Study Erred on Trustee Fees

To the Editor:

In your recent article “Majority of Private Foundations Pay Their Trustees, Survey Finds” (September 18), you reported the study’s findings that the Kimbell Art Foundation paid “the highest fees in 1998.” The Kimbell Art Foundation does not pay and has never paid trustee fees. It does not compensate its trustees for serving on its board — the topic of the study performed by the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership.

Throughout the nation, trustees serve as chief executive officers and are compensated for those services. The Kimbell Art Foundation was no different. However, that compensation was not the subject of the study, and with the exception of the Kimbell, it appears that such officer compensation was appropriately omitted from the study.

Kay and Ben Fortson were compensated in 1998 for services they rendered to the Kimbell Art Foundation in 1996, 1997, and 1998 as its president and chief executive officer and vice president and chief investment officer, respectively. Contrary to what was reported by the study, they were not compensated for serving as board members or trustees.

Brenda Cline
Chief Financial Officer
Kimbell Art Foundation
Fort Worth

Editor’s note: The report by the Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership relied on data included on the foundation’s informational tax return, which does not make clear whether the Fortsons were paid for their role as trustees or as staff members.