Our Members

The Lumpkin Family Foundation is truly a family affair with participation from descendants and spouses of the original donor, Besse A. Lumpkin. The Foundation provides a forum for family members to affirm their core values, honor a common legacy of community service and contribute their talents to accomplish shared goals. We provide a forum for learning and a platform for individual and collaborative family engagement in philanthropy and community service. We foster understanding and respect for the family’s legacy in Central Illinois and encourage individual member philanthropy and community involvement wherever members reside.

Family members currently fill six of nine seats on the Board of Directors and serve on all grant-making and management committees. The Committee on Trusteeship was created to support the growth and participation of members in relation to The Foundation’s need for leadership. At age 10, children begin their involvement with the Next (Sixth) Generation Committee, which makes micro-grants in communities where those children live. Children become Foundation members at age 16.

While family participation is essential to our identity as a family foundation, our members strongly value involving others whose expertise and knowledge support the achievement of Foundation goals.  Independent (non-family) members currently participate on our grant-making committees and we plan to add Independent members to the Board of Trustees in the near future.  We also involve community leaders in ad hoc advisory committees and regularly consult community members when we are developing new programs or evaluating ongoing ones.