I will support this effort through whatever avenue the class chooses to take.
We've vetted the various ways this can be accomplished. I'm good with
whichever way we go.
BSch
-----Original Message-----
From: eretta@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
To: fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Wed, Jan 13, 2021 9:44 pm
Subject: [fighting_texas_aggie_band_class_of_1977] Re: Further info
Thanks all. I further suggest the Axis of Signees, Glazener, Wright and Pointon
be quadded as their initiation.
Kinda already knew that part about not getting to pick an individual
scholarship recipient. It's the law of the land. Otherwise if you were a
hollywood celebrity, you could get tax deductions for sending money to USC
designated to your own kid, and not go to jail!
I suspect we can hit that $25K pretty quickly.
Edward Retta
+1 214 394 3000 (GMT -5)
crossculturecommunications.com
linkedin.com/in/edwardretta/
On Jan 13, 2021 21:19, David Pointon <david.pointon@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
1. If you need a signatory, I’ll volunteer only due to frequent proximity to
campus 2. I nominate we hang the plaque in the Band Room
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 13, 2021, at 21:14, David Pointon <david.pointon@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I find an “Axis of Signatories” quite inline with this group.
Sent from my iPhone
On Jan 13, 2021, at 21:06, Michael Brown <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Greetings all:
Here's the latest info, according to my what I've gleaned from the Texas A&M
Foundation (TAMF) website, personal knowledge, my never to be humble opinion,
and my niece who works for the TAMF.
First, thanks to everyone for their enthusiasm and generosity. My count at
this time is $14,500 pledged, with many others on board, but not sharing their
amount. Please maintain that enthusiasm, as it will take at least a week or
two to set things in motion, legally.
As said, under the TAMF, $25,000 is the magic number before money begins to
flow to a scholarship. We have five years to hit that goal And yes, TAMF will
charge a one-time fee of 5%, deducted from the gains on the donation. They DO
NOT take from the principal.
The fee is taken from the gains before money starts flowing to the scholarship,
so it takes about a year after hitting the $25,000 mark before a scholarship is
actually awarded. So some patience will be required to see the result.
In the out years, 4% is given each year to the recipient, 1% goes to the TAMF
for management. If there is excess growth, it is returned to principal.
So say there is a fund with $100 in it, and the growth that year is 8%. Four
percent, $4, goes to the recipient, one percent, $1, to the TAMF, and three
percent, $3, goes into the principal of the fund, raising it to $103. So the
next year, the recipient gets $4.12.
Not a big increase, but over time, it could really grow.
Regarding the recipient, IRS rules say that we, as donors, can not pick the
recipient. Yes, we can set the parameters, such as BQ with a 3.0, need vs.
merit, etc. but we cannot be personally involved in picking the individual.
She said there is a contact person in the Commandant's Office who handles the
Corps Scholarships. With General Ramirez, I'm sure they will take good care of
us.
As far as the actual gifts, again going through TAMF, there are a few hoops to
go through. First, we need to designate a point of contact. That person needs
to sign the donation agreement, and this can be done online. Once that is in
place an account can be opened to legally accept donations. Personal opinion,
we need more than one contact, perhaps a group of three. We are old farts,
after all.
If we go with TAMF, I think we need three of you to volunteer to be contacts.
Keith Glazner has been doing some research, and I know that Steve Wright has
volunteered to sign the papers. Those two and/or anyone else are good for me.
Once the agreement is signed, the point of contact will be the one who gets the
plaque, the notice of the recipient, the thank-you letter from the recipient,
chance to go to awards ceremonies, etc. etc. And they should be the one to
pass the word to the rest of us. I don't care who gets the job(s), and maybe
we can rotate it around, depending on who is in College Station at the right
time.
Speaking of the thank-you notes, current Corps Policy is for the note to be
written before funds are disbursed.
Once we hit $25,000, additional gifts can be made of any size, at any time. So
if you want to honor someone's memory, celebrate some milestone, or simply make
an annual or monthly gift, feel free. A recurring gift can be set up as an
automatic deduction, or as a pledge where they send you reminders.
Regarding the mechanics of your gift, Cindy suggests writing an old-fashioned
check. You can use a credit card, but the card processing fee is 3%, so your
$1000 gift becomes $970.
As far as using the Texas Aggie Band Association, or the Corps of Cadets
Association, both great groups, I don't have objections. However, it is my
understanding that most of their endowed scholarships are handled by...The
Texas A&M Foundation. So we'd just be adding a step.
The other problem is that they are fairly small groups with a lot of balls
they're juggling at once. Sometimes their effectiveness ebbs and flows with
the number, enthusiasm, and health of whoever has retired in College Station
recently.
If any of you would like to ask more question, I'd be happy to pass them on, or
you may certainly contact Cindy, as well.
She is also willing to do a Zoom call, if anyone would like to have that set up.
Opinion
Mine alone. I understand and sympathize with the heartburn some folks have
about the TAMF. But I also understand they're the Big Dog on the block. It
takes a lot of staff to account for the donations, send out cards and notices,
develop new donors, administer scholarship, etc. etc.
Sure we could do this ourselves with a 301(c) or equivalent.
I can also do 90% of the mechanic work on my car. I've got the tools, the
facility, and the knowledge. I also know that sometimes I'm just too damn old
for this $%*! and it's time to let the experts handle it, even if it costs a
little more.
I'm also trying to look to the future. If we run our own fund, at some point,
we'll be like the pilot who runs out of altitude, airspeed, and ideas at the
same time. I don't want this to be some short term thing that fizzles out when
we all hit the nursing home. I want it to last and grow and be something our
great-grandkids can look at with pride.
Of course, I defer to the group opinion. Up to and including backing out of
the process and handing it off, if my personal connections to the Foundation
are causing problems.
This is about sharing our Brotherhood, our love for the Aggie Band, and helping
future BQs have some of what we have with each other.
Dean
CC: Facebook Group
