GTB Awards Nearly $690,000 in Gaming Revenue

From the TC Ticker ...

August 11, 2014

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians has announced the distribution of $689,660 – the first installment of its twice-yearly two percent allocation of video gaming revenue to local units of government. Its largest allocation – $100,000 – went to both Suttons Bay Public Schools and Traverse City Area Public Schools for their Indian Education Program. Northport Schools received $45,000 and Elk Rapids Schools, $30,000. A government to government contract with Leelanau County for its prisoner housing contract received $63,875. Among the other recipients were the Grand Traverse Metro Fire Department, the Father Fred Food Pantry Program (via GT County), and the Leelanau County Senior Services Program. Since the two percent allocation began in 1994, the Band has allocated more than $32 million dollars to hundreds of local organizations. Permalink Copy of media release - 30 July 2014 - Click here

Michael Moore, Kathleen Glynn Donate $250k to Film Fest

July 31, 2014 by TC Ticker - link below

Filmmaker Michael Moore presented a $250,000 check Tuesday evening to the Traverse City Film Festival (TCFF) board of directors to launch a new program that will bring independent, documentary and foreign films to movie theaters across the country. The check - presented on behalf of Moore and his former wife and longtime producer Kathleen Glynn - represents the last of a nearly million-dollar fund established by the duo in 1989 using profits from Moore's film Roger & Me to benefit artistic groups and nonprofit organizations. The money will be used to launch a new program, tentatively called Mike's Movie Night, that will stream independent films once a month to theaters across the United States and Canada using the State Theatre as a home base. Moore will curate the films along with other prominent filmmakers and will host live Q&As with the film's directors and cast at the events. The Q&As will also be simulcast and will provide audience members opportunities to ask questions of the filmmakers. "I wanted to do something special, something big to honor all the good over the years that has resulted from my first film," says Moore of the gift. "This donation will be used specifically to address the lack of access across the country for people who want to go to a movie theater and see a foreign film or a documentary." The quarter-million dollar donation will be overseen and administered by the festival board, which would "like to bring a little bit of Traverse City to the rest of the world," according to board treasurer and TCFF co-founder John Robert Williams. Permalink

Former Timbers Girl Scout Camp Permanently Protected

June 26, 2014: The Ticker of Traverse City Magazine

The approximately 250-acre Timbers Recreation Area – formerly the Timbers Girl Scout Camp for 50 years – will be turned over to Long Lake Township and open to the public by the end of August. The Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC) confirms that a fundraising goal of $891,300 was met with just days to spare to permanently protect the recreation area. These matching funds followed a $2.1 million grant award from the Michigan Natural Resources Trust Fund in December 2012. The property includes nearly 9,000 feet of water frontage – 2,000 feet on Long Lake, the entire 20-acre Fern Lake within its boundary with 4,500 feet of shoreline, and approximately 2.400 on Page Lake. The property also features a network of two-tracks and trails with potential for future trails. Development of the property's management plan and activities will be conducted by the township with assistance from the conservancy. "The property was such a mystery," says Glen Chown, executive director of the GTRLC. "So many people around the lake had never set foot on it because it was a camp, and they respected the privacy of the Girl Scouts. It's so close to Traverse City and yet it's real wild country." Discussion about preserving the former Girl Scouts camp began in 2004, with negotiations to purchase the property from the Girl Scout Council in 2009. Interim buyers Don and Gerry Oleson purchased he property in 2012, holding it while the township awaited the decision on the grant award. Fundraising included an anonymous $150,000 match for all donations, a $25,000 match for donations made by, or in honor of, former Timbers campers and staff members, a $20,000 match for all donations made by Long Lake Association members, support from the Long Lake Foundation and the sale of the old troop house. Girl Scout alumnae also held a reunion and yard sale, with former scouts traveling from as far away as Alaska to support conservation of the property. Permalink

Reminder

Have you talked to a donor today about how their donation was used?

Munson Cancer Center Underway

Munson Cancer Center Underway May 2, 2014

Munson officials and employees lifted the ceremonial shovels yesterday to mark the groundbreaking for the new Cowell Family Cancer Center located on the Munson Medical Center campus in Traverse City. Officials announced that $17.3 million in donations has been secured, led by a $5 million dollar gift from TC resident Casey Cowell. Cowell is a Detroit native. He co-founded U.S. Robotics in 1976 and served as CEO before the company merged with 3Com in 1997. Construction of the $45 million, 86,000 square-foot facility is expected to take nearly two years to complete. Source: TC Ticker, 2 May 2014, Permalink

US Charity Donations Suggest Growing Confidence

Wednesday, April 16, 2014 - 10:30

Reality Check: US Charity Donations Suggest Growing Confidence

By Jon Hurdle
--Biggest Growth Seen for Major Gifts; Community Donations Show Signs of Decline

PHILADELPHIA (MNI) - Charitable giving by U.S. individuals, foundations, and corporations gained in the first quarter as stock prices rose and the job market improved, but donations have not fully recovered to their pre-recession level, fundraising professionals said.
Anecdotal reports from philanthropic trade groups and the leading academic source of data on the U.S. charity sector indicate that improving economic confidence among donors, especially those giving $1 million or more, is boosting the income of universities, hospitals, arts organizations and other recipients of charitable gifts.

There is some evidence that donations from those much lower on the income scale is declining, perhaps as a result of greater competition for limited funds, in a trend that could disrupt fundraising strategies in future, experts said.

But overall giving so far this year has continued the solid gains seen in 2013, according to preliminary indications ahead of the industry's annual data that are not published until mid-year.

Click here for more of article

How to Make the Case for Giving

Nice overview of developing a case for giving by Network for Good. Link below.

How to Make the Case for Giving

Download our guide and learn how to make the case for giving in 8 steps!

Fundraisers can no longer rely on a simple ask to secure a donation. “We need your donation” is not compelling enough. So what do you say to your donors and how do you say it? Use these 8 steps as a guide to help your organization craft the case for giving. 

This free guide includes these fundraising tips:

• Use storytelling to help your message come alive
• Get donors to give and give now!
• Find the right messenger to wield influence and build credibility
• Package your message for different channels

Download this free guide and learn how to craft your nonprofit's case for giving!

Click here for resource.  Will need to do free registration. I find their news letter valuable.