Annual Letter From the Board to the Family Council

This sample letter serves as a template for communication between a board and a family council. This resource can help your board, communicate with the family council, describe the board’s current focus areas, and ask the family council to consider whether or not to continue as a family-owned company. The topics included in the letter can also be useful in setting board meeting agendas.

This letter from the lead (independent) director of a fifth-generation agricultural commodities business to the family council of owners offers a template for communication between a board and a family council.1 and Beyond sample communication with the family council, this resource includes a sample response from the family to the board of directors. Together these samples provide a useful example of communication directors can expect as members of a family-owned company board. While there are nuances associated with the governance of family owned businesses, it is important to note that fulfillment of fiduciary duties and oversight of the of issues such as value creation, strategy and risk, and succession planning remain core functions of the board of directors.