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Trust Funds

Trust Fund Guidelines

A Trust Fund is a discretionary fund which allows monies from a special project, group of activities, or services to be used for expenses which are supportive of the university's educational mission and for the exclusive benefit of the university, with the absence of external restrictions.

General Guidelines

  • The purpose of a trust fund should be in the best interest of the campus' educational objectives and goals.
  • A 'Trust Fund Information Fact Sheet' (TFIFS) or trust agreement must be prepared by the responsible department.
  • It is the responsibility of the campus department to submit revised trust agreement documentation, as needed to provide updates for file records to reflect current information.
  • Each trust fund shall be accounted for separately providing for balance sheet and other reporting needs.
  • Each trust must maintain a positive cash position and fund balance.
  • Trust funds are not to be used as an alternate means of facilitating cash flow in other programs, i.e. over-expended programs.
  • Disbursements from a trust should be made only for the purposes for which the trust fund was established.
  • If funds are expended from the general operating fund on behalf of a trust, the trust fund shall reimburse the operating fund in a timely manner.
  • Any restrictions on the use of monies shall be documented in the TFIFS trust agreement.

Establishing a Trust

Requests for the establishment of a trust fund must follow the procedure below:

  1. Prepare the request
    Campus department personnel complete the Trust Fund Information Fact Sheet and submit it to their director or dean for approval.
    • The request must include:
      • The trust fund’s purpose
      • Source of funds
      • Intended use of funds
      • Names of authorized persons
  2. Division approval
    The division vice president reviews the request and signs to indicate approval.
  3. Finance, Technology and Operations (FTO) approval
    The Finance, Technology and Operations Vice President reviews the request and signs to indicate approval.
    • Please contact Heather Hopkins hhopkins@csusb.edu for assistance in obtaining the FTO Vice President’s signature.
  4. Submit to Accounting Services
    Once the request has been approved and signed by Senior Management, forward it to Accounting Services to establish or revise the trust fund. For a new trust fund, be sure to include the fund’s purpose and any additional information that is relevant to your request.
  5. Accounting Services processing
    • Accounting Services routes the form for internal review and approval.
    • Once this process is complete, the form is returned to the requestor for their records.
    • If this is a new trust fund, a trust fund code will be created.
    • If the form is submitted for a revision, the approved changes will be recorded on the form.

Closing a Trust

A trust fund without activity for any 12-month period may be closed. To close a trust before this 12-month period, written notification should be sent to the General Accounting Department from an authorized individual requesting closure of the Trust. When a trust fund is closed, remaining funds may be transferred to the campus’ operating fund miscellaneous revenue account.

Documents

TrustFundFactSheet_12172025.pdf

How to calculate cash available (Excel File)

Trust Fund Training

Please view the ITS training website for available course offerings.

If specific information or a special training request, outside of the available courses, is desired, please contact Mimi Badulis

(x73153) for more information.