NEW YORK.- A diverse group of more than 30 distinguished members was appointed today to serve as the board of directors for the World Trade Center Memorial Foundation. The group, which includes corporate executives, victims' family members, civic leaders, and philanthropists, will work together to raise about $500 million for the construction of the memorial and cultural center on the site.

Presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton also have accepted invitations to serve as honorary board members, Governor Pataki announced during a luncheon of the Association for a Better New York last week. LMDC Chairman John Whitehead will serve as founding chairman until a permanent chair is selected by the board.

"This board is charged with the task of raising the money for this momentous landmark and will assist the four important cultural organizations that will be housed on the redeveloped site with their fundraising efforts as well," Mayor Bloomberg said at Wednesday's press conference.

In addition to fundraising, the foundation will also coordinate the construction of the memorial, "Reflecting Absence" by architect Michael Arad and landscape architect Peter Walker. A model of the memorial's final design will be unveiled at the end of this month. It includes two large "voids" -- cascading pools sunken thirty feet into the footprints of the Twin Towers -- forming the centerpiece of the design, which also incorporates extensive landscaping in the plaza surrounding the voids. The foundation will also oversee efforts to raise funds for construction of cultural facilities at the site, as well as for the memorial center, an interpretive museum that will preserve artifacts from the attacks and convey individual stories of the people who lost their lives on 9/11.

The cultural center will be comprised of two buildings incorporating dance, theatre, museum, and fine arts facilities. In October, Frank Gehry was chosen to design the performing arts complex, which includes the Joyce Theater International Dance Center as well as the Signature Theatre Center. The Norwegian firm Snøhetta will design the museum complex, which will house the Drawing Center and the International Freedom Center.

The foundation will convene in January to discuss plans for a fundraising campaign to be launched in the spring.