Restore the relationship between the Friends Board and the Library Trustees
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Sudbury Senior Citizens, Inc., I am writing to express our outrage at the unprecedented actions taken by the Goodnow Library Trustees and staff regarding the termination of relationship with the Friends of the Goodnow Library and attempting to confiscate their funds.
The Friends of both town entities, the library and the senior center, are independent 501(c)(3) charitable organizations whose mission is to support their respective beneficiary organizations and thus play a vital role in raising money to support the programs and activities in both these fine institutions.
Friends groups throughout the nation work closely with the staff of the supported organizations to raise and allocate funds for uses consistent with the Friends’ missions.
Friends groups raise these funds from community members with the understanding that the money will be applied to the needs of the supported organization as each Friends’ Board determines. Friends groups operate as fiduciaries to ensure that the money they raise will be properly applied by the supported organization pursuant to the Friends’ mission.
The Trustees statement that the Friends are somehow the beneficiaries of the library is patently false. It is the Library Trustees that is the beneficiary of the work of the Friends. The beneficiaries are always the supported organizations. This is true in Sudbury and throughout the country.
Therefore, it is simply astonishing that the Library Trustees would summarily terminate its relationship with their own Friends for no clearly apparent reason. The Library Friends have consistently demonstrated their commitment to programs and activities at the library, and to conclude the library is better off without their support is short-sighted and highly suspect of poor judgement on the part of the Trustees.
We urge the Library Trustees to reconsider their decision to terminate their relationship with the Friends of the Library and make a better, good faith effort to restore the relationship between the Friends Board and the Library Trustees and staff.
Robert H. Diefenbacher
President, Friends of Sudbury Senior Citizens Inc.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of the Friends of Sudbury Senior Citizens, Inc., I am writing to express our outrage at the unprecedented actions taken by the Goodnow Library Trustees and staff regarding the termination of relationship with the Friends of the Goodnow Library and attempting to confiscate their funds.
The Friends of both town entities, the library and the senior center, are independent 501(c)(3) charitable organizations whose mission is to support their respective beneficiary organizations and thus play a vital role in raising money to support the programs and activities in both these fine institutions.
Friends groups throughout the nation work closely with the staff of the supported organizations to raise and allocate funds for uses consistent with the Friends’ missions.
Friends groups raise these funds from community members with the understanding that the money will be applied to the needs of the supported organization as each Friends’ Board determines. Friends groups operate as fiduciaries to ensure that the money they raise will be properly applied by the supported organization pursuant to the Friends’ mission.
The Trustees statement that the Friends are somehow the beneficiaries of the library is patently false. It is the Library Trustees that is the beneficiary of the work of the Friends. The beneficiaries are always the supported organizations. This is true in Sudbury and throughout the country.
Therefore, it is simply astonishing that the Library Trustees would summarily terminate its relationship with their own Friends for no clearly apparent reason. The Library Friends have consistently demonstrated their commitment to programs and activities at the library, and to conclude the library is better off without their support is short-sighted and highly suspect of poor judgement on the part of the Trustees.
We urge the Library Trustees to reconsider their decision to terminate their relationship with the Friends of the Library and make a better, good faith effort to restore the relationship between the Friends Board and the Library Trustees and staff.
Robert H. Diefenbacher
President, Friends of Sudbury Senior Citizens Inc.