Central New York Volunteer Fair

Nonprofits here say 24 agencies save taxpayers $200 million

By Jay Tokasz

Would you invest $1 to save $11?

That’s the return rate for tax dollars spent on a variety of services provided by area nonprofit agencies, according to a new study by a local group of nonprofit executives.

The study by the Agency Executives Association examined programs at two dozen area agencies to come up with its government savings estimates.

Some of the savings occur in Medicare and Medicaid from programs that prevent hospitalizations or nursing home placements.

Taxpayers also save through services that reduce the number of kids who end up in juvenile detention and that move people from welfare into jobs.

For example, Meals on Wheels for Western New York serves meals to about 3,400 clients each year with a program budget of $4.4 million and a network of more than 1,500 volunteers.

The agency estimates that about 20 percent of those clients are able to remain in their own homes because they receive daily meals. Otherwise, those 680 clients would require nursing home care at an estimated $100,000 per year per client. That amounts to annual savings of $68 million from just one agency’s work, the study found.

Despite such data, Meals on Wheels is in jeopardy of losing funds due to the federal budget sequester that took effect in March, a scenario that ultimately would cost taxpayers more money. Many nonprofit agencies also are facing possible funding reductions in the state budget.

“The need has been growing every year,” said Tara A. Ellis, president and chief executive officer of Meals on Wheels.

In 2012, the agency distributed 5.3 percent more meals than in 2011, said Ellis.

“But the funding stayed flat, so if we were a business we would have lost money,” she said.

The agency filled its $350,000 funding gap by appealing to corporate donors.

But what would have happened had Meals on Wheels simply cut off services? Would some clients have ended up in nursing homes?

“The message we want to get out is there needs to be some smart policymaking here to invest in programs that save tax dollars,” said Jerry Bartone, executive director of Community Concern of Western New York and chairman of the Agency Executive Association’s leadership forum.

The AEA, an affiliate of the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County, represents 142 nonprofit agencies.

Looking at programs run by 24 area agencies, the study found that taxpayers save an estimated $200 million per year.

Some other nonprofits in the report included: the American Red Cross, Camp Good Days and Special Times, Compass House, Crisis Services, Goodwill Industries, Habitat for Humanity and Jewish Family Services.

Jewish Family Services’ refugee resettlement program, which costs $333,812 for 150 refugees, is estimated to save the government $2.5 million. Compass House provides shelter for 307 young people at a cost of $520,590, saving an estimated $10.9 million – the expense of housing those youth in a detention facility for a year.

The programs represent a broad cross section of services provided by an estimated 6,000 nonprofit organizations. Nearly 300 of those agencies operate with revenues of more than $1 million, generating a local economic impact of $2.7 billion.

“The whole intent was not to produce a definitive study on the issue. The whole intent was to begin the discussion,” said Paul C. Atkinson, chief executive officer and president of Consumer Credit Counseling Service of Buffalo and president of the AEA.

“We’ve just kind of scratched the surface of a lot of not-for-profits.”

The AEA hopes to meet with elected officials, foundations and other community members about its study.

Erie County legislators have not yet received a copy of the study and have not yet had a chance to review it. The county is asked to fund a lot of the agencies analyzed in the study.

Bartone and Atkinson said they were not advocating to increase funding for all nonprofit programs or to stop all cuts.

Atkinson acknowledged – as many funders have argued in the past – that the area probably has too many nonprofit organizations.

But an appropriate discussion should be held to determine adequate funding levels and to find agencies and programs that can deliver services most effectively and efficiently, he said.

Elected officials, added Bartone, “need to understand where to make investments and where to make cuts that benefit both taxpayers and the people who uses these services.”

National Volunteer Week Funds Available

The Institute for Human Services Brings You:National Volunteer Week Mini Grants

National Volunteer Week: April 21-27, 2013

Are you planning a volunteer event as part of National Volunteer Week during April 21-27th?  Could you use some additional funds to enhance your project's impact?

If you have answered "YES" to either of these questions then consider applying for a mini-grant from 2-1-1 HELPLINE Give Help and the Regional Volunteer Center of the Southern Tier!

Because of this partnership, we are to be able to offer mini-grants to support local volunteer efforts in Chemung, Steuben and Schuyler Counties during National Volunteer Week. If your organization is currently planning an event for that week and could use some additional funding to enhance your efforts we encourage you to request a mini-grant of up to $350. If you are interested in applying for a mini-grant, simply fill out our online application by going to the link below. Please complete the survey by Friday March 29th. Decisions regarding project funding will be made by Friday April 5th, 2013.

Apply Here!

  

If you have any questions, please contact Tess McKinley at mckinleyt@ihsnet.org or at (607) 776-9467, ext. 217. 

2-1-1 HELPLINE Give Help coordinates volunteer support services, by serving as a volunteer clearinghouse and resource center that is supported by United Way of the Southern Tier to increase civic engagement in our area.  Interested in volunteering?  Want to add your volunteer opportunities to our database?  Learn more here.

The Regional Volunteer Center of the Southern Tier is a collaboration designed to promote and enhance local volunteer efforts in our community. Under the leadership of the Institute for Human Services, United Way of Broome County, and United Way of Tompkins County, local non-profits are coming together to create a dynamic regional partnership to enhance and strengthen local volunteer efforts.  The Regional Volunteer Center of the Southern Tier is one of ten regional volunteer centers in New York State.

40 Below Upcoming Events

Public Arts Task Force Snow Show
Upcoming Events:
Snow Show

2/18-2/23 @ 317 W. Fayette St.

The Snow Show is a snow party and gallery exhibit featuring artworks by the Public Art Task Force collective and friends. Coinciding with the event, there will also be a snow sculpture extravaganza on the front lawn at the Most on Saturday the 23rd from noon - melt. All are welcome to participate, bring your own tools and supplies to help create a great sculpture!

• Reception will be held Thursday, February 21 from 6:00-9:00 pm
• Gallery hours will be from 5:00-7:00 pm
• Snow Sculptures will be held on Saturday, February 23rd.

A Civic Engagement Soiree

Tuesday, 2/26, 6:30 pm-8:30 pm @ Maxwell School Public Events Room (220 Eggers Hall on the SU campus)

Join 40 Below and Syracuse University for an evening of networking and civic engagement. United Way of Central New York President and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs Professor, Frank Lazarski will speak about involvement in the community and how it can build your resume. Network with local organizations and community leaders following the speaker. 

New Year, New You

Wednesday, 2/27, 5:30-7:00 pm @ Fleet Feet (5800 Bridge St, E. Syracuse)

Become a "new you" in the New Year! Sit in on a panel discussion featuring experts in nutrition, fitness, and mental wellness. A special 40 Below running workshop will follow the discussion for interested attendees. To RSVP, email Liz LaBeau.

Future 40 Below-ers Job Shadow Program

March-June 2013, @ your place of business

Join 40 Below's Civic Engagement Task Force and bring a Syracuse City School District student to work for the day. Help students get their first real professional experience in the workplace. We are in need of young professionals to host high school or high achieving middle school students. If interested, email CETF Co-Chair Odean Dyer.

Syracuse Coworks

 Syracuse Coworks is now caffeinated! Cafe Kubal and Syracuse Coworks are teaming up to provide coffee to Syracuse Coworks members every day.

For more information on Syracuse Coworks, email Jamie White.

 Check out Syracuse Coworks on Twitter and Facebook!

and follow our sponsor, Harris Beach, on Twitter!

Community Events

Local Thirst

Tuesday, 2/19 5:30-7:30 pm @ Landmark Theatre

Join the SyracuseFirst family at the Landmark Theatre to kick off the 2013 Local Thirst Series.The monthly networking event is designed to connect those interested in creating a vibrant, healthy economy and community. Join SyracuseFirst for a tour of the Landmark, drinks, a raffle, and a good time with the community.

Volunteer Opportunities

 Human Dogsled Race during Winterfest

Saturday, 2/23 12:00-1:30 pm

Help out this Winterfest tradition and volunteer at the Human Dogsled Race on February 23rd! We still need 4-6 volunteers to judge the best sled, watch the start and finish line, and keep track of winning sleds. Click here for more information about the Human Dogsled Race and if interested in volunteering email Bill Cooper.

Task Force Meetings

"It's All Here!" Task Force 

Next Meeting: 2/21, 5:30 @ Syracuse Coworks

Public Arts Task Force (PATF)

First Thursday of every month at 5:30 pm, Everson Museum

Next Meeting: 3/7, 5:30 @ Everson Museum 

Civic Engagement Task Force

First Monday of every month at 5:30 pm, CenterState CEO

Next Meeting: 3/4

For the full online version Click Here

The Inexpensive Solution to Volunteer Protection

The Inexpensive Solution to Volunteer Protection

Sometimes, volunteers have accidents - injure someone, get hurt themselves, or have an auto accident. Usually, their own insurance is not enough to take care of the damage. And the nonprofit organization's insurance does not protect the volunteer in some critical areas of risk.

Your nonprofit organization has the option of adding volunteers as additional insureds on the commercial general liability (CGL) policy. However, such an endorsement usually excludes volunteers' travel between home and the place of volunteer duty. Also, a CGL endorsement excludes coverage for claims made by one volunteer against another. Finally, the organization risks sharing its own limits of insurance - under the CGL policy - with the volunteer.

Covering volunteers under workers' compensation usually is not the wisest approach. First, a volunteer's injury would affect the claims experience of the nonprofit, which could increase workers' compensation insurance costs. Second, workers' compensation does not protect the volunteer during travel to and from their volunteer duty. 

However, there is an inexpensive solution to the problem...

  

To protect volunteers, the Volunteers Insurance Service (VIS®) program offers the following three coverages separately or combined:

• Up to $50,000 in accident medical reimbursement as a result of covered accident - at a cost of $3.94 per volunteer per year;
• Up to $1,000,000 in personal liability insurance - $1.72 per volunteer per year with a minimum premium of $100;
• For those volunteers who drive, up to $500,000 in excess automobile liability insurance above the volunteer's own insurance -$6.34 per volunteer per year with a minimum premium of $100.  

Total cost per volunteer, if all coverages are selected: $12.00 per year. The organization simply insures the greatest number of volunteers it expects to have at any given time.

VIS® Membership is required in order to sign up for any of the above programs; which an annual membership fee of $135 (July-June fiscal year).

For More Info Click Here

Assemblyman William B. Magnarelli’s Volunteer Fair September 18

Tuesday, Sept. 183 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Carousel Center

Dear Sir or Madam,

In today’s economic times, the community needs volunteers more than ever. I am organizing a Volunteer Fair to be held from

3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 18 at Carousel Center.

Organizations in need of volunteers are invited to host a table at the event. Please pass this information to other Central New York agencies interested in attracting volunteers. Only the first 50 organizations to respond will be able to host a table. Last year we had an overwhelming response and a limited number of tables. All entrants must be assigned a table in order to participate.

The information can be emailed to

abdellad@assembly.state.ny.us or faxed to (315) 428-1279. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact my office at (315) 428-9651

Sincerely,

William B. Magnarelli
Member, NYS Assembly
120thDistrict

Organization Name: _________________________________________________________________________

Address:__________________________________________________________________________________

Name of person(s) representing company at Volunteer Fair:__________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Phone number:____________________________________Fax number:_______________________________

Email Address:_____________________________________________________________________________

Website:__________________________________________________________________________________

Description of business and volunteer opportunities________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Do you need an electrical outlet? Yes No (circle answer)

WWW.Facebook.com/CNYVolunteerFair

Assemblyman William B. Magnarelli’s CNY Volunteer Fair

3 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Sept. 20
Carousel Center

Dear Sir or Madam,
In today’s economic times, the community needs volunteers more than ever. I am organizing a Volunteer Fair to be held from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, September 20 at Carousel Center.
Organizations in need of volunteers are invited to host a table at the event. Please pass this information to other Central New York agencies interested in attracting volunteers.

Only the first 50 organizations to respond will be able to host a table. Last year we had an overwhelming response and a limited number of tables available. All entrants must be approved for participation.

The information can be emailed to abdellad@assembly.state.ny.us or faxed to (315) 428-1279. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact my office at (315) 428-9651
Sincerely,
William B. Magnarelli
Member, NYS Assembly
120th District

Organization Name: _________________________________________________________________________
Address:__________________________________________________________________________________
Name of person(s) representing company at Volunteer Fair:__________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone number:____________________________________Fax number:_______________________________
Email Address:_____________________________________________________________________________
Website:__________________________________________________________________________________
Description of business and volunteer opportunities________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________
Do you need an electrical outlet? Yes No (circle answer)
WWW.Facebook.com/CNYVolunteerFair

Know a great volunteer? The United Way would like to hear from you

The United Way of Central New York is seeking nominations for its Exceptional Community Volunteer Award.

The award recognizes volunteers who have provided support and made constructive contributions to the agencies they serve. Nominations are due by 4 p.m. March 11. Anyone who works with a volunteer who might be deserving of the award can download an application from the United Way's website (www.unitedway-cny.org)

"Many human service agencies in Central New York depend on dedicated volunteers to keep overhead low and stay efficient," said Frank Lazarski, United Way president. "We're always amazed by the generosity displayed by the nominees for this award and it's always difficult to choose a winner, but it's humbling to see that the rich tradition of volunteerism is alive and well in our friends and neighbors. This is just one small way we can show them that we're grateful for their service."

The award will be presented at the agency's Achievements in Caring event April 13 at the Palace Theatre.

Original article from syracuse.com

Philanthro-teens delving into nonprofit woPhilanthro-teens delving into nonprofit worldrld

Crain's New York Business reported that kids raise the bar on giving with Facebook fundraisers, even their own foundations.

When Shannon McNamara was 13, her parents took her and her siblings to Peru during summer vacation to volunteer in an orphanage.

“At the beginning of the trip, I was thinking, 'Why can't I be on a cruise ship instead?' ” said Ms. McNamara, now 17 and a senior in high school in Basking Ridge, N.J. But the experience was “worth more than any cruise or trip to Disneyland could give you,” she said.

The family took a similar trip to Africa three years ago, and Ms. McNamara started her own nonprofit, Share (Shannon's After-School Reading Exchange), shortly after to help educate African girls. She has since volunteered in Tanzania every summer, and has collected 23,000 books and shipped them to schools there. She has also begun raising money for scholarships.

Meet the teen philanthropists. Armed with new technology and an awareness of global issues, post-Millennials are engaging in social entrepreneurship in previously unimaginable ways. Though still materialistic, these teens and even preteens want to do something more significant than acquire the latest i-Pod Touch or Wii.

Looking for a purpose
Borrowing from trends in celebrity charity, kids are mobilizing their peers to address everything from infant mortality in developing nations to neighborhood concerns. They're donating presents to charity, and they're establishing their own nonprofits.

“The number of kids creating their own organizations and taking action for causes they care about is skyrocketing,” said Nancy Lublin, chief executive of DoSomething.org, a New York-based nonprofit that helps young people to engage in philanthropy.

“Kids today just saw their parents go through a recession, get laid off and struggle,” Ms. Lublin said. “They look around and say: 'What's the point? I don't just want a second car in my driveway. I want a life of purpose.' ”

In the past year, 79% of girls in the United States have contributed food or clothing, 53% have given their own money, and 66% have asked family or friends to give or volunteer, according to research commissioned by the United Nations Foundation.

READ MORE HERE.

How to Change the World…

…Whatever the size of your wallet. These ideas, with budgets from $20 to $20,000, can help better the lives of others—and your own.

Got any plans for next week? Perhaps you could begin changing the world.

Yes, household budgets remain tight. But you don't have to be a lottery winner to make a difference in your community or halfway around the globe. People who are winding down first or primary careers and looking for new directions are discovering that for the cost of a weekend getaway, they can help change the world. Or start to.

Bob and Jo Link, for instance, retirees in Portland, Ore., serve on a nonprofit board that awards scholarships in Belize. Mr. Link, age 69, also troubleshoots computer problems for African refugees. This after the couple spent two years in the Peace Corps, helped with Hurricane Katrina cleanup, assembled computers for schools in Guatemala and worked with deaf orphans in Peru.

The cost to them? A few plane tickets, some scholarship donations and sweat equity.

"When you do this kind of stuff, you get back more than you really expect," Mr. Link says. "A lot of people wouldn't, or couldn't, put two years into the Peace Corps, but they could afford to spend a week in Peru."

We decided to look for ways that people, whatever the size of their savings, can change the lives of others—and their own. So go ahead: Pick one of the following budgets and write it on your calendar: "CTW."

$100 and Under

SERVICE PROGRAMS: In some cases, you actually can get paid while you're helping to make a difference.

The Links, for instance, earned $300 apiece each month in the Peace Corps, where about 7% of the organization's volunteers last year were age 50-plus. Closer to home, AmeriCorps, one of the largest national-service programs, is aiming for 10% of its 85,000 participants to be at least 55 years old—up from 4% in fiscal 2009.

AmeriCorps volunteers receive federal stipends averaging $11,800 for a commitment of 10 months to a year. They can also receive education grants of as much as $5,350, which, starting this year, they can transfer to their grandchildren, says Patrick Corvington, chief executive of the Corporation for National and Community Service, the agency that runs AmeriCorps. Work varies from part-time service in a volunteer's own community to full-time opportunities across the country. Options include helping to rebuild communities on the Gulf Coast and installing solar-electric systems in low-income California neighborhoods.

BECOME A LENDER: For what you spend today on lunch, "microfinance" allows you to play a big role in jump-starting modest entrepreneurial undertakings around the world—whether it's boosting inventory at a produce stand in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania, or providing additional nets to fishermen in Cambodia.

f you're interested in lending to an individual entrepreneur overseas, Kiva.org lets you choose the borrower on its website. If the loans are paid back, you can fund another loan, donate the proceeds to Kiva or get your money back. DonorsChoose.org, where you can pick a classroom project to fund with as little as $1, sifts proposals by cost, school poverty level and subject. Requests might include $140 for dry-erase markers or $2,000 for camcorders and laptops for budding filmmakers.

Heifer International, through which $20 buys a flock of chickens or $5,000 delivers an "ark" of animals to a family or village in Asia or Africa, finds that many people age 50-plus seek out the cause around holidays. Then, as they learn more about it, many wind up joining study tours to the communities raising the animals, coordinating fund-raising efforts in the U.S., or working at several Heifer learning centers, says Steve Stirling, executive vice president for marketing in Little Rock, Ark.

$300 to $4,000

GIVING CIRCLES: One way to get more bang for your charity buck is to join a so-called giving circle, a group with a common interest that pools its resources and collectively decides where to put its combined money to work.

In the 1960s, Sally Bookman studied social anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley. Now she leads a Dining for Women chapter with two dozen women, many of them retirees, attending monthly dinners in Santa Cruz, Calif. At each meeting, they eat a potluck dinner and chip in about $30 each to support women entrepreneurs in developing countries.

The national Dining for Women group, based in Greenville, S.C., picks the cause du jour and sends educational materials to local chapters. But the members' life experience gives the gatherings their flavor, says Ms. Bookman, 67. "At one meeting we were learning about women in a remote village in the jungle in Peru, and one of our members had been to that village for three days with her husband," she says.

If you join a giving circle, you can choose simply to write checks, or take a more active role researching where the circle's money might have the most impact.

"VOLUNTOURISM": Trips on which people do volunteer work, typically overseas, have exploded in number and type in recent years.

How do you choose among the estimated 10,000 trips out there? Ask how the work you do will fit into the overall scope of the on-the-ground project, says Alexia Nestora, founder of VoluntourismGal.com, an industry blog. If you're working with children, ask how what you do will build on what the previous volunteer did. (You don't want to be the 20th volunteer to teach them to sing "Itsy Bitsy Spider" in English, for example.) Also make sure the operator provides emergency medical insurance and has an employee living in the country who speaks English in case of political upheaval or a natural disaster.

Mark Sanger, a 58-year-old retired transportation engineer in La Grande, Ore., has taken several weeklong trips with Globe Aware, a Dallas nonprofit that coordinates volunteer travel work. In a tiny Costa Rican village, his crew slept in A-frame cabins and helped villagers build housing in hopes of drawing national-park tourists and generating additional income. He also spent time eating meals in local families' homes, where you could "see how they interact with their kids, what pictures they have on their walls." He enjoyed his next trip even more, teaching English to children in Cambodia.

"It was like a whole other world opened up to me," he says. "There's a sense of adventure…without your life in danger every day. It's a nice balance of doing something interesting, exciting, different and incredibly rewarding."

Your room, board and airfare in some cases are tax-deductible if you travel with a nonprofit. Vincent Mirrione, 69, of Newman, Calif., has taken seven trips with Cross-Cultural Solutions, a nonprofit operator in New Rochelle, N.Y., for six to eight weeks at a time. His work at a Guatemala soup kitchen and orphanage, Russian senior centers and a project that Mother Teresa started in India have wound up costing about $300 a week after the tax break, he says.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Retraining, as a classroom teacher, for instance, can jump-start a second career as well as benefit others.

"Green," of course, is hot. Clover Park Technical College, Lakewood, Wash., offers a number of environmental-sustainability programs, which include classroom study and hands-on field work. The programs last 12 weeks to two years, depending on an individual's goals.

Pam Kirchhofer, 49, enrolled there in a 15-month sustainable-building program after she was laid off as a personal-finance counselor. The attraction: "You're helping people save money by conserving energy and resources, and…you're being a good steward of the Earth," she says. The tough part: "I haven't had a math class in 28 years, and we just did an energy audit of this woman's house using algebraic equations."

$5,000 to $10,000

JOIN A BOARD: A director on a board? You? Why not?

"Almost half of all nonprofit board seats never get filled. Nonprofits would love to have more qualified candidates, but they don't know how to tap into really talented people in the community," says David Simms, a partner with Bridgespan Group in Boston, which advises nonprofits. (One new resource for a board-seat search: The websites where nonprofits place want-ads for volunteers also are starting to post vacant board seats.)

Bonnie R. Harrison, 61, a retired Corning Inc. executive, became involved with Southern Tier Hospice in Corning, N.Y., after serving as her father's caregiver while he was also receiving hospice services. To join the board, Ms. Harrison asked her father's hospice nurse to write a recommendation. Shortly after Ms. Harrison retired last year, the hospice board's chairwoman stepped down, and Ms. Harrison was asked to take her place.

"The challenge of working along with the board, the staff and different organizations has been a great help in making the transition away from a high-pressured job," she says.

BECOME A BENEFACTOR: So, you like the idea of having a charitable vehicle to help others, but you aren't Bill Gates. Consider a donor-advised fund, a good tool for people who want to give away amounts starting at about $5,000 a year.

Such funds can be set up through big financial-service companies, like Fidelity Investments, as well as university, religious and community foundations. The fund will invest your assets and make grants based on your guidance. Typically, you become eligible for an immediate tax deduction.

"It might be a little more than you can handle doing on your own, yet you don't want to set up the superstructure of a foundation," says John Gomperts, the recently named director of AmeriCorps. "You might go to a community foundation and say, 'I want to give this money away, and I care about the humane care of animals, so please give me some suggestions and administer this for me.' "

$20,000 and Up

START A NONPROFIT: You have a cause you're passionate about, and nobody seems to be tackling it. So you dream of starting a nonprofit to that end. Expect to spend at least $10,000 to $20,000 on start-up costs, including the legal expenses involved in creating an organization and asking the government to grant you a tax exemption, called 501(c)3 status.

First question: Are you sure there are no similar efforts? The U.S. has about 1.5 million nonprofits, and "many of them are doing phenomenal work," says Mr. Simms in Boston.

If your idea truly is unique, try to find a community foundation to "incubate your effort so that you can worry about the service you want to provide" instead of setting up the business end, says Christopher Stone, faculty director of the Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

Elaine Santore is the 59-year-old co-founder of Umbrella of the Capital District, a Schenectady, N.Y., organization that helps older adults, in part by matching them with retirees-turned-handymen. She and her partner jump-started the program before receiving their not-for-profit status. "I would clean houses if need be, and he would mow yards," she says. "It's good to be hands-on at first so you know what it's like."

ENDOW A SCHOLARSHIP: What if you win the lottery, or your stock options go through the roof? The sky's the limit: You could fund scientists trying to cure cancer, build a new stage for your local symphony, or even start your own university and town, as did Domino's Pizza founder and philanthropist Tom Monaghan.

One of the more popular big-ticket items, though, is creating your own college scholarship. With $1 million, you could set up an endowment that should last for decades, says Becky Sharpe, president of International Scholarship & Tuition Services Inc., Nashville, Tenn., which administers privately and publicly funded scholarships.

Joe Scarlett, retired chairman and chief executive of Tractor Supply Co., Brentwood, Tenn., started a family foundation in 2005 with $2.5 million to provide college scholarships to business students from middle Tennessee, and he hired Ms. Sharpe's company to run the award program.

"We generate way too few business leaders in our country, so we wanted to focus our scholarship money on business," says Mr. Scarlett, 67. The foundation now has a balance of approximately $24 million, thanks to additional gifts from the Scarletts and growth in its value, and is expanding its efforts, supporting students in high schools and even preschools.

Original Article by Kelly Greene from WallStreetJournal.com

Assemblyman William B. Magnarelli’s Volunteer Fair Central New York

4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 21 Carousel Center

Dear Sir or Madam,
In today’s economic times, the community needs volunteers more than ever. I am organizing a Volunteer Fair to be held from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday, September 21 at Carousel Center.
Organizations in need of volunteers are invited to host a table at the event. Please pass this information to other Central New York agencies interested in attracting volunteers.
The information can be emailed to abdellad@assembly.state.ny.us or faxed to (315) 428-1279. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact my office at (315) 428-9651
Sincerely,
William B. Magnarelli
Member, NYS Assembly
120th District
Organization Name: _________________________________________________________________________
Address:__________________________________________________________________________________
Name of person(s) representing company at Volunteer Fair:__________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Phone number:____________________________________Fax number:_______________________________
Email Address:_____________________________________________________________________________
Website:__________________________________________________________________________________
Description of business (in 10 words or
less):_____________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Types of volunteer opportunities you provide:_____________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Volunteers can be: Teens_____ Seniors_____ Short-term_____ Long-term_____
Do you need an electrical outlet? Yes No (circle answer)