The Board of Trustees wants to encourage younger members of the family to learn first-hand about the Foundation by directly participating in the grantmaking process. The Board has instituted a category of membership called an “Associate Trustee.” Up to one family member may serve in this capacity each year. An Associate Trustee may serve one additional year, at the discretion of the trustees. Through his/her work on the Board, the Associate Trustee will develop deeper knowledge of areas of grantmaking practices and program evaluation. It is hoped that the participation of an associate trustee will reinforce his/her commitment to community involvement, and deepen relationships with other trustees and with members of the non-profit community.
An associate trustee will be a full voting member of the board of trustees, except that “no associate trustee will be eligible to vote to extend his or her own term or to vote upon the appointment of a trustee, if the associate trustee is being proposed as a candidate” (from the by-laws).
Qualifications:
An associate trustee must be between the ages of 21 and 35 at the beginning of his/her term of service, and must also be a direct descendent of one of Winifred Johnson Clive’s four brothers.
Selection: An Associate Trustee must be nominated by a current trustee who will present his/her name to the board. The whole board will vote on offering an Associate Trustee position to the candidate.
Requirements and Recommendations:
- An associate trustee will join the board for the two fall meetings and one spring meeting. The first fall meeting will overlap with the outgoing associate trustee and the final fall meeting will overlap with the incoming associate trustee.
- An associate trustee should be prepared to read the docket for each meeting during the associate trustee term and to attend the meetings in person. The usual schedule of the board meeting weekends is:
- Thursday—travel (and dinner is provided for those who arrive in time);
- Friday—site visits (dinner is not planned);
- Saturday—meeting from 9 AM to 4:30 PM (breakfast and lunch are served and the foundation sponsors a family dinner that includes family members who are in the area); and
- Sunday—for breakfast.
If requested, the Foundation will reimburse travel, room, and board expenses for travel to board meetings, per the Trustee Expense Reimbursement Policy.
- When an associate trustee joins the board, the individual will work with the trustee of their choice and together they will bring potential grantees to the board to be considered.
- Each Associate Trustee will receive a binder (digital and/or hard copy) containing information about and policies of the foundation.
- Associate trustees are welcome to contact foundation staff with any questions. Pacific Foundation Services has an extensive library (both print and electronic documents) which is full of information on how to be a good grantmaker as well as how to be a constructive voice on the board. Each Associate Trustee will be provided with a copy of the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s The Trustee Notebook: An Orientation for Being an Effective Board Member.
- Associate trustees are encouraged to attend the Council on Foundations’ Annual Conference (www.cof.org/events), the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s bi-annual conference (https://www.ncfp.org/resource/events/), Exponent Philanthropy’s Annual Conference (https://www.exponentphilanthropy.org/). Travel, conference fees, and hotel and food costs may be underwritten in part or in full, at the board’s discretion.
Please note: these policies have been incorporated into the By-Laws, and to the extent they are different than the By-Laws, the By-Laws take precedence.