The Board of Directors of the Community Center Foundation of Ste. Genevieve County (hereinafter, the “Foundation”) is a Missouri nonprofit organization and 501(c)(3) corporation established in part to steward and administer the endowment of the Marjorie C. Bussen Revocable Trust. The Foundation affirms its commitment of carrying out the intent of Mrs. Bussen’s Three Million Dollar ($3,000,000) endowment.
The purpose of the endowment was to support the creation and operation of a municipal community center for the benefit of the people of Ste. Genevieve County, with a governance structure intended to ensure transparency, accountability, and broad community representation.
Under the terms of the legal agreements by and between the Foundation and Ste. Genevieve County, safeguards were enacted such that the Foundation and the Community Center Board of Trustees were to have involvement in provision of grant funding.
Within the past year, and without the consent or approval of the Foundation, the County Commission dissolved the Community Center Board of Trustees and entered into agreements with the YMCA to handle community center operations and management.
The Foundation’s Board of Directors is obligated to comply with the terms of the endowment and related agreements. Therefore, The Board remains committed to identifying a path forward that aligns with its own governing documents and 501(c)(3) purpose, follows the agreements entered into between it and the County, and that serves the interests of the community. The Foundation’s priority is to preserve the integrity of Mrs. Bussen’s endowment and to administer it in accordance with her expressed intent to benefit the residents of Ste. Genevieve County.
Signed,
The Community Center Foundation Board of Directors