President Laurian Unnehver called the meeting to order at 8:05 a.m. and thanked all the board members and guests for attending the meeting and for their efforts on behalf of the Foundation.

1. The agenda was reviewed and the following changes were made:
   
   1. A grant request for students to attend the Public Agricultural Workers Conference will be added to the agenda following the discussion of the Congressional Science Fellow funding request (section IV, item E)
      
   2. A discussion of a possible amendment to the Foundation operating policies to charge Foundation expenses against the earnings of the endowment fund will be added to the agenda as item E in section V.
      
   3. The Burt Sundquist appreciation club is on schedule to be chartered in 2001, not 2002 as it is listed on the agenda.
      
2. The minutes from the August 2000 meeting were reviewed. Motion: Paul Christ moved to approve the August 2000 minutes. Seconded by John Antle. Motion carried by unanimous approval.
   
3. Finance Committee Report
   
   1. Finance Vice-President Paul Christ reviewed the Foundation budget report prepared by the AAEA office staff. The funds for the Farm Credit Scholarship program have been received in the AAEA office and will be distributed in 2001. The funds for the Essay Contest for the 21st Century were budgeted for 2000 but will not be disbursed until January 2001. The Congressional Science Fellow funds budgeted for 2000 will be spent in 2001. The "other" category on the Foundation's budget includes travel for board members, meeting costs, printing and copying, telephone charges and other direct costs for Foundation operation. This figure does not include office staff time. Last year's total expenses were approximately $9,700. This $10,000 figure included in the "other" category has not been charged against the endowment fund's earnings before.
      
   2. Appreciation clubs - John Schnittker is monitoring the progress of proposed appreciation clubs. Paul Christ reported that the Sundquist club organizers had prepared a list of possible charter members and would begin the organization of this club with a conference call on Jan. 8. Executive Director Donna Dunn reported on the status of contributions for existing clubs. The Grano fund and Timm club are short on contributions. The Grano fund has commitments for contributions. The Timm club has languished since its charter. Currently only the Grano fund and the Timm club are below the $25,000 endowment level. The organizers of the Grano fund continue to communicate regularly with Donna.
      
   3. Fundraising event at Chicago meeting - the office staff has looked into the possibility of holding a fundraiser at Comiskey Park during a Chicago White Sox game. The board agreed to revisit the pricing structure for the fundraiser with an aim toward $20-25 of the ticket prices earmarked for a Foundation contribution. The ticket price should also include food and transportation to and from the event. The Board also recommended providing tickets for children at cost to encourage family participation.
      
   4. Vanguard Investment Report - Vanguard investments as of December 31, 2001, totaled $1,237,905.75. Donna will schedule a conference call with Bob Taylor, Todd Petzel and Paul Christ after the fourth quarter 2000 report from Vanguard is made available to discuss possible revision of the Foundation's investments and investment policy. Any change would need to be approved by both the Foundation and Executive Boards.
      
4. Program Committee Report
   
   1. Proposal review
      
      1. Grad Student Reception proposal - approved request for $1,500
         
      2. Teaching pre-conference - approved amount of $7,000 with suggestions to the organizers to increase registration fees to raise additional funds
         
      3. Young professional conference - request for $5,000 denied based on Foundation's grant of $5,000 in 2000
         
      4. International banquet - approved amount of $2,300 with suggestions to organizers that, in order to receive funding in the future, the banquet speaker become more involved in the annual meeting proceedings (meeting with other groups, participating in sessions, etc.)
         
      5. CWAE tracking survey - approved request for $2,425 to complete the gathering of data in this ongoing project
         
      6. Undergraduate Student Section - requesting $5,000 for 2001 to replace the support formerly provided by ADM, Foundation will give section $5,000 for 2001 and request a business plan with a three-year horizon to be submitted to the Foundation by August 2001 in order to be considered for further funding
         
   2. Travel grants
      
      1. Minority professionals - approved request for $1,500 to be used for minority professionals to travel to the annual meeting
         
      2. Graduate students - approved grant of $10,000 to be used for graduate student travel to annual meeting
         
      3. International - $10,000 remains on the books from the African travel grants initiative in 2000. If this grant is not used by the group requesting aid, then the Board might consider disbursing such travel grants directly in the future. One possible model would be $4,000 for African students currently studying in the United State, and 2 awards at $3,000 each for professionals in Africa to travel to the annual meeting.
         
   3. Late proposals
      
      1. The Congressional Science Fellow proposal will receive $10,000 for 2001 contingent on the Executive Board's funding decision for this proposal.
         
   4. PAWC proposal - The Board discussed the merits of continuing support for this activity, now that the original grant is used up. Unnevehr reported that she asked those involved to submit a new grant proposal to be approved out of our normal cycle at the August meeting. This is due to the timing of the PAWC (in December) which makes it difficult to fund under the normal cycle.
      
   5. Sylvia Lane Mentorship Fund - the funds are in place in the appropriate accounts. The CWAE organizers will be notified that these awards need to move forward.
      
   6. Farm Credit Scholarship program - the Board agreed to leave the criteria for selection and the timing of the scholarship cycle up to the program organizers at the Farm Credit Administration. The program will be administered through a Foundation program subcommittee.
      
5. Other Business
   
   1. Proposal to revise Board membership - the proposal has been sent to the Executive Board for its approval. If the Executive Board passes the proposal, it will then be brought before the membership at the August 2001 meeting for approval.
      
   2. Appreciation Club posters for 2001 meeting - Donna will be contacting the organizers of the first seven clubs who did not submit a poster for the 2000 meetings, in addition to the next seven clubs formed by date. The intent with this program is to bring back each poster periodically, with all the posters appearing at some point. The letters to the organizers will go out sometime in January.
      
   3. Production of annual report - legally the annual report must appear before the annual meeting. The office staff has been working to produce it ahead of this schedule. Laurian and Donna will be coordinating the 2000 report.
      
   4. New Fundraising - Paul Christ has a contact at Cargill whom he will be speaking with regarding funding. He will present the idea of Cargill supporting the International Banquet speaker opportunities or a possible international/agribusiness joint reception. A fundraising professional will be selected to meet with the board at its August meetings. Board members will work with Donna to generate the criteria for a fundraising campaign then approach fundraising companies for feedback on those criteria.
      
   5. Possible amendment to Foundation operating policies - Foundation expenses and travel costs had been coming out of the Association's budget. Now that the Foundation has reached a level of sustainability and maturity, the Foundation's expenses will be charged against the endowment fund's earnings. Motion: Ron Knutson moved to change the Foundation's operating policies so that Foundation expenses should be charged against the endowment fund's earnings and that direct expenditures will not exceed 10 percent of annual spending. Seconded by Bob Taylor. Motion carried by unanimous approval.
6. Assignments - Laurian will distribute a list of assignments to all board members via e-mail. A conference call is scheduled for Wednesday, April 18 at 2 p.m. Central time. The Foundation Board meeting in Chicago is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 4 at 1 p.m.
   
7. The meeting adjourned at 3:06 p.m.
   

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