Protocol for Direct Assistance for the Capital Gazette Families Fund
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Protocol for Direct Assistance for the Capital Gazette Families Fund BACKGROUND On June 28, 2018 a gunman forced his way into the Capital Gazette newsroom in Annapolis with a shotgun killing five people and injuring two others. Officers responded to the scene within a minute of the rampage and found employees fleeing from the building. The suspect was found hiding under a desk and was arrested. The Annapolis community was shocked and heartbroken. Grieving colleagues began covering the story — some of them immediately upon escaping the building. The following morning, the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (CFAAC) was contacted by the Baltimore Sun Media Group and asked to administer the funds that were being donated to support the victims and their families. The Capital Gazette Families Fund (Fund) was established in coordination with tronc, Inc., to honor the lives of the five employees that were killed during the tragic shooting. While we know financial gifts cannot erase the traumatic impacts of tragedy, we hope that these gifts, given by thousands of people from around the world, will be a symbol of caring and help the employees and their families begin to heal. Through this fund we cannot solve all of the problems arising from this event, we cannot bring back those who were killed, nor erase that which was witnessed and endured by the survivors. The gifts made from this Fund are qualitatively different from other sources of tragedy relief. These gifts are not based on any economic loss or expenses incurred as a result of the incident. Additional assistance may be provided by the Maryland Criminal Injuries Compensation Board and other sources. No one has a legal claim or entitlement to these funds. They are a GIFT, an act of charity from the tremendous generosity of thousands of individuals, businesses and foundations. CFAAC’s role is to serve as the administrator of the Fund and fairly distribute these gifts for the direct benefit of the victims and their families. We are inspired and overwhelmed by the generosity of the public to help the victims. In support of our community, CFAAC is waiving all fees for the administration of this Fund so that 100% of the gifts received by December 31, 2018 (deadline for donations) for the benefit of these victims and their families will be distributed directly to them. The success or failure of this Fund will not be measured in the amount of money raised, but rather by whether the funds were distributed in accord with the intent of the donors in a fair and transparent manner. CFAAC formed a Distribution Committee (Committee) composed of independent experts and community volunteers to develop the protocol for distribution of the gifts received. The committee has developed the following protocol for the distribution of the donations received to support those most significantly impacted by the June 28, 2018 shooting at the Capital Gazette news office. The goal of the guidelines is to provide a transparent and equitable process for distribution of the gifts to the victims and their families. The protocol below has been created to be used specifically for the incident on June 28, 2018. PROTOCOL The Capital Gazette Families Fund (Fund) was created out of the generosity of thousands of individual donors, businesses, and foundations in response to the tragic shooting at the Capital Gazette news office on June 28, 2018 in Annapolis, MD. This Fund is an Expendable Field of Interest Fund held at and administered by the Community Foundation of Anne Arundel County (Administrator) which is a tax-exempt entity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR BENEFITS, ALL APPLICATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED THROUGH THE ONLINE APPLICATION PORTAL NO LATER THAN OCTOBER 15, 2018. ELIGIBILE INDIVIDUALS Individuals employed on June 28, 2018 by the Capital Gazette are eligible to apply for assistance. If the eligible applicant is deceased, the surviving spouse or court appointed personal representative is eligible to apply for assistance on behalf of the decedent’s legal heirs. The proposed plan will be distributed to all such eligible applicants, each of whom must consent to the proposed distribution. In circumstances where the decedent was at the time of his/her death engaged to be married or cohabitating with a domestic partner, the Administrator may, in its discretion, allow the fiancé or domestic partner to be included in the proposed distribution plan. When a Maryland resident dies without having made a Last Will and Testament, the intestacy succession laws found in the Estates & Trusts portion of the current Maryland Code, Title 3, Subtitle 1 dictate who inherits the deceased person's probate estate. The Fund Administrator is not qualified to provide legal advice. Please seek legal counsel as appropriate. CATEGORIES OF ELIGIBLE APPLICANTS Determination of the amounts for each eligible applicant will depend upon the following: (1) the total amount received into the Fund by December 31, 2018; (2) submission of completed application and required documentation; (3) completion of the review of all submitted applications and documentation; and (4) review and final approval of payments by the CFAAC Board of Trustees. The Administrator will obtain confirmation of employment based on tronc, Inc. records as of June 28, 2018. The Administrator will obtain confirmation of employees’ presence in the Capital Gazette news office on June 28, 2018 based on the official Anne Arundel County Police Department incident report or other official government document. CGFF Protocol for Direct Assistance 9.24.18 2 A. Application for Death Benefits Eligible applicants for the victims who were killed as a result of the Capital Gazette shooting will receive payment under the scope of these guidelines. B. Individual with Injuries Requiring Overnight Hospitalization Eligible applicants who were hospitalized on June 28, 2018 for one or more nights due to physical injuries resulting from Capital Gazette shooting will receive payment under the scope of these guidelines. C. Individual Requiring Emergency Out-Patient Treatment Eligible applicants, who were physically injured on June 28, 2018 as a result of the Capital Gazette shooting who were treated on an emergency out-patient basis no later than Friday, June 29, 2018, at an area hospital or clinic, and released without an overnight hospital stay, will receive a payment under the scope of these guidelines. D. Individual Present in the Capital Gazette News Office Eligible applicants who were physically present on June 28, 2018 in the Capital Gazette news office, at 888 Bestgate Road, Annapolis MD, 21401, during the time of the shooting are presumed to have experienced emotional distress, and without any other qualification, are eligible to receive payment under the scope of these guidelines. Proof of such physical presence will be based upon police reports or other official government documents. E. Individual Not Present in the Capital Gazette News Office Eligible applicants not physically present in the Capital Gazette news office, at 888 Bestgate Road, Annapolis MD, 21401, at the time of the shooting, are presumed to have experienced emotional distress, and without any other qualification, are eligible to receive payment under the scope of these guidelines. INTENDED USE OF ASSISTANCE The assistance is intended to support employees and their families as a result of violence that has changed their lives forever. There is no restriction on the recipient for use of these gifts. We believe that the victims and survivors are in the best position to determine the most beneficial use of the gifts to aid with their healing. We also believe that empowering victims to decide for themselves is yet another way to help them regain the control that was taken from them on June 28, 2018. DISTRIBUTION PROTOCOL • The need for this assistance must stem directly from the act of violence perpetrated on June 28, 2018 at the Capital Gazette news office. • Supporting documentation, with signatures, is required and must be submitted with the application. Documentation must be dated and on letterhead or statement of state, city, or other “owned” party (e.g. death certificate from the state). • Distributions will be made without regard for race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, or other protected status in accordance with the Administrator’s Nondiscrimination Policy. • The total amount of payments distributed will be equal to total amount received for the employees and families impacted by the June 28, 2018 incident. CGFF Protocol for Direct Assistance 9.24.18 3 • The Fund will stop accepting donations for this specific incident on December 31, 2018. • An individual audit of this Fund will begin March 1, 2019 and will be available to the public and posted on the Administrator’s website at www.cfaac.org. GIFT DISTRIBUTION In order to remit funds quickly to victims in need, honor the intent of the donors who contributed to the fund, and ensure transparency, assistance will be made using the Horizontal Equity1 method with the severity and impact of the disaster on the named applicant and his/her family considered to the extent possible. This distribution model has been consistently used across the United States as a result of mass shootings and other terrorist-type acts of violence. All payments from this Fund are to be apportioned to the victims in accordance with this model. In the event an eligible individual chooses not to apply or fails to apply for assistance by the deadline of October 15, 2018, the total funds available will be divided among the verified eligible applicants. Assistance will be distributed in two payments. The first payment will be made on or after November 15, 2018. A second payment will be made on or after January 15, 2019.