Chapter 1715 | Religious And Benevolent Organizations

Section 1715.01 | Change in language of church service.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Any religious society incorporated in this state, if the act of incorporation prescribes that its public religious services shall be conducted in any language other than English, may decide, by a vote of a majority of its adult members in good and regular standing who speak such prescribed language, whether its public religious services shall be conducted in any other language.

Section 1715.02 | Sale of cemetery grounds no longer usable.

• Effective: October 7, 1977
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 42 - 112th General Assembly

When a religious or educational corporation or society holds lands within the limits of a municipal corporation which have been used as a cemetery, and interments in such lands have been prohibited by the ordinances of such municipal corporation, the trustees, wardens, vestry, or other officers entrusted with the management of the property of such corporation or society may file a petition in the court of common pleas of the county where such property is situated, setting forth a description of such property, the existence of such ordinance, and the names of all persons holding burial privileges in such cemetery, so far as known to the petitioners. If such privileges are held by persons whose names are unknown to such petitioners, the petition must also include the facts as to such privileges, and requests for the court's determination of their value, for its direction as to the removal of the bodies interred in such cemetery to other cemeteries, and for an order to sell such property free from burial privileges.

Notice of the filing of such petition shall be given by publication in some newspaper published in and of general circulation in the county where it is filed, for four consecutive weeks, setting forth the object and prayer of the petition, and that any persons claiming an interest in its subject matter or claiming burial privileges in such cemetery may appear and file an answer to such petition within six weeks from the date of the first publication of such notice. After said six weeks have elapsed, the case will stand for hearing.

Upon final hearing of the case, the court, with or without the aid of a jury, as the parties appearing elect, shall determine the value of such burial privileges, and shall order the corporation or society to pay any amount so ascertained to the holder of such privilege. The court may also order the cemetery property sold free from such burial privileges, and may direct a subdivision of it into lots for the purpose of sale. The court shall direct the application of the money arising from such sale to such uses, by such corporation or society, for pious or educational purposes, as its trustees, wardens, vestry, or other officers conceive to be most for its interest. Such sale shall not be made until the bodies interred in the grounds to be sold are removed to other cemeteries, as directed by the court on the final hearing of the case.

A holder of a burial privilege who did not appear in such proceeding, and who has not waived his right to receive compensation for it, may assert his right to receive such compensation from such society or corporation within five years after the final entry of such proceeding.

Section 1715.03 | Transfer of cemetery land to cemetery association.

• Effective: October 7, 1977
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 42 - 112th General Assembly

When a religious or benevolent society or association owning real estate used or occupied as a burial place, the title to which real estate is vested in such society or association, or the trustees thereof, desires to transfer such real estate to a cemetery association incorporated under any law of this state, the trustees or other officers entrusted with the management of the affairs of such society or association may file, in the court of common pleas of the county in which such real estate is situated, a petition stating how and by whom the title to such real estate is held and that such society or association desires to make such transfer, and asking for an order therefor.

Notice of the filing of such petition shall be given by publication, in some newspaper published in and of general circulation in the county where it is filed, for four consecutive weeks, setting forth the object and prayer of the petition and that persons claiming an interest in the subject matter thereof may appear and file an answer thereto within six weeks from the first publication of such notice.

At the expiration of such six weeks the case will stand for hearing, and if the court is satisfied that such transfer is desired by the members of such society or association, it may authorize the trustees or other officers thereof to make a deed therefor to such cemetery association. Such association shall assume all legal debts against the real estate so transferred.

Section 1715.04 | Conveyance of burying ground to township.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When a public burying ground is located on or near a township line and is used by the people of two or more townships for burial purposes, and the title thereto is vested in a religious or benevolent society, such society or the trustees thereof, may convey such burying ground to the boards of township trustees of such townships and their successors in office, jointly; and such boards shall accept it, jointly take possession of it, and keep it in repair, as required as to public burial grounds in and belonging to the respective townships. Each such township shall bear an equal share of the expenses of such repair, and the board of township trustees of each such township shall levy, for such purpose, taxes amounting to not more in any one year than one fourth of one per cent.

Section 1715.05 | Disposition of unused real estate.

• Effective: October 7, 1977
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 42 - 112th General Assembly

When the title to real estate is vested in trustees for the use of churches or congregations of churches, and owing to its peculiar situation or to the nature of the trust or conditions upon which it is held, such real estate for twenty years has not been claimed by or appropriated to the use of churches or congregations as originally contemplated and such trustees are in doubt as to what disposition to make of it, or when any public church site and meetinghouse has been abandoned by the public as a place of worship and the trustees invested with the title to such property have sold it and are in doubt as to what disposition to make of the proceeds, such trustees may file a petition in the court of common pleas of the county where the property is situated, setting forth all the facts in the case and asking such court's direction as to the proper disposition of such property or proceeds.

Notice of the filing of such petition must be given by publication, in some newspaper published in and of general circulation in the county where it is filed, for four consecutive weeks, setting forth the object and prayer of the petition and that a person, church, or congregation claiming an interest in the subject matter thereof may appear and file an answer thereto.

On final hearing of the case the court shall make such order or decree as will best secure the rights of the churches, congregation, or persons having an interest in such property or proceeds and as will best promote the interests of religion, conforming as nearly as possible to the nature and terms of the original trust or purpose with which such property or proceeds were charged, and shall tax the costs of the proceeding as justice requires.

Section 1715.06 | Trustees of church site may convey it to church.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When real estate has been purchased by or conveyed to trustees for the use of churches or congregations, as sites for meetinghouses, and such churches or congregations have erected houses of worship thereon, but no power is possessed by such trustees to convey such real estate to such churches or congregations, or to the trustees thereof, such trustees may convey such improved sites to the trustees of such churches or congregations.

When an incorporated religious congregation, society, association, sect, or denomination uses or occupies for a place of worship, real estate which is held in trust for it or the members thereof, for a place of worship, and a judgment is recovered against it, the real estate together with such edifice and improvements thereon, by a civil action for that purpose, shall be subjected to the payment of such judgment and costs.

Section 1715.07 | Ecclesiastical society may transfer property to church.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

An ecclesiastical society incorporated under the laws of this state connected with a church of Christ located in this state may, by a three-fourths vote of its adult members present and voting at a meeting announced and held for that purpose, assign and transfer to the church with which it is connected, if such church is incorporated under the laws of this state, all the property and trust funds of such society, to be held by such church under the trusts upon which it had been held by such society. Pursuant to such vote, the governing committee or trustees of the society may make all conveyances necessary to complete such assignment and transfer. The assignment and transfer shall not be effectual until a certificate of the fact of such assignment and transfer is filed in the office of the secretary of state and in the office of the clerk of the court of common pleas of the county in which the property is located.

Section 1715.08 | Consolidation of churches having same form of faith.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When two or more religious societies, churches, or associations recognizing the same ecclesiastical jurisdiction, form of faith, government, order, and discipline, and incorporated in this state, desire to be consolidated or united as a single corporation, the elders, trustees, deacons, directors, or other known and legal representatives of such societies, churches, or associations may enter into an agreement for such union or consolidation and prescribe the terms thereof; the corporate name of such united society, church, or association; the time and place for the first meeting of the new corporation; and the number of members of each separate branch or organization to be chosen as directors, trustees, elders, or other officers for the new body. Such officers of the new body shall succeed to the rights, trusts, duties, and obligations of those officers who, in the separate organizations, held in trust the real and personal estate of such separate churches, societies, or associations, and shall hold such other estates as they deem necessary to complete the new corporation.

No such agreement shall be valid until it has been submitted to a separate meeting of the members of each component organization, of which notice has been given according to the form and usage for calling meetings of such component organization, and ratified by a two-thirds vote of all present at such meeting in person or by proxy and entitled to vote according to the laws, regulations, or usages of such component organization.

When the agreement has been ratified by each church, society, or association which is a party to the proposed united organization, the clerk or secretary of each meeting shall certify the record of its proceedings and deliver such record to the clerk or secretary of the first meeting of the united organization.

If, at the first meeting of the united organization, the proceedings and acts of the several component organizations are submitted to and approved by it, and a board of trustees, directors, or other officers are chosen in accordance with the terms of the agreement for union or consolidation, the clerk or secretary of such meeting shall certify such agreement and file it in the office of the secretary of state, whereupon the several churches, societies, or associations which are parties thereto shall become one corporation.

Such new corporation, with its officers and chosen representatives, shall succeed to and be invested with all the right, title, and interest in every species of property, and all the rights, privileges, and franchises, of each of the churches, societies, or associations which are parties to the agreement for union or consolidation, without any other act, conveyance, or transfer; and such new corporation shall be subject to all the liabilities and obligations of the component organizations.

Section 1715.09 | Transfer of property of consolidating organizations.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When two or more religious societies, denominations, or ecclesiastical corporations in this state unanimously form a union in this state, the trustees, deacons, directors, or other proper officers of the new society, denomination, or corporation, at the request of a majority of the members of any of the component societies, denominations, or corporations, may petition the court of common pleas, setting forth the fact of such union. Thereupon such court may order that such officers, at the time of the union, shall convey to the new organization the real estate owned by the parties to the union, as the court directs, and may order that, if any of such officers neglect to obey such order, the order itself shall serve as such conveyance. In no case shall such order be inconsistent with the original terms upon which real estate became vested in or entrusted to the parties to the union; and in all cases the grantors of the real estate to such parties, or the heirs of such grantors, shall be made parties to the petition. Such of said grantors or heirs as make no defense are not subject to costs.

Notice of the pendency of such petition shall be given by publication, in a newspaper published in the county where the petition is filed, for four consecutive weeks, setting forth the object and prayer of the petition.

Section 1715.10 | Consolidation of self-governing churches in same locality.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Any two or more churches, congregations, or religious societies, whether incorporated or unincorporated, which are self-governing organizations and situated in the same township or municipal corporation, may unite their memberships and properties and continue their identity and common usages or polity in a consolidated corporation formed by an agreement in writing made, acknowledged, and signed by their respective trustees and filed in the office of the secretary of state. Such agreement shall set forth the name of the consolidated corporation and the proceedings by which the constituent organizations authorized their trustees so to act, shall designate the time and place at which the united membership shall first meet, and shall provide for the adoption of regulations consistent with such common usages or polity and for the appointment of officers pursuant to such regulations. Upon the filing of such agreement the existence of each constituent organization is merged into that of the consolidated corporation, which shall thereafter be a single religious corporation not for profit, the members, officers, and conduct of which shall be as provided in such regulations. Such consolidated corporation shall from its inception be vested with all the rights and properties, and charged with all the obligations and duties, of such constituent organizations; and any right or interest in respect to any past or future devise, bequest, conditional gift, trust, or property or fund restricted to particular uses, when vested in or claimed by such consolidated corporation as a result of such merger, shall belong to it as a continuation without interruption of the existence and identity of the constituent organization originally named as taker or beneficiary.

Section 1715.11 | Association for holding donations and bequests.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

An association incorporated for the purpose of receiving and holding donations, bequests, and funds derived from other sources, and disbursing the interest and income arising therefrom as provided in this section, shall hold all such principal sums as a permanent fund. The interest arising from such fund, and the annual income arising from all property held by such association, shall be applied and distributed annually as follows:

(A) To the payment of the necessary expenses of the association;

(B) The balance to the board of stewards of the association, or to any officer designated by the conference, synod, assembly, or association within the territorial bounds of which the principal office of such association is located at the time of its organization, to be distributed by the board of stewards or such officer annually, to such persons as are designated by such conference, synod, presbytery, assembly, or association.

Section 1715.12 | Endowment fund corporations.

• Effective: October 4, 1996
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 495 - 121st General Assembly

When a presbytery, synod, conference, diocesan convention, or other representative body of a religious denomination in this state, or an assembly, synod, conference, convention, or other general ecclesiastical body of a religious denomination in the United States, desires to create a board of trustees for an endowment fund or other property of the denomination represented by that body and when, at a regular meeting of that body, it elects not fewer than five members of such denomination, at least one of whom is a resident freeholder in this state, to serve as trustees, and makes and files in the office of the secretary of state a statement giving the names of those trustees, the character of the endowment fund or other property to be entrusted to their care, and the uses to which it is to be applied, which statement is signed by any authorized officer, acknowledged before a clerk of a court of record, a notary public, or a judicial officer having a seal, and recorded in the secretary of state's office, such signature being attested by the officer before whom the statement is acknowledged, then the persons named in the statement as trustees and their successors in office shall thereupon become a body corporate and politic for the purpose specified in such statement. A copy of the record, certified by the secretary of state, shall be evidence of the existence of the corporation.

The statement may provide that the corporation may purchase, sell, lease, mortgage, or otherwise encumber any real estate which it owns, or in which it has an interest, without petitioning for or obtaining an order of any court for permission to do so, and this provision in the statement, or in any properly adopted, certified, and filed amendment to the statement, shall give full power to the corporation to execute any deed, lease, mortgage, or other encumbrance of any such property without obtaining the order of any court. A covenant in the deed, lease, mortgage, or other encumbrance that the statement or amendment contains such provision shall be conclusive evidence that the corporation is authorized to execute the encumbrance. Section 1715.39 of the Revised Code does not apply to a corporation created under this section.

If such a board of trustees is chosen to take charge of an endowment fund, it may invest, manage, and dispose of that fund in accordance with the purpose for which the fund was created, subject to such regulations as the body by which the board was elected prescribes.

If the board is chosen to take charge of and manage property, other than an endowment fund, owned by such religious denomination, that board may hold, invest, control, and manage that property for the benefit of the denomination, within the presbytery, synod, conference, diocese, or other ecclesiastical territorial limits represented by the board, subject to the direction of the proper representative body of the denomination within such limits. If a parish or congregation connected with the denomination represented by the board becomes extinct by reason of the death or dispersion of its members, the board may take possession of the church property of the parish, congregation, or society, whether real or personal, and may rent, lease, sell, invest, or otherwise dispose of the property for the benefit of the denomination, within the territorial limits represented by the body by which the board was appointed, and subject to such regulations as the body prescribes. All property held by the board, and the proceeds of the property, shall be applied to the use and benefit of the proper denomination within this state.

Section 1715.13 | Real estate of church liable for certain judgments.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Real estate held by or in trust for a religious society or congregation, as a place of worship or otherwise, is liable for and by civil action may be subjected to the payment of a judgment recovered against the trustees or a committee of such society or congregation, in their individual capacity or otherwise, for labor performed, materials furnished, or damages sustained, under any contract with them for the erection of a church edifice or other building or improvement made on such real estate.

Section 1715.14 | Sale of real property of extinct corporation.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When a parish, congregation, or society becomes extinct by reason of the death or dispersion of its members, the court of common pleas of the county in which any real property of such extinct parish, congregation, or society is situated may, upon the petition of the board of trustees of the denomination to which the extinct parish, congregation, or society belonged, make an order for the sale of such real property, whether built upon or otherwise improved or not. The proceeds of the sale shall go to, and be for the benefit of, the denomination represented by such board, within the territorial limits represented by the body by which its members were appointed. The purchaser shall be vested with as complete a title to the property as the character of the original grant to such parish, congregation, or society will allow. This section does not limit or restrict the powers conferred upon such board by section 1715.12 of the Revised Code.

When the petition is filed all persons who have a vested, contingent, or reversionary interest in such real estate shall be made parties thereto, and shall be notified of the filing and pendency thereof, in the manner provided by law in cases of the partition of real estate. The court may make such order as to costs as it deems just.

All money derived from such sale shall be placed in the custody of the board of trustees of the presbytery, synod, conference, diocese, or other ecclesiastical body having jurisdiction in the territorial limits in which the property was located, and such board shall hold such money in trust for ten years, or for such period as is prescribed by the law of the denomination. If within that time another parish, congregation, or society of the same denomination is organized in the same locality, then the court which authorized the sale of the property, upon proper application and evidence, may authorize the turning over of the money to the board of trustees of the new organization. Otherwise it shall become a part of the funds of the presbytery, synod, conference, diocese, or other ecclesiastical body having such territorial jurisdiction.

Section 1715.15 | Incorporation of religious printing and publishing houses.

• Effective: October 4, 1996
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 495 - 121st General Assembly

When a conference, presbytery, assembly, association, or other general ecclesiastical body held in the United States, in conformity with the regulations prescribed by it, elects any number of persons, not fewer than three, as trustees or directors of a printing and publishing house, to hold such office until their successors are elected by that ecclesiastical body, and a certificate of the election of those persons, setting forth the name by which the printing and publishing corporation is to be known and signed by any authorized officer of that ecclesiastical body, together with the written acceptance of the office by the persons elected thereto, is filed in the office of the secretary of state, those trustees are a corporation under the name set forth in the certificate.

A corporation established by special act of the legislature for printing and publishing under the ownership or direction of a religious sect, association, or denomination, and whose charter has expired, may be renewed by compliance on the part of that sect, association, or denomination with this section; and the title to all property belonging to the former corporation at the expiration of its charter becomes vested in the corporation so established.

Section 1715.16 | Lands to descend in trust.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Lands and tenements, not exceeding twenty acres, that are conveyed by devise, purchase, or otherwise to trustees in trust for the use of a religious society for a meetinghouse, for a burying ground, or for a residence for their preacher, shall descend, with the improvements and appurtenances thereon, in perpetual succession, in trust to such trustees as are elected or appointed by such religious society, according to its customs and regulations.

The trustees of any such religious society may defend and prosecute suits, and do all other acts for the protection, improvement, and preservation of the society's property, that individuals can do in relation to their individual property.

Section 1715.17 | Legal title to lands.

• Effective: February 21, 1967
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 107th General Assembly

Property conveyed in trust for the use of a religious society, church, or association, whether incorporated or not, shall be held by the trustees and their successors, appointed as provided in the instrument creating the trust, or in case no provision for successor trustees is made in such instrument, then by such successor trustees as are appointed by a competent court. No person shall be elected or appointed by such society, church, or association to act as trustee to the exclusion of any trustee appointed as provided in this section.

Title to property conveyed after October 30, 1965 to and in the name of a religious society, church, or association; charitable or other eleemosynary organization; labor union, national, state, district, regional, or other unit; whether incorporated or not, may be held in the name of such group or organization. Any right, title, or interest in property in the name of any such group or organization on October 30, 1965 is hereby confirmed in that name as if the conveyance or grant thereof had been made after such date.

Section 1715.18 | Incorporation of cathedrals or other religious societies.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When a diocesan convention or other representative body of any religious denomination in this state desires the incorporation of a cathedral or other central or general religious society or church of its denomination, having, in addition to local religious, educational, or charitable functions, a general charge of such functions and of missionary function in the diocese or other ecclesiastical territory in this state represented by said body, and when at any regular meeting of such representative body it elects not less than five members of such denomination, at least one of whom is a resident freeholder in this state, to serve as members of the chapter or trustees of the society being incorporated until the election of their successors, and makes a statement giving the names of such members or trustees, the character of the endowment fund or other property, donations, or appropriations to be entrusted to their care and the uses to which such fund, property, donations, and appropriations are to be applied, the general rights, powers, and duties of such members or trustees, and the corporate name by which they are to be known, which statement is signed, certified, attested, acknowledged, filed, and recorded in the office of the secretary of state in the manner prescribed by section 1715.12 of the Revised Code for statements filed under such section, then the members or trustees so named thereupon, with their successors in office, under such corporate name, become a body corporate and politic for the purposes specified in such statement. A copy of such record, certified by the secretary of state, shall be evidence of the existence of such corporation.

Section 1715.19 | Constitution.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Any representative body creating a corporation under section 1715.18 of the Revised Code may provide a constitution, not inconsistent with the statement provided for in such section, or with the law of this state, for the government of such corporation, and may amend such constitution; may determine the number and limit the terms of the members of the chapter or trustees; may provide for and designate a certain number or proportion of ex officio members of the chapter or trustees; may provide for a certain number or proportion of members or trustees to be elected or designated ex officio by other congregations, or bodies, of the same religious denomination in the same diocese or ecclesiastical territory, in addition to the members or trustees to be elected by said representative body itself, said additional classes of members or trustees not constituting a majority of the whole chapter or board, and having otherwise the same qualifications as those elected by said representative body itself; and may determine the ratio of clerical to lay membership upon such chapter or board. Any of such designations and provisions may be included either in the original statement provided for in section 1715.18 of the Revised Code or in such constitution.

Section 1715.20 | Power of trustees.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Members of the chapter or trustees of corporations organized under sections 1715.18 and 1715.19 of the Revised Code, if chosen to take charge of any endowment fund, may invest, manage, and dispose of such fund in accordance with the purpose for which it was created, subject to such constitutional regulations as the representative body organizing the corporation prescribes.

Section 1715.21 | Consolidation with corporation created by representative body.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When one or more parishes or other religious societies, represented by the same diocesan convention or other representative body of any religious denomination in this state, and incorporated in this state, desire at the same or different times to surrender their corporate existence and franchises, and that representatives and their successors to be elected by their respective congregations be consolidated with any corporation created by the same representative body under section 1715.18 of the Revised Code, under the name, and with the rights, powers, and duties of such last-mentioned corporation created by the same representative body, then the rector, wardens, and vestry, or other known legal trustees, of such parishes or other religious societies, and the members of the chapter or trustees of such corporation created under such section, may enter into an agreement for such consolidation. In such agreement they may prescribe the terms of the consolidation; the time and place for the first meeting of the members of the chapter or the trustees constituting the consolidated corporation; the number or proportion, and time and manner of election, of the members of each of said congregations who are first chosen as members of the chapter or trustees of the consolidated corporation in addition to those provided, designated, or elected by such representative body itself, and as their successors, to succeed to the rights, trusts, duties, and obligations of those members, officers, or trustees who in the separate original organizations held in trust, or in corporate capacity, the estate of such separate original corporations, and to succeed to such other estates as they deem necessary to complete the consolidated corporation. An agreement so made is not valid until it has been submitted to and ratified by separate meetings of the members of each of said parishes or societies in accordance with section 1715.08 of the Revised Code, and has also been submitted to and ratified by such representative body at one of its regular meetings.

When a corporation is being or has been merged with or into another or a new corporation as provided in this section, said merger and the consolidated or new corporation resulting therefrom shall be, in substance, governed by section 1715.08 of the Revised Code, so far as such section is applicable, in its nature or by analogy, to said merger and said new corporation.

Section 1715.22 | Consolidation in anticipation of incorporation.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

If, before the creation of a corporation under section 1715.18 of the Revised Code for the purposes provided in such section, any parish or religious society described in section 1715.21 of the Revised Code has been acting, by authority of its diocesan convention or other representative body, as a part of or in connection with any unincorporated subordinate agency or body chosen, designated, or provided, in whole or in part, by such representative body, for any of the same or similar purposes, then an agreement for consolidation, such as is provided in section 1715.21 of the Revised Code, may be made, in anticipation of the creation of such corporation under section 1715.18 of the Revised Code, between the parties who have been so acting together; but an agreement so made is not valid until submitted and ratified, on both sides, as provided in section 1715.21 of the Revised Code. The statement pursuant to the creation of a corporation under section 1715.18 of the Revised Code, and provided for in such section, shall include the terms of said agreement, and on being signed, certified, attested, acknowledged, filed, and recorded as provided in section 1715.18 of the Revised Code, shall have all the effect of sections 1715.08, 1715.18, and 1715.21 of the Revised Code. A copy of such record, certified by the secretary of state, shall be evidence of such consolidation and of the existence of the new corporation.

Section 1715.23 | Incorporation of young men's Christian association.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

A society of men conducting religious services, performing Christian work, and co-operating for the mutual benefit of the membership shall be known as a young men's Christian association not for profit. When such a society has received the approval of the state young men's Christian association and has filed its application and certificate of approval with the secretary of state and paid a fee of ten dollars, the secretary of state shall issue to it articles of incorporation.

Section 1715.24 | Management and control.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

An incorporated young men's Christian association may adopt a code of regulations for its government.

The management and control of the association shall be vested in a board of five or more trustees. They may be elected for a term of not less than one nor more than five years, but the term of office of an equal number must expire each year.

The board may provide rules for the business of the association and for the conduct of the association's members, departments, branches, committees, officers, employees, and guests.

Section 1715.25 | Powers of young men's Christian association.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

An incorporated young men's Christian association may conduct such work and organize such department as its board of trustees deems necessary to attain the purposes of the association, and may organize through such board under such rules as such board adopts, branches which may become co-ordinate parts of the association.

The association may receive dues, fees, fines, assessments, and contributions from the members and apply them to their designated use, and may accept legacies, devises, bequests, savings, donations, and other grants and administer them.

The association may acquire, hold, convey, lease, encumber by mortgage, improve, and otherwise handle any real or personal property necessary or convenient to carry out its objects, but its property shall not be liable for any obligation contracted without the approval of such board. In all respects it may deal with minors the same as it deals with adults.

Section 1715.26 | Dissolution of association.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Subject to the contract rights of its members, an incorporated young men's Christian association may dissolve by a majority vote of the membership and by filing with the secretary of state a copy of the certificate of its action.

Section 1715.27 | State organization.

• Effective: July 1, 1985
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 201 - 116th General Assembly

The young men's Christian association in this state may unite and constitute the state young men's Christian association for the supervision and conduct of its work in the state. The associations affiliated with the state association, through their representatives, may make such rules as they consider necessary, choose such officers as they determine, and delegate such duties as they desire to delegate, for the conduct of the work in the state, to a state committee to be chosen as the state association decides.

The state association may incorporate under, and exercise the privileges granted by, sections 1715.23 to 1715.27 of the Revised Code. When so incorporated it may receive young men's Christian associations into affiliation and may pass upon all applications for the incorporation of such associations, causing to be affixed to each such application a certificate of its approval.

Every such affiliated association shall file with the state association a copy of its constitution and rules and annually thereafter shall file a copy of any changes therein, together with a schedule of its property, a financial statement, and such report of its activity as the state association determines.

Section 1715.29 | Fiscal trustees of benevolent associations.

• Effective: October 25, 1978
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 349 - 112th General Assembly

A benevolent or charitable association incorporated in this state, may vest the custody, control, and management of all its endowment, capital, funds, and property in three trustees, to be styled fiscal trustees. One of such fiscal trustees shall be appointed by the court of common pleas of the county where such association is located, one by the probate court of such county, and one by the vote of a majority of the members of such association present at a regular meeting duly convoked. Such fiscal trustees shall hold their offices for three years, except the first ones appointed, who shall hold office respectively for one, two, and three years. They must meet in the presence of the probate judge, and, by agreement, or by lot if they cannot agree, allot themselves accordingly, whereupon such judge shall give to each a certificate of his term. Upon the death, resignation, incapacity, or removal from the county of any of such trustees, the vacancy must be filled for the unexpired term by the same appointing power.

Such fiscal trustees shall not be appointed except upon the written request of the association, filed in such probate court, in accordance with a resolution adopted by it at a regular meeting duly convoked. Until such appointment the association at a regular meeting may elect any number of fiscal trustees, not less than three, with such power, subject to such duties, and for such time not more than three years, as the association determines by its bylaws.

Section 1715.30 | Fiscal trustees - powers.

• Effective: October 25, 1978
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 349 - 112th General Assembly

Fiscal trustees appointed for a benevolent association under section 1715.29 of the Revised Code shall have the exclusive authority, in the name and behalf of such association, to demand, take, and possess all the endowment, capital, funds, or property which the association has or may be entitled to, and securely to manage, invest, change, and dispose of these at their will, for the benefit of the association, so as to yield a regular income. Every three months, or oftener if necessary and convenient, they must give account of all such funds, property, and income to the proper board of trustees, managers, or directors of the association, and collect and pay over to them or their order all the net income of such investments, after deducting the necessary expenses of the trust. No charge or allowance for the services of such fiscal trustees shall be made.

For such purposes, such fiscal trustees may, in the name of the association, contract and be contracted with, prosecute and defend suits, and receive, hold, and dispose of all money and property which the association may have, acquire, or be entitled to, by gift, purchase, or otherwise, for its endowment, and may, when necessary for such purposes, use the common seal of the corporation.

Such fiscal trustees shall not have any power, or control over the institution or affairs of the corporation, other than its fiscal affairs, nor shall they be liable for its debts or for anything else but their own acts or negligence.

Section 1715.31 | Provisions in articles for fiscal trustees.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

A benevolent or charitable association incorporated under general or special law and coming within the purview of section 1715.29 of the Revised Code, may accept the provisions of sections 1715.29 and 1715.30 of the Revised Code by a vote of the majority of the members present at a regular meeting. When a certified copy of such acceptance is filed in the office of the secretary of state, such sections shall be a part of its charter. If such association is being newly formed, it may make such sections part of its articles of incorporation.

Section 1715.32 | Consolidation of charitable or benevolent institutions.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When two or more charitable, benevolent, or educational organizations formed or incorporated in this state desire to be consolidated as a single corporation, or when two or more charitable, benevolent, or educational organizations one or more of which is or may be incorporated in this state desire to be consolidated as a single corporation, the trustees, directors, or other known legal representatives or governing body of such organizations may enter into an agreement for such consolidation and prescribe its terms, a corporate name for such united corporation which may be either the name of one of the component organizations or a new name, the time and place for the first meeting of the new corporation, and the number of members of each component organization to be chosen as directors, trustees, or other officers of the new corporation. Such directors, trustees, or other officers of the new corporation shall succeed to the rights and obligations of those officers who in the component organizations held in trust the real and personal estate thereof, and may hold such other estates as they deem necessary to complete the new corporation.

Section 1715.33 | Ratification of consolidation agreement.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

No agreement for the consolidation of charitable, benevolent, or educational organizations under section 1715.32 of the Revised Code shall be valid until it has been submitted to a separate meeting of the members of each of the component organizations, of which meeting notice has been given according to the form and usage for calling meetings of the component organizations concerned, and ratified by a two-thirds vote of the members present at said meeting, in person or by proxy, entitled to vote according to the regulations or usages of such organizations. In case any of such organizations does not have members, then said agreement shall not be valid until it has been submitted to a meeting of such persons as are authorized to elect the governing body of such organization, of which meeting notice has been given as provided in the preceding sentence, and ratified by two thirds of such persons present at said meeting.

When such agreement has been ratified by each organization which is a party to the proposed united corporation, the clerk or secretary of the ratifying meeting shall certify the record of the proceedings of such meeting and deliver it to the clerk or secretary of the first meeting of the united corporation.

Section 1715.34 | Approval of agreement by first meeting of united corporation.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

At the first meeting of a united corporation formed under sections 1715.32 to 1715.38, inclusive, of the Revised Code, each member of each of the component organizations is entitled to vote. If at such meeting the proceedings and acts of the several component organizations are submitted to and approved by it, and a board of trustees, directors, or other officers are chosen in accordance with the consolidation agreement, the clerk or secretary of the meeting shall certify the approved consolidation agreement and file it in the office of the secretary of state. Thereupon the several organizations parties thereto shall be one corporation under the name adopted.

Any of the acts provided for by this section which are not done or perfected at such first meeting may be done and perfected at a subsequent or adjourned meeting of the united corporation.

The certificate to the secretary of state provided for in this section shall be recorded by him, and a copy thereof, certified by him, shall be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county where such corporation exists. It may be recorded in the office of the county recorder of any county where there is real estate belonging to any of the component organizations.

A copy of such certificate, certified by the county recorder in whose office it is recorded, or a copy certified by the secretary of state of the record in his office, shall be prima-facie evidence of the existence of such united corporation.

Section 1715.35 | Constitution and bylaws.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

A united corporation formed under sections 1715.32 to 1715.38, inclusive, of the Revised Code, may adopt a constitution, bylaws, and rules, and may amend them under such provisions for amendment as it adopts.

Section 1715.36 | Succession to rights and obligations of component organizations.

• Effective: June 13, 1974
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 383 - 110th General Assembly

The various organizations entering into a union under sections 1715.32 to 1715.38 of the Revised Code, shall be merged in the united body and the new corporation, with its officers and chosen directors, trustees, or other representatives, shall succeed to and be vested with all the interests in every species of property, including property expressly given to them in trust or otherwise either before or after the consolidation, of the organizations which are parties to the agreement, and all the rights, privileges, and franchises held by or vested in each of such component organizations, without any other act, conveyance, or transfer. Any right or interest in respect to any past or future devise, bequest, conditional gift, or trust, property, or fund restricted to particular uses, when vested in or claimed by the consolidated corporation as a result of the merger, shall belong to it as the continuation without interruption of the existence and identity of the constituent organization originally named as taker or beneficiary. The new corporation shall hold and enjoy such interests, rights, privileges, and franchises with all the rights pertaining thereto, and shall be subject to all the obligations of the component organizations in the same manner and to the same extent as were the component organizations.

Real estate or other property vested in or held by any of such component organizations, under any trusts or terms governing the grant, shall continue after the consolidation to be subject to such trusts or controlled by such terms.

Section 1715.37 | Petition for conveyance.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

A united corporation formed under sections 1715.32 to 1715.38, inclusive, of the Revised Code, at the request of a majority of its members, or by act of its board of trustees, directors or other governing body, may in its corporate name petition the court of common pleas of the proper county, setting forth the fact of the union, and such court may make an order requiring such governing body to convey to the new corporation the real estate owned and held by the parties to the union, as it directs. If any of the members of such governing body refuse or neglect to obey such order, the decree for the conveyance shall serve as such conveyance. The order shall not be inconsistent with the original terms under which the real estate became vested in, or entrusted to, the parties to the union. In all cases the grantors of the real estate to such parties, the heirs of such grantors, or such other parties as the petitioners deem advisable may be made defendants to the petition. Defendants who make no defense shall not be subject to costs.

Notice of the pendency of such petition must be given, by publication in a newspaper published in the county where the petition is filed, for four consecutive weeks, setting forth the object and prayer of the petition.

Section 1715.38 | Subsequent consolidations with united corporation.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

After the creation of a united corporation under sections 1715.32 to 1715.37, inclusive, of the Revised Code, any one or more organizations of like character may unite with and become a part of such corporation in accordance with such sections.

Section 1715.39 | Sale or encumbrance of real estate by a religious or charitable organization.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

When a charitable or religious society or association desires to sell, lease, exchange, or encumber by mortgage or otherwise any real estate owned by it, held in trust by it for a specified religious or charitable purpose, or held for its use or benefit by trustees chosen by it or otherwise constituted, for any such purpose, except grounds used as burial places for the dead, then the trustees, wardens, and vestry, or other officers entrusted with the management of the affairs of such society or association or holding the title to such property, or such society or association itself if it is incorporated in this state, may file, in the court of common pleas of the county in which the real estate is situated, a petition stating how and by whom the title to such real estate is held, the desire of such society or association to make the sale, lease, exchange, or encumbrance, and the object thereof. If upon the hearing of the case it appears that such sale, exchange, lease, or encumbrance is desired by the members of the society or association and that it is proper that authority should be given to accomplish it, the court may authorize the trustees or other officers of the society or association, or, if it is incorporated, the society or association itself, to sell, lease, exchange, or encumber such real estate in accordance with the prayer of the petition and upon such terms as the court deems reasonable.

In case the title to the property is held for the use or benefit of such society or association by trustees, all or a majority of whom are not chosen by such society or association, and who refuse upon request of such society or association, or of its trustees, wardens, and vestry or other officers, to file such petition, then, upon the petition of the society or association or of its trustees or other officers, such court may require the trustees holding the title to lease, convey, or encumber the real estate in accordance with the prayer of the petition and upon terms it deems reasonable. All trustees holding title and refusing to file or join in the petition must be made defendants therein and must be served with summons as in a civil action.

The petitioner shall cause notice of the pendency and prayer of the petition to be published, in some newspaper of general circulation in the county where the real estate proposed to be sold, leased, exchanged, or encumbered is situated, for four consecutive weeks before the application is heard.

Section 1715.40 | Conveyance of property to allied organizations.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The board of trustees of a church organization or of a religious or charitable society or association, or such organization or religious or charitable society or association itself if incorporated, and all persons holding title to property in trust for it, may, upon a two-thirds vote of the members of the organization present and voting at a meeting called and held for that purpose, lease, transfer, convey, or encumber such property to other boards of trustees of the same denomination, or to the board of trustees of such organization, society, or association itself if incorporated in this state; but such lease, transfer, conveyance, or encumbrance shall be made only when the property transferred, leased, or encumbered, the proceeds thereof, or the revenue arising from the use thereof is still to be used for the religious, missionary, church, or specified charitable purposes for which such property is held at the time of such lease, transfer, conveyance, or encumbrance.

Section 1715.41 | Confirmation by court.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

The trustees or other officers of a charitable or religious society or association who are authorized to make a sale, lease, exchange, or encumbrance in accordance with sections 1715.39 to 1715.41, inclusive, of the Revised Code, shall make return thereof to the court of common pleas ordering it, at such time as such court orders. Thereupon, if satisfied that the sale, lease, exchange, or encumbrance was made according to its order, the court shall approve it and order that the proceeds be invested in other real estate for the use of such society or association and used in payments of its debts or otherwise invested or disposed of according to the prayer of the petition.

Section 1715.411 | Validity and effect of deeds and mortgages.

• Effective: August 15, 1972
• Latest Legislation: Senate Bill 75 - 109th General Assembly

When the trustees or other officers mentioned in sections 1715.37 to 1715.41, inclusive, of the Revised Code, have sold and conveyed by deed in fee simple or mortgaged any real estate therein mentioned, without proceeding as required by those sections, and the deed of conveyance or mortgage has been of record for five years without legal action to set aside said deed or mortgage, such sale and conveyance or mortgage shall have the same validity and effect as if it had been made by proceedings as required by those sections. This section is effective as to both past and future transactions.

Section 1715.42 | Secret benevolent societies.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

A secret benevolent association or society incorporated in this state may accept and receive any donation or voluntary contribution; collect its assessments, which shall not exceed one fifth of one per cent of the amount payable at the death of a member; and pay endowments in the mode and to the persons named and provided by its laws, but in no case shall such payments exceed, in the aggregate, five thousand dollars on the death of any one member.

Such an association or society may sue or be sued in any court in this state.

If such an association or society holds reserve or accumulated funds for the endowment of the widows, orphans, families, blood relatives, or heirs of its members, or for purely charitable purposes, it may invest such funds upon interest, but must take security for such investment, upon real or personal property or otherwise, as the society or association deems fit.

The association or society may elect a board of trustees, consisting of not less than three members, and entrust to such board the right to manage, control, invest, collect, demand, receive, and deposit all reserves or surplus or accumulated funds which the association or society holds for the purpose of making such endowments. The association or society may define in its bylaws the term of office of each of such trustees, define the duties and powers of each trustee and of the board of trustees, remove any trustee for good cause, and fill all vacancies occurring in the board. It also shall demand from each of the trustees such security for the faithful performance of his duties as it deems fit, and cause investments to be made by the board in the names of any of them, in which names suit may be brought. It may empower the board to discharge and release all claims or demands of the association or society upon payment thereof. The board may sue for a claim based upon a loan or investment made by the association or society; and upon foreclosure of a mortgage held by the association or society to secure a loan or investment made by it, may purchase and hold any land, tenement, or interest in land, in fee or otherwise, and lease, rent, sell, and convey it by deed.

Section 1715.43 | Real estate held by lodge.

• Effective: October 1, 1953
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 1 - 100th General Assembly

Any unincorporated lodge or other subordinate body of any society or order, which is chartered by its grand lodge or body, may take and hold real estate for its own use and benefit, by lease, purchase, grant, devise, gift, or otherwise; may loan its funds and secure such loans, or any unpaid purchase money, by mortgage on otherwise unencumbered real estate; and may borrow money, and execute and deliver notes or bonds, and mortgages on real property of the lodge to secure such notes or bonds, in the name and by the number of said lodge or other subordinate body according to the register of its grand lodge or body.

The presiding officer of such lodge or other such lodge or other subordinate body, together with the secretary or officer keeping its records, may make conveyances, leases, or mortgages of any real estate belonging to such lodge or other subordinate body, when authorized to do so by a vote of the members present at a regular meeting held by said lodge or other subordinate body, after at least ten days' notice has been given to all members thereof by mailing a written notice of said proposed action to the last known post-office address of each such member, under the regulations of such lodge or other subordinate body, and not in conflict with the regulations prescribed by the respective grand lodge or body.

All such conveyances, leases, or mortgages shall be in the name of the lodge, shall be attested by the presiding officer and the secretary or other officer in charge of its records, and shall have affixed the seal of such lodge or other subordinate body. Any mortgage taken by such a lodge or other subordinate body in its name and number may, when paid and satisfied, be released by the presiding officer and the secretary or officer keeping its records, and such release shall be attested by the seal of the lodge or other subordinate body.

Section 1715.51 | Uniform management of institutional funds definitions.

• Effective: June 1, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 522 - 127th General Assembly

As used in sections 1715.51 to 1715.59 of the Revised Code:

(A) "Charitable purpose" means any purpose the achievement of which is beneficial to the community, including the relief of poverty, the advancement of education or religion, the promotion of health, and the promotion of a governmental purpose.

(B) "Institution" means any of the following:

(1) A person, other than an individual, organized and operated exclusively for charitable purposes;

(2) A governmental organization to the extent that it holds funds exclusively for a charitable purpose;

(3) A trust that had both charitable and noncharitable interests and the noncharitable interests have terminated.

(C) "Institutional fund" means a fund that is held by an institution exclusively for charitable purposes. "Institutional fund" does not include any of the following:

(1) Program related assets;

(2) A fund held for an institution by a trustee that is not an institution;

(3) A fund in which a beneficiary that is not an institution has an interest other than an interest that may arise upon a violation of or the failure of the purposes of the fund.

(D) "Endowment fund" means an institutional fund or any part thereof that, under the terms of a gift instrument, is not wholly expendable by the institution on a current basis. "Endowment fund" does not include assets that an institution designates as an endowment fund for its own use.

(E) "Gift instrument" means a record or records, including an institutional solicitation, under which property is granted to, transferred to, or held by an institution as an institutional fund.

(F) "Person" means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, joint venture, public corporation, governmental organization, or any other legal or commercial entity.

(G) " Program related asset" means an asset held by an institution primarily to accomplish a charitable purpose of the institution and not primarily for investment.

(H) "Record" means information that is inscribed on a tangible medium or that is stored in an electronic or other medium and is retrievable in perceivable form.

Last updated August 16, 2024 at 2:30 PM

Section 1715.52 | Intent of donor - costs - investment pooling - standard of care.

• Effective: June 1, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 522 - 127th General Assembly

(A) Subject to the intent of a donor expressed in a gift instrument, an institution, in managing and investing an institutional fund, shall consider the charitable purposes of the institution and the purposes of the institutional fund.

(B) In addition to complying with any other duty of loyalty imposed by law, each person responsible for managing and investing an institutional fund shall manage and invest the fund in good faith and with the care an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances.

(C) In managing and investing an institutional fund, an institution may incur only costs that are appropriate and reasonable in relation to the assets, the purposes of the institution, and the skills available to the institution, and shall make a reasonable effort to verify facts relevant to the management and investment of the fund.

(D) An institution may pool two or more institutional funds for purposes of management and investment.

(E) Except as otherwise provided by a gift instrument, all of the following apply:

(1) In managing and investing an institutional fund, the following factors, if relevant, shall be considered:

(a) General economic conditions;

(b) The possible effect of inflation or deflation;

(c) The expected tax consequences, if any, of investment decisions or strategies;

(d) The role that each investment or course of action plays within the overall investment portfolio of the fund;

(e) The expected total return from income and the appreciation of investments;

(f) Other resources of the institution;

(g) The need of the institution and of the fund to make distributions and preserve capital;

(h) An asset's special relationship or special value, if any, to the charitable purposes of the institution.

(2) Management and investment decisions about an individual asset shall be made not in isolation but rather in the context of the institutional fund's portfolio of investments as a whole and as a part of an overall investment strategy having risk and return objectives reasonably suited to the fund and to the institution.

(3) Except as otherwise provided by law, an institution may invest in any kind of property or type of investment consistent with this section.

(4) An institution shall diversify the investments of an institutional fund unless the institution reasonably determines that, because of special circumstances, the purposes of the fund are better served without diversification.

(5) Within a reasonable time after receiving property, an institution shall make and carry out decisions concerning the retention or disposition of the property or the rebalancing of a portfolio, in order to bring the institutional fund into compliance with the purposes, terms, and distribution requirements of the institution and as necessary to meet other circumstances of the institution and the requirements of sections 1715.51 to 1715.59 of the Revised Code.

(6) A person that has special skills or expertise, or is selected in reliance upon the person's representation of the person's special skills or expertise, has a duty to use those skills or that expertise in managing and investing institutional funds.

Section 1715.53 | Appropriations from net appreciation.

• Effective: June 1, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 522 - 127th General Assembly

(A) Subject to the intent of a donor expressed in the gift instrument and to division (D) of this section, an institution may appropriate for expenditure or accumulate so much of an endowment fund as the institution determines is prudent for the uses, benefits, purposes, and duration for which an endowment fund is established. Unless stated otherwise in the gift instrument, the assets in an endowment fund are donor-restricted assets until appropriated for expenditure by the institution. In making a determination to appropriate or accumulate, the institution shall act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances, and shall consider, if relevant, the following factors:

(1) The duration and preservation of the endowment fund;

(2) The purposes of the institution and the endowment fund;

(3) General economic conditions;

(4) The possible effect of inflation or deflation;

(5) The expected total return from income and the appreciation of investments;

(6) Other resources of the institution;

(7) The investment policy of the institution.

(B) To limit the authority to appropriate for expenditure or accumulate under division (A) of this section, a gift instrument shall specifically state the limitation.

(C) Terms in a gift instrument designating a gift as an endowment, or a direction or authorization in the gift instrument to use only "income," "interest," "dividends," or "rents, issues, or profits" or "to preserve the principal intact," or words of similar import, create an endowment fund of permanent duration, unless other language in the gift instrument limits the duration or purpose of the fund, and do not otherwise limit the authority under division (A) of this section to appropriate for expenditure or accumulate.

(D)(1) The appropriation for expenditure in any year of an amount not greater than five per cent of the fair market value of an endowment fund, whether or not the total expenditure from it exceeds five per cent, calculated on the basis of market values that are determined at least quarterly and averaged over a period of not less than three years immediately preceding the year in which the appropriation for expenditure was made, creates an irrebuttable presumption of prudence. With respect to an endowment fund in existence for fewer than three years, the fair market value of the endowment fund shall be calculated for the period the endowment fund has been in existence.

(2) Nothing in division (D)(1) of this section shall be construed to restrict an appropriation for expenditure permitted by the gift instrument or to create a presumption of imprudence or prudence for that part, if any, of an appropriation for expenditure that exceeds five per cent of the fair market value of the endowment fund.

Section 1715.54 | Delegation of authority.

• Effective: June 1, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 522 - 127th General Assembly

(A)(1) Subject to any specific limitation set forth in a gift instrument or in any other provision of law, an institution may delegate to an external agent the management and investment of an institutional fund to the extent that an institution could prudently delegate under the circumstances. An institution shall act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would exercise under similar circumstances, in doing all of the following:

(a) Selecting an agent;

(b) Establishing the scope and terms of the delegation, consistent with the purposes of the institution and the institutional fund;

(c) Periodically reviewing the agent's actions to monitor the agent's performance and compliance with the scope and terms of the delegation.

(2) An agent, in performing a delegated function, shall owe a duty to the institution to exercise reasonable care to comply with the scope and terms of the delegation. By accepting delegation of a management or investment function from an institution that is subject to the laws of this state, an agent submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of this state in all proceedings arising from or related to the delegation or the performance of the delegated function.

(3) An institution that complies with division (A)(1) of this section is not liable for the decisions or actions of an agent to which the function was delegated.

(B) An institution may delegate management and investment functions to its committees, officers, or employees as otherwise provided by law.

Section 1715.55 | Releasing restriction on use or investment of institutional fund.

• Effective: June 1, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 522 - 127th General Assembly

(A) If a donor consents in a record, an institution may release or modify, in whole or in part, a restriction contained in a gift instrument on the management, investment, or purpose of an institutional fund. A release or modification shall not, however, permit a fund to be used for a purpose other than a charitable purpose of the institution.

(B) The appropriate court, upon application of an institution, may modify a restriction contained in a gift instrument regarding the management or investment of an institutional fund if the restriction has become impracticable or wasteful, if it impairs the management or investment of the fund, or if, because of circumstances not anticipated by the donor, a modification of a restriction will further the purposes of the fund. The attorney general is a necessary party to and shall be served with process in all proceedings pertaining to an application of that nature. To the extent practicable, any modification shall be made in accordance with the donor's probable intention.

(C) The court, upon application of an institution, may modify the charitable purpose of an institutional fund or a restriction contained in a gift instrument on the use of the fund if the particular charitable purpose or restriction becomes unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, or wasteful. The attorney general is a necessary party to and shall be served with process in all proceedings pertaining to an application of that nature. Any modification shall be made in a manner consistent with the charitable purposes expressed in the gift instrument.

(D) If an institution determines that a restriction contained in a gift instrument on the management, investment, or purpose of an institutional fund is unlawful, impracticable, impossible to achieve, or wasteful, the institution may, after providing sixty-days advanced notice to the attorney general's charitable law section by certified mail on a form prescribed by the attorney general, release or modify the restriction, in whole or in part, if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The institutional fund subject to the restriction has a total value of less than two hundred fifty thousand dollars;

(2) More than ten years have elapsed since the fund was established;

(3) The institution uses the property in a manner consistent with the charitable purposes expressed in the gift instrument.

(E) The attorney general may extend for a period of up to an additional sixty days the effective date of a release or modification of a restriction that is proposed under division (D) of this section and shall provide notice of that extension to the institution that proposed the release or modification. The notice shall set forth the reasons necessitating the extension. The attorney general shall notify the institution prior to the effective date of the proposed release or modification of any objection to the proposed release or modification of the restriction.

Section 1715.56 | Determination of compliance with RC 1715.51 et seq.

• Effective: June 1, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 522 - 127th General Assembly

Compliance with sections 1715.51 to 1715.59 of the Revised Code shall be determined in light of the facts and circumstances existing at the time a decision is made or action is taken, and not by hindsight.

Section 1715.57 | Construction of RC 1715.51 et seq.

• Effective: June 1, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 522 - 127th General Assembly

(A) Sections 1715.51 to 1715.59 of the Revised Code shall be construed as modifying, limiting, and superseding the "Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act," 114 Stat. 464, 15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq., with the exception of section 101 of that act, 15 U.S.C. 7001(a).

(B) Sections 1715.51 to 1715.59 of the Revised Code shall not be construed as authorizing electronic delivery of any of the orders, notices, or documents described in section 103 of that act, 15 U.S.C. 7003(b).

Section 1715.58 | Enacting uniform management of institutional funds act.

• Effective: June 1, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 522 - 127th General Assembly

In so far as is possible on and after June 1, 2009, sections 1715.51 to 1715.59 of the Revised Code shall be applied and construed to effectuate the general purpose to make uniform the law with respect to the subject of those sections among the states that enact the uniform prudent management of institutional funds act.

Section 1715.59 | Sections cited as the uniform management of institutional funds act.

• Effective: June 1, 2009
• Latest Legislation: House Bill 522 - 127th General Assembly

Sections 1715.51 to 1715.59 of the Revised Code may be cited as the uniform prudent management of institutional funds act.