March may be too late to make a New Year’s resolution or to plan a winter vacation, but it’s not too late to donate to the Elks National Foundation! Tom Wojnar, ENF Chair of Melbourne, Fla., Lodge No. 1744, reminds other Lodge ENF Chairs that March is their last opportunity to make sure all ENF information for the year is in order.
“Look at your warning lists and check your Record of Donations report,” Wojnar warns. “The year goes by quickly, and you don’t want to miss the chance for your members to make their annual gift.”
Wojnar encourages donors in his Lodge to send their donations directly to the ENF so they are processed as quickly as possible. He wants the best possible return on their investment.
“Remember, the ENF needs money continuously, not just at the end of the year,” he says. “If you wait until the end of the year to send in donations, you’ve lost 11 months of interest [from the ENF Endowment Fund]!”
Though his Lodge has exceeded the GER’s per-capita goal and he ranks seventh out of 109 Lodges in Florida in the Chairperson’s Challenge, Wojnar always finds room for improvement. Next year, Wojnar wants to focus on higher ENF participation from his Lodge members. As a frequent visitor to the Report and Standings page of the ENF website, he found the new ENF Fundraising Analytics report very informative.
“I was surprised to see our Lodge has less than 5% member support of the ENF,” he says. “Seeing that motivates me to do better.”
As an ENF Chairperson, we know you want to do your best. Take Tom Wojnar’s advice; fill out remittances and mail any checks you received in 2009-10. Best practice is to send donations in as you receive them. Also, encourage donors to make their annual gift to the ENF before the year is up. It’s not too late––yet!