Roles of the Board and Services Committees

In Indiana, there are a small number of community foundations that serve a region larger than just one county. The Community Foundation Serving Howard, Clinton, and Carroll Counties proudly serves three counties, and we have dedicated volunteers in each county to help make this possible.

Over 40 community members across our tri-county area make up the committees needed to oversee our operations. Let’s break down the structure and functions of these groups:

How are the committees structured?

Our Foundation has a committee in each of our counties to help us ensure that we meet the needs of each county as equally as possible.

Howard County – Board of Directors, holds 20 community members. Recognizes a Chair, Vice Chair, Past Chair, and Secretary/Treasurer.

Clinton County – Services Committee, holds 11 members. Recognizes a Chair, Vice Chair, and Past Chair.

Carroll County – Services Committee, holds 14 members. Recognizes a Chair, Vice Chair, and Past Chair.

While the Clinton and Carroll County Services Committees each follow the same procedures as the Howard County Board of Directors, it is ultimately the responsibility of the Board of Directors to provide final approval of any financial decisions brought to them by either Services Committee. The chairs of both the Clinton and Carroll County Committees sit on the Board to represent the voice of their counties.

What exactly do the Board and Committee members do?

The primary duty of a Board or Committee member for the Community Foundation is to work together with the staff to uphold and promote our mission and values within their respective county. However, there are several roles that our members take on to achieve this. The responsibilities of Board and Committee members are mostly the same, including:

• Strong understanding of our policies and procedures as an organization, and approving any changes made by staff

• Listening to needs expressed within the community and deciding how the Foundation can address them

• Hearing grant recommendations brought to them by the staff and deciding to approve, deny, or modify those requests

• Fundraising: giving to the Foundation themselves, and encouraging others in the community to donate

The main difference in responsibility is that of the Board of Directors. When the Services Committees come to a decision regarding a grant request, scholarship recommendation, or any other financial decision, it is then brought to the Board of Directors for final approval.

How long does it take the committees to reach their decisions?

Each Services Committee and the Board of Directors meet with our staff once every other month. Any grant recommendations, projects, etc. are brought to the committees at each meeting, and the committee can then motion to approve or deny any requests or recommendations.

Often, these bi-monthly meetings align well with our grant cycle deadlines. However, if any decisions need to be made more urgently than our bi-monthly meetings, occasionally a special meeting may be called to obtain Board approval sooner.

Our Foundation stays busy with our work to help make our communities better! To help us with all these efforts, we also have sub-committees that specialize in particular areas of our operations. Those committees meet between our bi-monthly meetings and make decisions and recommendations for us to bring forward to the Board and Services Committees.

Here is a visual breakdown of our committees in each county.

If that seemed like a lot of information to take in … that’s because it is! If you have collaborated with our Community Foundation before, you’re probably familiar with some of our staff. But many are not aware of all the work happening behind the scenes to help our Foundation function effectively. We are so grateful to have over 40 community members within our tri-county service area that care so much about improving their cities and helping local nonprofits achieve their goals.

To meet the 2025 members of our Board and Services Committees, visit each county’s tab on our website, and click on “Services Committee” under Clinton and Carroll, or “Board of Directors” under Howard.