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President Courtney Millbrook called the meeting to order in the Michigan Room of LCC and led all assembled in the 4-way test on the last day of June, the last day of some people’s corporate fiscal year, and the last meeting of her esteemed turn at the helm of our club. The amazing Cathy Andrews provided the reflection and singing of the Star-Spangled Banner (accompanied by the lovely Hari Kern) ensued. (PLAY BALL!) Steve Grant would have facilitated the introduction of visiting Rotarians and guests, but there weren’t any. Two new members: Linda Sarnelle & Ben Bakken received their red badges. Jennifer Rostar gave the June Birthday report, clocking in at 83% and $853. Unique abilities, characteristics and qualities of our June b-days vary; one is a heart transplant recipient, and one is part of the only living father-son combo in Lansing Rotary (Craig Spencer/Dr. Clyde Spencer). And now we all want to be Sandy Dragoo’s grandchildren. There was singing, but no cake. Terry Terry introduced Dan Templin as our special music guest; when not being the Piano Man, he’s an attorney. The health of the club was deemed to be in (mostly) good order, with this Rotarian reminding everyone to leave fireworks to the experts and keep all your fingers intact this upcoming Independence Day. Sandy Draggoo, Chair of the Day, got things started for the Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation Annual Report and Meeting. Speakers joining Sandy included Pat Munshaw, Pam Miklavcic, John Person, Kim Garland, Heidi McNaughton, Hari Kern, Jennifer Marsh, Dave Trumpie, Doug Wiesner and Diane Sanborn, mostly representing themselves. Important Foundation updates from July 2022 to today included: Signature Grants: these grants of $10,000-$50,000 are significant, make a difference, have a lasting effect, and meet Rotary’s mission of service. The Board allocated $50K this year + $42K holdover of funds from prior = $92K awarded, made possible by gifts of Rotarians. This year’s top needs as identified by the Community Foundation and United Way are affordable housing and affordable childcare. After an intense review of 13 applications, $50K was awarded to Habitat for Humanity and $42K was a combined grant for Advent House Ministries and Child & Family Services. Representatives from these organizations were present and made brief remarks of gratitude about their grant/organization. Note: The signature grants $92K was in ADDITION to the $30,556 we pay each year on our Rotary Park commitment, which will complete in 2008, for a total of $400,000 over nine years. Birthday Contributions: contribution dollar amount and percentage of giving are increasing (nice work, folks) with $14,209 total given and 5 months of 100% participation. 7 months had 90% or higher. NOTE: Special shout-out to ALL 15 Foundation Board members and many other Rotarians for their 100% support of all three appeals this year: Birthday Contributions, Paul Harris, and Children’s Holiday Campaign. If you missed something this year, please make up for it next year! Local Grants: Using SLIDEROOM to evaluate the applications, the committee reviewed 87 requests competing for $50,000 of funds. The approved funding will support: • Art’s Council of Greater Lansing: $10,000 to fund Arts Night Out Performance Series • Potter Park Zoo: $4,000 for an accessible hayride wagon/trailer • Cristo Rey: $10,000 for their Direct Assistance Program • South Lansing Community Development Association: $10,000 for Community Gardening From Sustenance to Sale program • Junior Achievement: $10,000 to support programing for 7,000+ students • Reach Studio & Art Center: $6,000 for Reach Access to the Arts Legacy Society: This special society celebrates individuals who have made the awesome decision to include the Lansing Rotary Foundation in their estate planning, ensuring their legacy of caring continues after they become angels. Thanks to those who attended and supported the planned giving luncheon at the University Club earlier this spring. To learn more, contact Kim Garland or Pat Munshaw. Paul Harris: A total of $13,250 was given to the Paul Harris Rotary International Campaign this year, with 66% participation and two first-time Paul Harris Fellows (awarded every time you reach a total of $1,000 given). Our Club has 101 Paul Harris Fellows, with many having been awarded multiple times. Administrative Notes: A new conflict of interest form has been implemented with all Foundation Board members signing at the start of each year. A welcome and information letter is now being shared with each prospective member before they join our club, to ensure they understand that we will be asking for a $100 gift for each of our three campaigns – Birthday, Paul Harris, and Holiday – this takes away any uncertainty of what is encouraged and expected, but not required. International Grants: Committee was Kim Garland, Carmen Hall, Heidi McNaughton, Uma Umakanthan, Irv Nichols, Jennifer Roster, Kurt Guter, Jenna Lee, Pam Miklavcic, and Steve Melnyk. A total of $37,000 was awarded to the following organizations, many of whom have given updates to us at meetings throughout this past year: • Global Delta Relief in Guatemala: $5,000 • Samuel Omega Foundation for Water Wells in Nigeria: $5,000 • Pathways Togo, Education in Togo: $5,000 • KGSA Foundation, a girls school, for Education in Kenya: $3,555 • Stem for All, Education in India: $5,000 • Guatemala Literary Project, Education in Guatemala: $5,000 • Gift to UKRAINE: $3,000 • District 6360 scholarships: $445 Treasurer’s (Jennifer Marsh) Report: (1) We switched banks for Foundation investment dollars and will now get a 3.46% rate of interest through Merrill Lynch. (2) The board will adopt each year the % of funds that are distributed to each of the grant committees. (3) The Rotary Foundation fund at the Community Foundation has been renamed to the “Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation Endowment Fund – in memory of Jack Bates”. This reflects the generosity and enthusiasm of Jack Bates, a deceased Rotarian who had served for many years as secretary of the club, and his personal philanthropy, as well as the generosity of other donors who have given (and continue giving) to the fund. Children’s Holiday Campaign: We continue to support Gardner Magnet International School, which works with many children who have developmental challenges via our Holiday celebration, giving each child from the school a wish list gift. After all gifts were given and expenses paid, a $10,000 check was given to the school to purchase swimming equipment and training resources that will enable all students to use the pool. Special thanks to John Dale & the late Ken Beachler for their many contributions to these festivities over the years. Bylaws: A bylaw review was completed by an ad-hoc committee with no changes, but instead, eight amendments were made to the policies and procedures. Visit Club Runner to see these. If that didn’t scare away incoming Foundation President Doug Wiesner, nothing will. Nominating: The slate for the 2023-2024 year was presented to elect Pam Miklavcic as Vice President/President Elect and add three new board members of Chris Holman, Craig Stiles and Susan Angel (replacing outgoing members Diane Sanborn, Heidi McNaughton and Joel Hoffman). These new members meet the guidelines/qualifications of Board Members which include: (1) Must be a Rotary Club of Lansing member in good standing and have dues paid up to date, (2) Must have a consistent history of giving to all three annual asks/campaigns, (3) Should be consistently achieving 60% attendance (while not a club requirement, it’s an indicator of engagement). Talk to Sandy Draggoo, Chair of next year’s nominating committee, if you are interested in serving. A newly created handbook will make your onboarding easier (THANK YOU, Anne Cauley). Board members can serve two consecutive terms: also seeking committee members. The ANNUAL MEETING was officially called to order and the slate for the 2023-2024 year was presented, so moved, supported, then unanimously approved for the addition of three new board members: Chris Holman, Craig Stiles, and Susan Angel, for a term of three years. A rousing round of applause for Sandy Dragoo for all she did as President of the Foundation this past year, and thanks to all Foundation Board members for their reports today and their service this past year with a nod to Anne Cauley, John Shaski, Sam Tucker & Joel Hofman who were unable to attend today’s meeting. Thanks to Cathy Andrews for (fill in the blank here because she truly does it all). The meeting was adjourned. President Courtney thanked all assembled and noted that she’ll be sitting on a beach for the rest of the summer to recover from her nearly 100% meeting attendance this year exhaustion but should be back in the fall, then threw the gavel to Nick Heriford and danced out of the room. REMINDER: NO MEETING JULY 7th. See you July 14 to hear from Ozay Moore, with All of the Above Hip Hop Academy. Respectfully submitted by Michelle Reynaert, michelle.reynaert@sparrow.org |
