• Serving the public interest
shall guide the foundation’s work, and shall
be the basis for board decision making at all levels
of the organization.
• Everyone will be expected
to bring objective thinking, critical analysis, and
a discerning, empathetic heart to the foundation’s
deliberations.
• Everyone will be tolerant
of the ideas and positions of others, and all matters
will be approached with an open mind.
• Decisions and judgments
will be based on the most complete and accurate information
that is available, and each director will be expected
to familiarize himself/herself as thoroughly as possible
with any information that is disseminated for a meeting.
• No director will use his
or her position with the foundation in a manner that
will be advantageous financially to his or her benefit.
• Decisions of the foundation’s
board of directors will be made, whenever possible,
through a process of consensus. Appropriate discretion
is important when discussing the board’s deliberations
outside of the confines of meetings. Care should be
taken to not damage the reputation of grantees, or
to comment on the foundation’s grantmaking process
in outside discussions, so as not to stifle the candor
and open discussion that the foundation strives for
in its decision-making processes.
• To avoid the appearance
or potential of any conflict of interest, board members
shall disclose any material facts as to his or her
relationship with any firm, association or other entity
that seeks to enter into any other kind of business
relationship with the foundation.
• Board directors will
not accept any gifts, payments, or loans from vendors
or suppliers of goods or services to the foundation,
or from organizations which have applied to the foundation
for a grant, are current grantees, or may likely to
be applying to the foundation for a grant in the future.
