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Your Foundation Focus

February 2009

OUR MISSION
To provide financial resources for the National Exchange Club Programs of Service

 OUR VISION
Strong American families and National Exchange Club identity through the prevention of child abuse and Exchange’s Programs of Service

New Corporate Sponsor!

Ontario, California-based Clean Pro USA has generously donated $5,000 for this year’s Believe in the Blue Campaign. This gift will enable us to provide parenting tip cards and other materials free of charge to all Exchange Clubs that want to participate in the third year of this popular campaign on April 18, 2009. Asked why it was important to support this particular program, Clean Pro USA owner Rick Gordon said, “Shannon and I feel fortunate that we can use discretionary funds from our company to support the programs of Exchange. It is an organization that we love and believe in, and we are passionate about its programs. We believe that education is one of the most important tools in fighting child abuse. So Believe in the Blue is an ideal way to educate people, while also informing them about Exchange – in that way, we accomplish more than one goal. We need to make certain that our projects are both good for the community and good for Exchange.” Many thanks to Clean Pro USA for this generous donation!

What is a legacy?

Definition: Legacy (leg-a-see), noun:

1. Money or property bequeathed to another by will.

2. Something handed down from an ancestor or predecessor from the past.

3. Something of importance, as a style or philosophy, that is passed from one generation to another.

What is your legacy? How do you make your mark? As we begin to approach foundations, corporate sponsors, and major financial backers to support our efforts, their question to us is: “What kind of inner family support do you receive?”

We can proudly relate what Exchange Club members do for local level projects. And we can say that every member supports us in that they contribute a dues supplement of $6 a year (that’s 50 cents a month) toward our national project. But, did you know that beyond the dues supplement, less than 2% of our members make charitable contributions to us?

Up until now, that has sufficed. However, the dues supplement was instated in 1979 and has not been increased since. In 1979, we had considerably more members … and the dollar had more value. That supplement has not been raised since our beginnings, and we cannot keep pace with the need for our services without looking beyond that small pool of inner family who so generously give of their resources.

We are now seeing members who give of their own resources, arrange for charitable contributions from their own companies, and also connect us to their corporate partners. We need for every Exchange Club member to consider such support. Does your company match charitable gifts? Do they have a marketing or charitable giving program that could effectively partner with the NEC Foundation in support of our programs of service? Are you doing business with a corporation that would be a good match for such a partnership?

As leaders in our organization, you can help others begin to see us with 21st Century eyes, realizing our needs are somewhat different than they were 30 years ago. 

New Foundation Presentation

A new PowerPoint presentation was unveiled in Jacksonville for the Mid-Winter Conference when Trustees Vice-President Rick Gordon, Interim Executive Director Karen Askew, Trustee and CFK Chair Yvonne Ledoux, and Development Coordinator/Hartsook Representative Carolyn Matthews joined together to report to Exchange Club leaders. The PowerPoint presentation is an hour long, but can be shortened for club meetings as needed. It includes information on the role of the Foundation, current activities, and future plans. Guidelines have been developed to provide presenters with talking points. The Foundation presentation is available on the Foundation website at http://www.exchangeclubfoundation.org/downloads/Foundation Overview 09.ppt. Please check it out and encourage other club members to do likewise. Or contact Foundation staff for a copy at 800-924-2643. We remain committed to keeping Exchange informed about the activities of your Foundation!

Stay Tuned!

While we are not immune from the effects of the current economy on our fundraising efforts, we remain optimistic about our future. Thus far this year, contributions have been lower than anticipated, even as demand for our services to centers, to clubs, and to the community is increasing. We have made adjustments to work more efficiently and to ensure our organizational stability into the future. We are confident that we will be able to weather this storm – as we have so many others throughout our nearly 100 year history – as long as we remain in Unity for Service. 

Your NEC Foundation board of trustees and staff are hard at work, planning our new fundraising initiative for the coming year. We anticipate receiving recommendations and proposed campaign information from Hartsook Companies, Inc., in early March and will share that information with you at that time. Stay tuned to next month’s newsletter for more information. In the meantime, visit www.exchangeclubfoundation.org to stay up to date on our activities.

Yours in Service,

J. Michael Jernigan, President