[Foundation-l] Travel policy

[Florence Devouard]

The Uninvited Co., Inc wrote:
> <<<Jimbo wrote:
> 
> I do not agree with this reasoning.  If it were legally possible (and  
> it is not) I would like to see the possibility for board members
> to get at least a small paycheck  (10,000 euros per year or similar).
> 
> I think that board diversity is an important goal.  And the practical  
> reality is that serving on the board of the foundation takes up quite  
> a bit of time and energy for all of us, and that is not likely to  
> change.  Reimbursement of board expenses is quite important to  
> ensuring that people are able to serve without their service being a  
> financial burden.
> 
> I don't believe that it is wise to attempt to remunerate board members
> through liberalization of travel policy.  There are a number of problems
> with this even if you accept that some means of remunerating board
> members is necessary.  The largest problem with doing so is fairness and
> parity: Some board members will gain more than others.  Those who travel
> more, those who are more willing to push the edges of policy, and those
> whose situation permits them to claim the greatest expenses will benefit
> the most.  I also believe that such policy works at cross purposes with
> the board's mandate to control costs.  How can someone control costs and
> yet seek to remunerate themselves through the travel policy at the same
> time?

Let me get the point through. Are you saying that "claiming a childcare 
expense" is a "remuneration" for me ?

If so, I will object to that statement. Child care expenses are 
reimbursement for actual expenses and do not generate any revenue to me.


> If you believe that board members should receive a stipend, we would be
> better off finding a better and more transparent way to achieve that. 
> Even if they are on the board we can remunerate them for services
> provided in some other capacity.
> 
> On the other hand, I believe that the foundation would be better served
> by drawing its board from individuals who have already achieved
> sufficient financial independence that they need not look to the
> foundation as a source of financial support.
> 
> Steve

You point out to a critical point for the future of our organization.

Either our board members are from the community, diverse in their 
origin, in their gender, in their financial ability, in their age etc...
And we might get people having a little bit more trouble covering their 
costs. Actually, people with income usually also have a job and have low 
availability. Or they have no job and much more time to dedicate. But 
they need to be reimbursed the costs of working as volunteers.


Or we choose deliberately board members such as Bill Gates, Richard 
Branson, Bill Clinton etc.... who are rich, do not need to get any 
reimbursement, do not need to work any more etc...


Let the community choose who they want to represent you. The latest 
thing that should happen is elections where we request that candidates 
provide proof that they have sufficient income to support all their 
costs for being volunteers. We would effectively cut ourselves from most 
of the great people volunteering to develop our projects.