In September 2007, our trustees created a two-entity structure. One entity, the Chesonis Family Foundation, distributes money to grantees. The other, the Arunas A and Pamela A Chesonis Asset Trust, manages the endowment assets. This structure enables us to separate our program work from the investment of our assets.

 
The asset trust holds the endowment and acts as a funnel for discretionary charitable giving from the Chesonis Family should any member choose to make additional contributions to the foundation. The asset trust then funds the foundation. Marilyn Means, Rimus Chesonis, and Sarah Wood are the trustees for the asset trust, and the endowment continues to be managed, as it has been for five years, by a team of outside investment managers.

The foundation conducts all operations and grant-making work, and it is the entity from which all grants are made. Sarah Wood is the Executive Director for the foundation and Marilyn Means is the coordinator for Rochester Community Building, focusing on grants made in the Rochester area.

Arunas Chesonis has no involvement in the investment of the endowment through the asset trust, including decisions that might be made regarding PAETEC Holding Corp. stock. This said, Arunas and Pam Chesonis are very involved with all foundation work and enjoy building personal relationships with all grantees, both to learn about their areas of interest and to act as mentors to grantees interested in entrepreneurship.

The decision to focus a majority of our resources on addressing climate change and the energy crisis in the next decade underscores our optimism for making huge progress and for making sure that we do as much as possible, as soon as possible, on the narrow set of issues on which we've chosen to focus.