The Board of Trustees, created to comply with legal requirements of the District of Columbia, consists of twelve members, each appointed for a term of six years. They must be members of Friends Meeting of Washington and may not simultaneously hold the office of Treasurer or Assistant Treasurer. Members who have been appointed to two full consecutive terms are not eligible for reappointment until after a one-year interval, except that a member who has been appointed to fill a vacancy of less than three years is eligible for reappointment to two full consecutive terms. Four members are appointed every two years in odd-numbered years. The Board of Trustees may not co-opt other members.

When new Trustees are to be appointed, representatives of the Trustees consult with the Nominating Committee by the end of May; the Trustees may also suggest possible nominees. The Nominating Committee reports its recommendations to the Meeting for Business not later than September. Appointments approved by the Meeting for Business take effect at the regular meeting of the Board in October. The Board selects its own officers (Clerk, Alternate Clerk, and Recording Secretary). The Clerk and Alternate Clerk may not serve concurrently as clerks of standing committees of the Meeting.

District of Columbia law requires that the Trustees hold two meetings a year, but additional meetings may be called at the discretion of its members. Minutes of the Trustees’ meetings are given to the Treasurer and the Clerk of the Finance and Stewardship Committee as soon as they are available.

The Trustees have six functions:

1. they hold the Meeting’s real estate in trust, for the benefit of the Meeting’s members

2. they are legally responsible to ensure that the Meeting complies with any restrictions imposed by donors of money or property that are accepted by the Meeting at the time a gift is made

3. they make prudent investments of the Meeting’s funds, subject to donor-imposed restrictions

4. they determine the amount and type of insurance coverages required to preserve the assets of the Meeting (Finance and Stewardship Committee provides for the coverage as part of each fiscal year’s budget)

5. they contract for, receive and review the reports of the independent auditor in accordance with Meeting policy, and report to the Meeting for Business when the audit or audit report is completed

6. they authorize expenditures from the Meeting’s bequests, endowment accounts (if permissible), and the Building Campaign Fund.. In rare cases, a donor specifies that Trustees have exclusive power to expend donated funds. In all other cases, any expenditure from funds just enumerated must be coordinated with the Finance and Stewardship Committee and approved by the Meeting for Business before any such expenditure is made.

   As is the case of all committees of the Meeting, Trustees are guided by actions of the Meeting taken at Meetings for Business.