GC Centennial Project? - Page 2

AGDZO Susan · #16 07-10-2003, 11:59 AM

As a reminder, money raised for the Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. Money raised for a chapter's House Association isn't. Plus before you started raising money for the Alpha House Association for a specific project, has anyone asked them if they even would be open to such a project? And there are set guidelines for fund raising.

You would also need approval from International Council to ask our collegiate chapters and alumnae clubs/chapters to chip in money for any fund raiser that you are considering asking support from our collegiate chapters and/or alumnae groups. Our collegiate chapters are already supporting the Centennial with a special project of their own that was announced at TLC. Did you know that?

The Alpha Gamma Delta Foundation provides so many wonderful things to not only our members (collegiate and graduate Scholarships, Continuing Education grants, Leadership and Education grants, and SIS) but also to others through philanthropic grants in the field of diabetes to organizations and individuals for research, education, and medical devices.

Helping our current and future sisters as well as those with diabetes has such far reaching benefits! Every year the needs the Foundation sees and are faced with are greater and we can't assume that our sisters giving to the Foundation increases proportionately! Are you making an Annual Gift? Do you give more each year? Are you a Jewel (I am!). Have you also made an additional gift to the Campaign for Alpha Gamma Delta, which was timed to support the Centennial (check out the info on the Campaign on the Foundation website). Did you know that the Campaign plans to raise $5 million dollars?

I hope each of you decides to make that special gift in honor of the Centennial to the Campaign for Alpha Gamma Delta. That will be the best way each of us can support the future of our sisters of all ages now and in the future!

AGDAlum · #17 07-10-2003, 12:08 PM

The problem with a fountain anywhere is ongoing maintenance. If the pump goes or algae takes over, who is going to fix or clean it? Also, does Syracuse (the university or the city, if the Alpha house is on city property) especially want or need a fountain?

Instead, how about a gift for Headquarters? I suggest asking Kathryn (the exec dir) and Suzanne (intl. president) what IHQ really needs -- a fountain would be decorative but maybe they need to replace the roof or something. Running the organization is an expensive proposition -- maintaining the LAN, the photocopiers, and the rest of the infrastructure, plus paying living wages and benefits to the staff. The Foundation contributes to the extent allowed by law but that isn't all-encompassing.

Nann

greeklawgirl · #18 07-10-2003, 12:11 PM

Susan, thank you for pointing this information out. Its important that we gather all of it and understand the requirements before we decide what to do. Don't want to step on anyone's toes!

I *do* give an Annual Gift to the Foundation and I *have* made an additional gift for the Campaign for Alpha Gamma Delta, so I understand and admire how much good work the Foundation does. I'm not a Jewel *yet*

but I hope to be sometime soon!

What do you all think about chipping in donations for the Foundation with the goal of making Jewel Society? The goal for "individuals, family, and friends" is $500, and the goal for alumnae clubs is $1,000. We would be recognized at Convention and listed in the Quarterly!

What do you all think?

greeklawgirl · #19 07-10-2003, 12:12 PM

I posted at the same time as Nann so I didn't see her message, but I think she has good ideas too!

Kristin AGD · #20 07-10-2003, 12:18 PM

My post ended up on the bottom of the first page. So I wanted to post again.

I love the idea of raising enough money to make Jewel. That is great.

I also liked the idea of devoting our time & talents. Volunteering as a group. I don't know what kind of needs the centennial committee has, but maybe we could volunteer for a task or something as a group.

Sorry to get everyone started with the fountain. I tend to start big and work my way down. LOL.

AGDAlum · #21 07-10-2003, 01:13 PM

I'm a Jewel and a Campaign contributor. I really encourage gifts to the Foundation.
BUT
Use of Foundation gifts is restricted -- has to be, to be tax deductible. The Fraternity receives many fewer gifts just for operations. That's why I suggested finding out what HQ could use and designating our pooled gift for that. If 100 GC AGDs gave $19.04 each that would be $1904.00 -- a tidy sum. that would get something useful and memorable. Furthermore, I suggest that if we do this, we send our checks directly to IHQ -- asking them to set up an account. That way there will not be the potential problem of lost/bounced/misdirected/you-name-it if one of us volunteered to be the collector.
AND
I'd be willing to serve on a committee to pursue this further. Anyone else?

Nann

P.S. How about a GC reception at the Convention? It could be in someone's room. Or you could contact the convention coordinator to find out about booking a meeting room at the convention hotel. (They may have rules about that.)

greeklawgirl · #22 07-10-2003, 01:24 PM

Nann, again you have some great ideas! I would also be willing to serve on this Committee.

IHQ has many needs and the Alumnae Dues Program is still too new to provide income to cover all expenses. (Alumna Dues are deserving of a whole other thread in and of itself! Hmm...there's an idea for discussion.)

I also agree that asking IHQ to set up an account for us is a great idea. I handled the colony gifts for Chapman and eventually ended up personally handling a LOT of money. While nothing went wrong, I shudder to think what would have happened if something got screwed up along the way.

Nann, do you know if IHQ has a "wish list" of items they need right now?

#23 07-10-2003, 04:16 PM

I am all up for whatever

AGDAlum · #24 07-10-2003, 04:28 PM

I'll see what I can find out.

greeklawgirl · #25 08-07-2003, 02:08 PM

Nann, have you gotten a chance to check on IHQ's needs? If you're too busy with the Centennial Quilt Project, I can help you out and make a phone call, too.

AGDZO Susan · #26 08-07-2003, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by AGDAlum
Use of Foundation gifts is restricted -- has to be, to be tax deductible. The Fraternity receives many fewer gifts just for operations. That's why I suggested finding out what HQ could use and designating our pooled gift for that.

I don't know if everyone realizes it but the Foundation does provide grants to the Fraternity for the LC/LA program, things like TLC and Convention program, and other Leadership programming types of things. So the money you do give to the Foundation does benefit the Fraternity.

Of course, paying Alumnae dues helps the Fraternity and I know they'd love any other financial donations.

Kristin AGD · #27 08-07-2003, 04:41 PM

I am willing to help with whatever we decide on.

AGDAlum · #28 08-07-2003, 09:36 PM

I'm still working on it. Remind me (I am about to go back to spend the night with 57 14- and 15-year-olds who are having a lock-in at the library) at the end of the weekend.

N

laureagd · #29 08-08-2003, 02:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by AGDZO Susan
I don't know if everyone realizes it but the Foundation does provide grants to the Fraternity for the LC/LA program, things like TLC and Convention program, and other Leadership programming types of things. So the money you do give to the Foundation does benefit the Fraternity.

Perhaps this is a biased (or even not worth mentioning) thought, but a truly amazing thing would be if people (especially those who come from one of AGD's Canadian chapters) would donate money for the purpose of offsetting the costs of having Canadian chapters.

Y'see, apparently for a long time (since the CAD went lower than the USD) there was a grant specifically so that Canadian chapters wouldn't have to pay for certain things in American dollars. That grant went dry a few years ago and now we're really feeling the pinch with dues rising and members dwindling, and every year something else (billing, pledging fee, initiation fee) gets changed from being paid in CAD to being paid in USD.

Like I said, this is probably not even feasible, but it's something that's really huge to us at Tau and across Canada, too. It'd be a huge thing to the Canadian wing of the Fraternity. But... at least now I've got that off my chest.

Katey Alpha Gam · #30 08-08-2003, 01:56 PM

This idea is somewhat related. I think it's a good idea to give $ to foundation, but I think that we should have more of a committent to doing something for the community than just writing checks (not that it isn't important to give to Foundation) I was talking with a friend of mine that is a brother of APhiA when he was in Detroit for their national convention last weekend. He was telling me about this huge blood drive they were doing during the whole convention for the Metro Detroit Red Cross (we are in a blood crisis right now) He said that at every convention, they do a philanthropy project to help the community that is hosting the convention. I thought that this was an amazing idea. To be able to use a group of people who are obviously committed to bettering the world through hard work and dedication to important issues is truly what being in a greek org should be about. I e-mailed the convention chair from IHQ to tell her this idea to see if its something that can be implemented but I have yet to hear back. But I think that w/this being such a huge convention and w/so many people coming to it, it would be a shame to not use that to help the community. I mean that truly is welcoming the oppurtunity to contribute to the worlds work in the community where we are placed..... Is anyone interested in taking that route or maybe doing this in addition to some sort of a fundraising effort? I mean maybe we won't have a huge group, but we can get a good number of sisters to clean up an abandoned lot for a couple hours or work at a food bank or SOMETHING to give back to Chicago and to utilize the strength of having so many amazing women in one place!