Our speakers for March 22 - Ron Polito and Rocky Ludes

We had an informative presentation by Ron Polito and Rocky Ludes regarding our Club Foundation.  The Foundation, unlike our main Club, is a non-profit entity allowing for donations to be tax deductible.  The Foundation continuously collects and invests the donated funds with the sole purpose of being able to fund annual scholarships.

In the past, the Foundation has given anywhere between $5,000 and $15,000 per year for scholarships.  It anticipates giving $20,000 this year, and hopes to be able to give at least $15,000 per year thereafter.

The Foundation currently has approximately $350,000.  Despite the fact that the economy is down, the Foundation Board has done a great job of carefully choosing investments.  As such, the Foundation is currently doing quite well.

Two of the largest donors to the Foundation are Pete Gallagher and his wife donating $65,000, and Eric Nicole (possibly spelled wrong) donating $120,000.

Other than writing a check to the Foundation, you can also make a bequest from your estate or trust.  You would likely need to see an attorney to make sure this is done correctly.  If you do choose to make a bequest, you should consider leaving the Foundation all or part of your Individual Retirement Account as opposed to other property.  If a qualified charity receives an IRA, it will not pay any income taxes on it.  However, if an individual, such as one of your relatives, inherits an IRA, the individual will incur personal income taxes when he or she withdraws the funds.

There was some discussion with audience participation regarding the criteria the scholarship committee uses to determine who to give scholarships to.  In addition, there was interest in the process of determining how much to give each student.  Mike Doyle indicated that instead of setting predetermined amounts, the committee looks at the needs of the individual students and then decides the amount of the scholarships.  Overall, it appeared that everyone agreed that the scholarships should go to those students whose lives they will touch the most.

Thank you Ron and Rocky for a great presentation.

Deborah A. Perkins