This week Judge John Parker has agreed to join us on Zoom at noon to tell us about how the pandemic has affected the courts. President Yturri will send the link early next week.
Last Week at Rotary
Keith Duncan began his presentation last week with an apology. “I can’t offer you what you got in last week’s presentation, all those picturesque slides of Mongolia and stories about the wonderful people there. The new tax codes just can’t compete with that.”
Knowing how to make tax-efficient charitable donations, though, is important and the rules have changed considerably since the Tax Cut and Jobs Act passed in 2018. The Act changed marginal rates and deductions significantly and Keith walked us through three ways that we can minimize “what we render unto Caesar” and maximize what we give to charitable causes.
The first option is the Qualified Charitable Contribution. You must be at least 71.5 years of age and have a traditional IRA to qualify, but Keith describes it as “a perfect charitable gift” in that neither the donor nor the recipient is taxed for it. The donor requests the custodian of his/her IRA to make a donation or split donations in his/her name . It’s never taxed because it’s not received as income.
The second option is gifting assets. If you have significant assets, this might be a good option but it’s complicated and Keith recommends you see a tax specialist to explore this option.
The third option is creating a donor-advised fund. If you have substantial income and are itemizing deductions during a particular year but expect to take the standard deduction in the years that follow, it is an attractive option. With a Donor Advised Fund, you receive the charitable deduction now while you are itemizing and actually make the gift in future years when you may not be able to itemize. In effect, you are pre-funding your charitable giving for future years. This is an excellent option if you have a “windfall” – like selling a business, winning the lottery or inheriting a substantial sum.
Whichever option you consider, Keith cautioned, remember. “Taxes are tricky.” With the COVID-19 legislation, they’re in a lot of flux right now. “Plan carefully in advance,” Keith recommended, “and consult with someone in the know.” Good advice and excellent information! Thank you, Keith!
Highway Patrol?
"Get your motor runnin'
Head out on the highway!
Rotarians engaged once again in our traditional highway clean-up on our assigned section of road last week. Couldn't have picked a better day for it ... or a better crew!
Cliff's Notes for the Amended Club Constitution
As noted in an email to club members earlier this week, the first task for the Bylaws Committee Review was to review our club constitution. It must align with Rotary International’s constitution and in some areas it does not. The Bylaws Committee is recommending that the club amend its constitution to replicate RI’s template for a club constitution, with some changes that better reflect our club’s philosophy. The significant substantive changes are outlined here for your convenience. Rotarians are encouraged to review the documents themselves, sent to you in separate emails on Wednesday, May 27.
Attendance requirements have been updated, allowing attendance to occur “in person, by telephone, online, or through an online interactive activity. An interactive meeting [such as one on Zoom] shall be considered to be held on the day that the interactive activity is posted.”
Our constitution does not have guidelines on satellite club language. RI’s constitution does provide guidelines “when applicable.” That language does not commit us to having a satellite club, but ensures that if we do entertain that notion, we comply with RI guidelines.
RI’s guidelines for satellite clubs require all officers to attend meetings of the satellite club. Our experience with the evening membership option suggests that requiring all officers is overkill. Therefore, we are recommending that “at least one club officer" attend each satellite club meeting.
We have added the Camp Rotary Committee to our standing committees.
We have clarified that an admission fee is part of the cost of becoming a member.
Our current constitution requires rather rigid classifications and caps on representation of profession, businesses, and occupations in our membership. RI’s constitution has become more flexible and we have adopted its language: “This club’s membership should represent a cross section of the businesses, professions, occupations, and civic organizations in its community, including age, gender, and ethnic diversity.”
RI’s template establishes an attendance requirement and language for removing members for non-attendance. Then it says you can make exceptions to all that in your bylaws. We see no reason to give the impression we are monitoring one another’s attendance in our constitution, so we have stricken that language.
Since we allow for electronic mailing in our bylaws – and who knows what the new forms of communication may be? – we have eliminated the langue in the constitution.
RI’s template does not include a process for amending the constitution. We are incorporating the requirements we have in our bylaws, allowing the constitution to be amended at any regular club meeting. Notice of the amendments must be sent to each member 10 days before the meeting, a quorum of 1/3 of the active membership must be present, and two-thirds of the votes must support the change. Voting may be done electronically 48 hours before the meeting.
That brings us to the process we will ask you to undertake, beginning at noon on Sunday, June 7. We will send you a ballot by email at that time and ask you to reply YES if you approve the amended constitution and NO if you do not. Only President Yturri and members of the Bylaws Committee will see your response. Your response must be emailed before noon on Tuesday, June 9.
You may also vote at the meeting on June 9. If we meet on Zoom, we will use the Zoom tools to allow you to vote at the meeting itself, but it will not be possible to vote anonymously.
It is very important to vote because without a quorum participating in the vote, we are stuck with an outdated, non-compliant constitution. With an active membership of 103, we need 35 people voting to establish a quorum. We may be nagging you to vote so that we can reach that number!
Milestones
We cannot let May elapse without recognizing the Rotarians who joined our club in May. They are:
Tony DiLello - 30 years
Art Taft - 29 years
Virginia Stacey - 18 years
Tim McGonigal - 10 years
Dirk Smith - 1 year
Collectively, 88 years of service above self ... and when you look at these names, you can only marvel at all the contributions they have made to our club. Impressive. Gather ye rosebuds while it's May!
The first of our June birthdays is celebrated this week on Thursday. Best wishes, Cooper Thomas!
In Memoriamut
Last week we paid our final respects to fellow Rotarian Paul Cory. Born in Great Falls on June 19, 1955, he was the youngest of 3 children. He attended elementary schools in Great Falls and graduated from CMR in 1963. He attended the University of Montana and graduated with a degree in Social Work.
Paul spent his entire career helping the lost get found. He helped teenagers who committed minor crimes learn to use their time constructively with skills for camping, fishing, helping others, repairing clocks, vehicle maintenance, and many more. He then helped children in need of care as a child protection social worker. During this time, he made many friends through the foster care system, legal community, and other community services. For the last 30 years, he worked at the Great Falls Pre-Release Center, primarily as the Administrator.
Paul Cory was a Rotarian for many years, ultimately becoming a Paul Harris Fellow. Our club has sent a donation to the Showdown Ski Patrol in his honor.
Our hearts go out to Paul's wife, Lorri, and daughter, Samantha, in this time of loss.
