Newsletter from the Grand Secretary
Hollis G. Dixon, Grand Secretary
February 2008
MAINE MASONIC CHARITABLE FOUNDATION: Recently you should have received a letter from our Charitable Foundation asking that you consider making a donation to the Foundation. That letter was the first step in a fund raising effort being handled by a professional fundraiser. While many of our members did send in donations, we have also heard from some Masons who questioned, “Why is Grand Lodge asking for donations when they already have millions of dollars that they are not using?”
What many of our members do not understand is that the Maine Masonic Charitable Foundation is a non-profit charitable organization incorporated by the State of Maine as a 501 C (3) non-profit public entity. This designation makes it a tax exempt organization by the IRS. The important thing to remember is that by virtue of our designation as a public non-profit organization, we are required to raise a certain percentage of our annual income from public donations. (That includes our members) The millions of dollars in the Charitable Foundation are invested and those funds constitute the principle funds of the Foundation. The principle cannot be used; only the income from those investments can be used. The other thing that is important to realize is that, “If we do not raise the required percentage of our income annually, then we could lose our ‘Public’ designation and become a Private Foundation. As a private organization we would be required to pay taxes and a portion of the assets of the organization to the IRS. The income from our investments is substantial although it can vary depending on the stock market. That income is entirely used each year for charitable purposes along with some shared costs for the administration of the Foundation.
Every Mason in the State of Maine should be aware that the Masonic Charitable Foundation needs to continue to seek donations for our charitable works – not because we are trying to accumulate a vast amount of money but because it is required by the IRS.. As we continue to receive donations we will develop more and better ways to provide financial help to those in need and to support worthwhile projects in our communities.
Recently, you should have received a letter from our, “Committee on Youth.” It calls for lodges to raise money for youth activities in their community during the month of April and to forward that money to the Foundation. The Foundation will contribute Five Hundred Dollars ($ 500.00), and return a check for the combined amount to the lodge to be presented to whichever program the lodge chooses to support. We are asking that, in April, special emphasis be placed on Project Graduation in our schools.
By submitting your funds to the Foundation, the money you raised goes toward the percentage of funds we are required to raise annually by the IRS. I hope that this explanation will help each of you to better understand why your Charitable Foundation, and not Grand Lodge, is asking for donations at this time. It is better to continue our charitable works than to have our money go to the IRS in the form of taxes.
Over
Proposed 2008-2009 Budget: Enclosed with this Newsletter is a copy of the proposed Grand Lodge Budget for 2008-2009, as approved by the Finance Committee. This is the budget which will be presented at the 189th Annual Session of the Grand Lodge of Maine in May of 2008. Please provide copies of it to the top three officers of your lodge, as well as the Proxy, for their perusal. You should also ensure that the members of the lodge have an opportunity to review it in order that they may have input to your voting members prior to the Annual Session.
ANNUAL RETURNS: We have finally reached the point where those lodge Secretaries that have been certified to access the Grand Lodge server via the Internet, can now print their Annual Returns directly rather than typing out the forms. Once a lodge Secretary has attended one of our Secretaries Schools, he can then enter all pertinent data directly onto the Grand Lodge database for his lodge. If he does this consistently during the year, he will then, at the end of the calendar year, have all necessary information in the system and he will be able to print the form and mail it in to Grand Lodge along with a check for the lodge’s per capita tax and assessments.
CANDIDATES FOR GRAND LODGE OFFICE: Any Brother that is thinking of submitting his name as a candidate for an elective Grand Lodge office should be aware that the deadline for submitting his intent to run for office is March 15, 2008. Should you decide to run for office you must submit a letter of intent to the Grand Secretary by March 15th. If your Blue Lodge endorses you as a candidate, they should provide you with a letter to that effect. The letter should contain your Personal and Masonic Biography and should be mailed by you or your lodge to all lodges, Grand Lodge officers and Permanent Members of Grand Lodge. To do this you can order a set of mailing labels from Grand Lodge. As a candidate, the expense of the mailing is entirely yours.
COMMITTEE REPORTS: Every Grand Lodge Committee is required to submit a report annually. The deadline for that report is April 1st each year. I would highly recommend that the Chairman arrange to have the report done on a computer in a Word Format and submit it either electronically or on a Floppy Disk. To submit your report electronically, you should send it to, grandlodge@mainemason.org. If we receive the report in written form we will scan it into our computer for the Annual Proceedings. If we receive it on a disk we can download it and it saves the Staff at Grand Lodge a great deal of time.
Fraternally,
Hollis G. Dixon
Grand Secretary
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