Banyan

Dear All,

For several months, we have been considering the creation of a Banyan Corpus. The core purpose of this fund is to provide financial assistance for education, medical needs, and other essential support for those experiencing financial hardship.

I have drafted the modalities and governing principles below. Please review the proposal and share your comments and feedback.

1. *Vision and PurposeThe Banyan*:

The Banyan is hereby established as an institutionalized family group dedicated to inheriting, fostering, and preserving the communication, relationships, and cultural heritage of our family across generations.

The Banyan Corpus: To support this vision, the Banyan Corpus (the "Fund") is created as a dedicated financial vehicle to ensure the welfare of the community, support philanthropic endeavors, and manage collective responsibilities.

2. *Objectives and Scope*: The Banyan Corpus shall be utilized exclusively for the following purposes:

Education Support: Providing financial assistance, scholarships, and resources for the education and skill development of individuals or qualifying family members facing financial hardship.

Medical Aid: Offering medical aid, funding surgeries, providing critical illness support, or assisting with health insurance for individuals facing financial hardship.

Common Expenses: Covering collective operational costs, family heritage preservation projects, or any other mutual expenses agreed upon by a majority of the Banyan members.

3. *Contributions and Capitalization*:

Initial Funding: The Fund shall be established with an initial corpus contributed by the founding members of the Banyan.

Ongoing Contributions: Members may contribute voluntarily on a periodic basis (monthly/annually) or via one-time endowments. To ensure steady growth, a modest monthly contribution (e.g., 500 to 5,000+) is highly encouraged.

Capital Preservation: To ensure long-term sustainability, a minimum baseline of the core corpus shall be maintained. Disbursements should ideally be funded through accumulated yields or restricted to a fixed annual percentage of the fund.

4. *Eligibility and Disbursement Criteria*:

Request Submission: All requests for educational or medical aid must be submitted in writing with valid supporting documentation (e.g., fee structures, institutional invoices, medical bills).

Approval Threshold: Standard disbursements require a simple majority approval ($>50\%$) from the Management Committee. Emergency medical requests may be fast-tracked and expedited by the Fund Administrator.

Direct-to-Institution Payments: To ensure accountability and non-diversion of funds, payments from the Corpus must be made directly to the respective institution (hospital, clinic, school, or university) whenever possible, rather than as a direct cash payout to the individual.

5. *Accountability and Governance*:

The Management Committee: A committee of three (3) designated members shall be elected or appointed from the Banyan to oversee the transactions and operations of the Corpus.

Fund Custodian: A designated Treasurer shall handle the bank accounts, safe-keeping of financial instruments, and ledger maintenance.

Term Rotation: To ensure shared responsibility, roles within the Management Committee and the Fund Custodian will rotate every two (2) years, with a rule against consecutive terms.

Transparency and Reporting: The ledger of the Banyan Corpus shall be updated regularly and made transparently accessible to all contributing members. An annual financial statement shall be formally presented at the year-end Banyan meeting.

Conflict of Interest: Committee members must recuse themselves from voting on any disbursements that directly benefit themselves or their immediate dependents.

6. *Dispute Resolution* Any disagreements regarding fund allocation or the definitions of "Common Expenses" shall be settled through open dialogue during the Banyan family forum. Amending these resolutions will require a two-thirds (66%) majority vote.