Thursday, October 11, 2012

Civic Association Sets 2013 Community Chest Goal at $90,000


by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

The Sewanee Civic Association voted at its Oct. 3 meeting to set the 2013 Community Chest goal at $90,000.

More than 40 people attended the dinner meeting at the Sewanee Inn. In setting the goal for the Community Chest, the membership approved funding for 25 organizations and initiatives in Sewanee and surrounding communities, assuming the full goal amount is met. The Community Chest board prepared the budget after evaluating the applications. Vice President Susan Holmes said the board was leading the fund drive this year, rather than appointed chairs and co-chairs, as in the past. The board will solicit gifts from past contributors and will extend the request for donations via social media, the Sewanee Classifieds email list and the Sewanee Mountain Messenger. New this year will be a mailing to all 37375 and 37383 zip-code residents asking for donations. Also new this year, contributors may donate through PayPal. (Go to the PayPal website, select “transfer,” then “send someone money,” and when prompted, enter the email address <sewaneecommunitychest@gmail.com>.)

At the meeting, members also discussed the option of charging fees for the Sewanee Classifieds email that the Civic Association administers. The membership approved charging non-Civic Association members a $5 annual fee for the Sewanee Classifieds beginning in January 2013. 

Sewanee Classifieds was created last May from a merger between the University Classifieds and the community email electronic mailing list; the combined list now has 1,020 members. The Civic Association agreed to administer the new Sewanee Classifieds, with past Civic Association president Elizabeth Clark Duncan acting as manager. The web service GroupSpaces hosts the account at a cost of $200 annually. Sewanee Classifieds users will be able to pay the fee at the GroupSpaces website. 
The “announcements only” option for Sewanee Classifieds will continue to be free, since only public service announcements and safety bulletins are sent. 

Holmes pointed out that since Civic Association annual dues are only $5, and the Sewanee Classifieds fee is waived for Civic Association members, Sewanee Classifieds users might want to consider joining the Civic Association. The organization plans to use revenue from Sewanee Classifieds to pay for board insurance and to help fund the Community Chest and future Civic Association projects. 

Kim Seavey was elected secretary of the Civic Association, replacing Louise Irwin, who asked to step down.

No comments:

Post a Comment