Banyan

Banyan

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

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

Purpose and Objectives

The Banyan Carpus shall be utilized exclusively for the following purposes:

• Education for the Needy: Providing financial assistance, scholarships, and resources for the education and skill development of underprivileged individuals or qualifying family members.
• Medical for the Needy: Offering medical aid, funding surgeries, critical illness support, or 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 the majority of the Banyan members.

Contributions & 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.
• Capital Preservation: A minimum baseline of the corpus shall be maintained to ensure long-term sustainability, utilizing primarily the yields or a fixed percentage of the fund annually.

Eligibility & Disbursement Criteria

• Request Submission: All requests for education or medical aid must be submitted in writing with valid supporting documentation (e.g., fee structures, medical bills).
• Approval Threshold: Standard disbursements require a simple majority approval ($>50\%$) of the managing committee.
• Emergency medical requests may be expedited by the Fund Administrator.
• Non-Diversion of Funds: Money allocated from the Carpus must be paid directly to the institution (hospital, school/university) whenever possible, rather than as a direct cash payout to the individual.

ACCOUNTABILITY & GOVERNANCE

Administration & Oversight

• The Management Committee: A committee of three (3) designated members shall be elected/appointed from the Banyan to oversee the daily operations of the Carpus.
• Fund Custodian: A designated Treasurer shall handle the bank accounts, safe-keeping of financial instruments, and ledger maintenance.

Transparency & Reporting

• Financial Audits: The ledger of the Banyan Carpus shall be updated in real-time and made accessible to all contributing members.
• An annual financial statement shall be presented at the year-end Banyan meeting.
• No Conflict of Interest: Committee members must recuse themselves from voting on disbursements that directly benefit themselves or their immediate dependents.

Dispute Resolution

• Any disagreements regarding the definition of "Common Expenses" or fund allocation shall be settled through open dialogue during the Banyan family forum, requiring a two-thirds ($66\%$) majority to pass amended resolutions.