[Foundation-l] New Business Partnership with Orange

[Michael Snow]

Robert Rohde wrote:
> Does the Board get involved in deciding whether to pursue new business
> oppurtunities like this, or is that something that is solely handled
> by the Foundation Staff?
>
> This question isn't intended as a criticism in any way, I'm just
> curious what the relationship is like surrounding big new projects
> like this.
>   
The answer may depend on what stage of the process you mean. In the 
sense of deciding whether to pursue opportunities, as Kul regularly 
points out we get all kinds of inquiries and business proposals, most of 
which make no sense for us and are politely turned down. It's 
necessarily up to the staff to decide what to explore further, negotiate 
over issues, and work toward a deal if appropriate. The board is not 
really involved.

However, before finalizing an agreement of this scope, the staff do 
inform the board, and board members have asked questions and requested 
information in the course of evaluating the proposal.  At this point 
there's something more immediate and concrete for us to consider. 
There's no requirement that the board formally sign off on a deal, but 
if we thought there were serious problems with it, there is ample 
opportunity to make that clear before it is completed.

--Michael Snow