high‑risk activities (for example fireworks) require Select Board approval in addition to Friends funding.

Sources and next steps: the Friends will provide a spreadsheet of committed funds and a draft of the Friends’ funding process to the committee. The committee will select two members to huddle with Friends representatives and return a revised process to the full committee for review.