Select Board accepts $25,000 donation for town welfare fund with confidentiality limits

The Candia Select Board voted to accept a $25,000 donation from the Croswell (Caldwell) Benevolent Trust for the town welfare program.

The gift was offered in recognition of Mary Steinman’s 43 years of service and will be held in a trust account overseen by the town’s trustees of the trust fund. Board members and trustees discussed procedures to protect recipient confidentiality and to ensure the funds are available for urgent needs.

The town’s trustees of the trust fund said requests must be submitted in writing and that trustees then release funds if requests conform to the fund’s purpose. The board and trustees agreed that welfare director Donna (listed in the meeting as Donna, welfare director) will have the practical authority to request funds from the trustees for individual client needs and that trustees will not be told client names. Trustees noted that keeping funds in the trust allows investment of the principal so the donation can generate future earnings.

Board members asked that the town keep administrative involvement minimal so recipients retain dignity. Select board members and trustees agreed on a process in which the welfare director makes requests to the trustees and reports back on expenditures; the trustees will handle disbursement and maintain confidentiality.

The select board made a motion to accept the donation and sign the related documents; the motion passed during the meeting. The accepted donation account has already been used administratively to pay two town vendors before the formal vote was completed, and participants said they will provide a yearly accounting of expenditures to the trustees.

Board members also discussed the scope of administrative oversight and directed staff to preserve recipient confidentiality while ensuring appropriate recordkeeping for the trust.