California Ocean Science Trust

“The secretary of the california environmental protection agency, the secretary of the california natural resources agency and the state of california director of finance each appoint one trustee. The natural resources secretary receives nominations for the remaining seven trustees and appoints the trustees as follows: three trustees representing the california state university and the university of california; two trustees representing ocean and coastal interest groups of the state; and two trustees representing the general public.”

“Ost does not have committees with the authority to act on behalf of the board.”

“The executive director and board finance subcommittee reviewed the form 990 before it was filed with the irs; a copy of the filed 990 will be presented at the next full board meeting.”

“California ocean science trust governance documents include a conflict of interest policy requiring all members of the board of trustees to disclose any affiliations with outside entities that have received, currently receive, or have plans or aspirations to receive funding from the trust; such members are required to recuse themselves from participating in decision-making that impacts their affiliated entities. This policy will continue to be enforced in the current year and in future years. In addition, all members of the ost board of trustees annually file a california form 700 statement of economic interests, which includes disclosures of all business interests, investments, income, property, and/or gifts.”

“A formal evaluation of the executive director must take place at least every two years, and a shorter narrative evaluation may be undertaken in between. The board will seek the input of the executive director on matters of performance and compensation.the board is responsible for determining and adjusting the executive director's compensation package, and will review the compensation (salary and benefits) and available budget upon completion of each formal performance review. The board of trustees, who are volunteers and not compensated by ost, will operate independently, and no member of the board will be a staff member, the relative of a staff member, or have any relationship with staff that could present a conflict of interest. The review will involve a comparison of the ed's salary and benefits with others in comparable positions and comparable organizations. The ed's assistance may be enlisted in determining what comparison data will be used, and this data may include any of the following: - salary and benefit compensation studies by independent sources; - written job offers for positions at similar organizations; - documented telephone calls about similar positions at both nonprofit and for-profit organizations; and - information obtained from the irs form 990 filings of similar organizations.”

“The organizations' governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements are available to the public upon request.”

“Professional fees - other: program service expenses 313,848. Management and general expenses 6,797. Fundraising expenses 5,699. Total expenses 326,344.”

“The board audit & finance subcommittee assumes responsibility for oversight of the audit and selection of an independent accountant. This committee meets 2-4 times annually, and reviews budgets, financial statements, tax returns, etc., prior to their presentation to the full board.”