| FEBRUARY 6, 2019 --
Members have asked what Leaders Conference is all about. Letters have gone out to all Granges promoting the conference and expressing the State Grange’s desire to have at least one representative present at the Conference.
Leaders Conference is an opportunity for Grange members throughout New England and New York to gather, get to know one another. This year’s Conference will feature workshops that will touch on themes like membership development, leadership and other topics that will help us to grow our Granges for the future. A complete schedule of events including the workshop topics will be sent out to all Granges and states within the region when those workshops are finalized.
As I mentioned in the letter, early reservation of rooms and registration for the conference is extremely important as we expect high attendance and the demand for hotel rooms in the Norwich area is always strong.
The annual Bonding letter went out to Granges in December. The deadline was January 15. Unfortunately, as of this writing, there are many Granges still outstanding. The State Grange pays the bonding in one check even if there are outstanding Grange payments. Please get your bonding in to me as soon as possible.
Questions have been asked about the Pomona Incorporations. Unfortunately, this is a long drawn out process, especially with the involvement of lawyers. We are still sorting through the requirements and the paperwork required both by the State of Connecticut and the Internal Revenue Service.
One unintended result of this process is the revelation that the fiscal years of some of our Granges are not in line with the State Grange. All Granges in the State of Connecticut must be on the Oct. 1 through September 30 fiscal year to be covered under the State Grange Group Exemption. Letters to this effect will be going out to all Subordinate and Pomona Granges explaining the requirement and how it can be resolved. Most Granges begin their fiscal years on October 1 so for them it will not be a problem. For others this may require a vote of the Grange to change or it may require a by-law change. In all cases, we will ask Granges to tell us (the State Grange) how your fiscal year falls. If it is a January 1 to December 31 year, we will ask you to tell us the steps you are taking to make the change.
Maintaining your status as exempt under the State Grange group exemption is highly important. You are shielded by the State Grange from filing long form tax returns with the IRS and are able to satisfy filing requirements by filing 990N e-postcards. We thank you in advance for working with us on this task.
We hope to have Blue Books and State Directories out to all Granges as soon as possible. Unfortunately, it’s been difficult compiling the information for these books. We apologize for the delay.
We remind all Granges of the plethora of regalia and other equipment and supplies available at the Central Office. Give me a call or send an e-mail to learn more! |
