Jefferson Memorial Foundation Commemorative Coin Program

Gao ID: AIMD-97-119R July 18, 1997

Pursuant to a legislative requirement, GAO audited the use of commemorative coin surcharge proceeds received by the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, Inc.

GAO noted that: (1) the Foundation received $5 million in final coin surcharge proceeds from the U.S. Mint in June 1994 and placed the surcharge proceeds and related investment earnings into an endowment in December 1994; (2) the purpose of the endowment is to support the Foundation's efforts to restore and preserve Monticello and its related educational programs; (3) as of December 1996, the Foundation had not made any expenditures form the endowment, other than investment management fees; (4) the endowment balance as of April 1997 was about $7.6 million; and (5) section 5134 of Title 31, United States Code, as amended by Public Law 104-208, now requires future coin surcharge recipients to: (a) separately account for the expenditure of coin surcharge proceeds: and (b) obtain annual financial audits by an independent public accounting firm until all surcharge proceeds are expended or placed in trust.



The Justia Government Accountability Office site republishes public reports retrieved from the U.S. GAO These reports should not be considered official, and do not necessarily reflect the views of Justia.