MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Dear CAL Gals,

I am going to abandon my persona of class clown for a bit to give you some important information about what the board is considering, but only with your input. As we all know so well, CAL earns money every year and then gives it all away in May and June to support needs in Bonner County. This is our raison d’etre, and we all get great pleasure from the process. Donna Hutter approached me with a way that we can insure CAL’s support of the community in perpetuity with just a very small impact on our yearly distributions. To do this we would create an agency fund with the Idaho Community Foundation for perpetuity. That means that if, at sometime in the distant future, CAL is no longer a viable money raising entity funds would still be distributed in our name as we direct it. You can find more about it at this website, http://www.idcomfdn.org.

It would be the only money that CAL has invested and that will grow over time. We would create an endowment, and that endowment is never fully spent. CAL would have to budget contributions for the 1^st five years until we are completely vested. The fund would also function as a place where individuals can make tax exempt donations at any time or perhaps leave something to CAL in their will. The fund will also grow through the magic of compound interest. For example, if the fund grows 6% in a given year, CAL could receive 4% of that growth to distribute in grants and scholarships, but 2% is invested back into our fund so the principle grows. I have checked with some financial people I know and the management fees of the foundation are very very low. At this point they are at .77%. Just about ¾ of 1%.

I will be talking more about this at the meeting on May 20 and at meetings after that. I want to make sure we are ALL fully informed before we make a decision. Other North Idaho non-profits have already done this. The list includes Bonner Community Food Bank, Bonner County Historical Society, Bonner General Hospital, Kinderhaven, Panhandle Alliance for Education, and Panhandle Animal Shelter.

All decisions have now been made regarding grants and scholarships, and the committees for both were stupendous. After the board meeting on Wednesday, I headed over to Val Albi’s home to observe how the scholarship committee operated. I was sure I might be there all afternoon so I even arranged for Cooper to have a play date with Cindy’s Gabriel. My gosh, that committee was so efficient and cooperative that they concluded business in 2 ½ hours. I barely saw anything. I’m not complaining, mind you. I was there in time to have a spectacular lunch prepared by Val.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Love, Sherry