President Bruce Rutherford opened the meeting and introduced our guests Jenna Archuletta, Mac Leask, and Capt M. Shafi. 
 
Jenna Archuletta is Major Gifts Officer at The Rotary Foundation at Rotary International Headquarters in Evanston, IL. She helps current and potential donors evaluate their charitable and financial options as they achieve their goals.
 
John M. Leask II, (Mac), a CPA and Certified Valuation Analyst, is our Rotary Zone 32 Endowment & Major Gifts Advisor. He is Past President of the Fairfield Rotary Club and was District 7980 Treasurer and the District Rotary Foundation coordinator. Rotary has recognized Mac through a Meritorious Service Citation and Distinguished Service Award.
 
​Capt M Shafti is visiting from the Rotary Club of Dhaka West, Bangladesh.  Capt Shafi has family in the area and visits our club on a regular basis.

Announcements:
  • Next week we are back at the country club. The following week we will host the Town and Country Players.
  • Janet Mintzer announced the first Four Way Test Breakfast planning meeting is next Wednesday at 4:30 pm
  • Gail Linenberg told us that there is training for developing sponsorships for charitable events available and invited others to attend with her son.
  • November 7th is Rotary Leadership Institute at the Radisson at Valley Forge. Four members have signed up; Bruce, Bob Tessier, Gail Linenberg, and Jim Wagner. There is still time to sign up.
  • Jim Wagner discussed the membership cocktail party at his house on Saturday, November 14 , at 7 PM. RSVP to him. The club will provide 100 Rotary Foundation points for each guest you bring who eligible to join Rotary.
  • Kim Arnold volunteered to chair our holiday party committee. She is beginning planning and mentioned that she will look at upstairs at MOMs restaurant.
Mikolaj Sniegowski our exchange student gave us an update. He is looking forward to the CB West Choir’s Broadway Night on Thursday. This week he toured Terror behind the Wall in Philadelphia it was really really great.  Next week he will have stories about Halloween.
 
Jenna Archuleta, Rotary Foundation Major Gifts Officer, spoke about The Rotary Foundation. She began by saying that the foundation provides funding for projects that support Rotary's six Areas of Focus. A portion of funds donated to the annual fund go to fight polio and all contributions to the Polio Plus fund are designated for polio. She notes that the fight against polio is succeeding as Nigeria, one of the last countries with endemic polio, has gone one year without a new case.

She talked about ways to donate to Rotary that benefit both the donor and the Rotary Foundation. For example, a couple set up a joint life Charitable Gift Annuity which provides them with fixed payments for life with the remainder donated to the Rotary Foundation.  Another couple in our district who have already contributed over $100,000 recently made a 3 year pledge to contribute an additional $50,000 each year. These funds will be directed to the Polio Plus fund which will be matched 2 for 1 by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Their gift will provide $150,000 per year to fight polio over the next three years.
 
Jenna also discussed ways to contribute and save taxes. By donating retirement assets or highly appreciated stocks, the tax burden is transferred to the charity which pays no tax.  She mentioned that some Rotarians donate $1,000 of appreciated stock per year as their annual contribution.
 
Jenna talked about the Multi-Million Dollar Journey which has been very successful in our district. The purpose of the campaign was to raise $1 million from district Rotarians in increments of $10,000 either through outright donations or through bequests in their estate plan. Rotarians designate their donations to the fund of their choice but one goal is to increase the assets of the Rotary Foundation Endowment. The Rotary Endowment Fund is a permanent fund that provides annual income through a portion of its earnings. The fund now stands at $1 billion divided between $400 million in current assets and $600 million in expectancies. The district campaign started as the Million Dollar Journey but with district donations already over $2.4 million we needed to change the name slightly. There is still time left to support the campaign which ends in the spring of 2016. The district will have a dinner to celebrate the Journey’s success on May 17, 2016.
 
Thank you Jenna for an interesting discussion!
 
Side note - Here are some definitions when talking about contributions to the Rotary Foundation:
  • EREY (Every Rotarian, Every Year) Member – A member who donates anything to the Annual Fund
  • Sustaining Member – A member who donates $100 annually to the Annual Fund
  • Paul Harris Fellow – A person with $1,000 in donations (or points) to the Annual Fund
  • Paul Harris Society – A person who contributes $1,000 per year to the Annual Fund
  • Major Donor – A person or couple who donate $10,000 to the Rotary Foundation
  • Benefactor – A person who leaves any amount to the Rotary Foundation in their will or estate plan
  • Bequest Society - A person who leaves $10,000 or more to the Rotary Foundation in their will or estate plan