Intertribal Agriculture Council

“The intertribal agriculture council (iac) bylaws were amended to incorporate several key updates aimed at strengthening governance and organizational clarity. In the event that an executive board member is unable to fulfill their duties, the designated alternate will assume the position for the remainder of the term, provided they are in good standing. If the alternate is not in good standing, a new board member and alternate will be elected at the next caucus meeting. Additionally, all board members and staff are now required to review and sign the iac code of ethics at the beginning of each new term and on an annual basis. A comprehensive conflict of interest policy was also added, applying to any board member with a direct or indirect financial interest, and includes disclosure requirements and procedures for addressing conflicts. Lastly, the bylaws were amended to include a representative from iac's youth advisory board as a voting member, increasing the total number of allowable board members to 13.”

“General membership is open to all federally recognized tribes and native alaskan tribes.”

“Voting rights vest with the tribe (general member) and not the a specific tribe appointed delegate. Voting rights are granted upon payment of dues and designation of a delegate. Tribes that have paid their membership dues, with duly appointed delegates in attendance at the caucus meeting, may cast a vote for the election of each of the 12 regional board members and their alternatives. The duly appointed delegates attending the caucus will nominate and second candidates for consideration.”

“Upon receipt of the completed form prepared for submission by an independent accounting firm, iac's executive staff will review and present it to the board for their review before filing.”

“The conflict of interest policy designed to protect the organization's interests when contemplating transactions that may benefit the private interest directors or result in excess benefit transactions. Each member of the board of directors shall annually sign a statement. The organization also conducts periodic reviews looking for conflicts of interest. If it is determined that there is a possible conflict of interest for a board member, the board member with the potential conflict must disclose the financial interest including all material facts and recuse themselves from discussion and voting on the related transaction. The board, excluding the interested person, determines whether a conflict exists and evaluates alternatives to the proposed arrangement to ensure the organization's best interests are served. If it is determined that a member has failed to disclose actual or possible conflict, the board will take appropriate disciplinary and corrective action. Meeting minutes document disclosures, discussions, votes, and decisions regarding conflicts.”

“The board approves compensation for the chief executive officer (ceo) on a year to year basis after annual performance review was conducted to justify appropriate pay adjustments with consideration to industry comparisons. An outside entity, sweetgrass consulting, is retained to gather non-profit industry comparisons which is incorporated to the compensation adjustment discuss. The ceo compensation discussion is documented in the board minutes, with a signed document by the ceo and board chair. The process was most recently completed in september 2023.”

“The audited financial statements are regularly posted on guidestar and upon request. The governing documents and conflict of interest policy are available upon request.”

“AUDIT ADJUSTMENT -206.”