A single step

It is often said that the longest journey begins with a single step. So, a small step to begin. Earlier I wrote about the notion of a "Membership Trust Organization" (MTO), and my effort to establish one. Right now, I am at the very beginning of the process. All I have done is write the Declaration and Instrument of Trust/Bylaws and get an Employer Identification Number from the IRS. The small step here is to begin explaining the Trust Instrument. The name of the Trust is Cloversweet Charitable Trust. As the "Original Trustor", I made an irrevocable gift of $10 to the Trust on December 15, 2009. That established the Cloversweet Charitable Trust. There are several administrative provisions contained in the Trust: 1)governed by California law, 2) provisions found unenforceable don't invalidate other provisions, 3)administered by a Board of Trustees numbering no more than 12, and no more than half the total number of Trust members. There are four other administrative provisions, but this is a good place to provide some commentary. The question arises, "What is the reasoning behind provision #3?" The MTO is for use by a family unit. As used in the Trust Instrument, a family unit is a group of adults related by blood, marriage, or a strong bond of trust. Persons younger that the age set by law to make legal contracts can not be members of the Trust - which is a legal contract. The membership is limited to 24 persons to keep the size of the group small enough to be workable, yet large enough to succeed in meeting the Trust mission. The Board is limited to no more than half the membership to avoid the inefficiency to a large board. More later.