The Board of Trustees of the Carl Schlettwein Foundation guides Basler Afrika Bibliographien at the strategic level. It provides the necessary resources and allocates funds to scholarships and projects twice yearly.

In appointing Board of Trustee members, importance is attached to knowledge of southern Africa and the work of Basler Afrika Bibliographien as well as skills in archival and library studies, finance, law, and science. The founding family is represented on the Board of Trustees in line with the Foundation statute.