D2Care

Well, I’d like to bring you a little update. On December 7, Form 1023 was sent into the IRS. This is the application to gain tax exempt status as a recognized 501(c)(3). You will be able to find a link to the form on the website. www.d2care.org We have been told by multiple people who have started non-profits that if we did everything correctly, we should hear in about 4 months if we were successful and have our tax exempt non profit status. However, whether we achieve that notification in 4 months or a bit beyond that, the tax exempt status will be retroactive to the date of our incorporation which is June 24, 2006.

Marcy is working hard on prettying up our logo. For those of you that have already sent in membership dues, once she is done, we will print the Charter Membership certificates. They will be in the mail shortly after that.

Other news. Jennifer is working on the Adopt-A-Dog pages of the website. We hope to have those available for use by the beginning of the year. We have already been contacted by rescues and transporters asking when they will be available.

We need to set up a new member run committee prior to activation of the Adopt-A-Dog pages. This committee will help update and maintain the adoption pages. Time commitment for this committee may vary depending on the number of volunteers and the number of adoption listing requests. However, the current estimate is 5-10 hours per week. Need easy and reliable computer/ internet access daily. Attention to detail and good communication skills are a must.

In January, the D2Care Membership Committee will be announcing the next elections. We will send out the criteria and the application/questionnaire for running for the Board of D2Care prior to the announcement. Of course, in order to run for the Board you will need to be a Charter Member.

So, this is the time to remind folks that we are accepting Charter Memberships until June 30, 2007. However elections will be held between March and May of 2007 for the first full 9 Member Board. In order to throw your name in the pot, you will need to be a Charter Member with dues received by February 15.

We are looking for members to the following committees:

• Membership (responsible for notifying members of upcoming elections and members meetings),
• Funding (setting the criteria for use of the D2Care funds),
• Marketing and Merchandise (setting up a marketing plan and creating and promoting D2Care merchandise),
• Web (responsible for the day to day maintenance and operations of the website),
• Adopt-A-Dog (responsible for maintaining the adoption pages).

Katrina

President, D2Care

Well, we have reached a major milestone in the creation of our organization. As most of you are aware, we began taking Charter Memberships on November 15, 2006. Hooray!!!!!!

So just a few more updates. We completed and approved the Bylaws on November 5, 06 at our second Board meeting. The paperwork for the 501(c)(3) tax exempt status is pending. We are only waiting for the signature page to the Bylaws to make its way around the US then we will mail everything in. I suspect that will be before the end of November. And rumor has it that it takes approximately 4-6 months for the IRS to verify approval. However, tax exempt status will be retroactive to the day we incorporated, June 24, 2006.

Our September Board meeting minutes are on the News Page. In keeping with our open door policy, we will continue to post minutes. However, only members of the organization may request a copy of the financial report. A full report will be available at the March or May Members meetings.

Our committees are working hard. The Marketing and Merchandise Committee has selected (with your help) a logo for our organization. This logo draft has gone back to the member that created it for some fine tuning. Once that is done, it will be posted everywhere.

The Membership Committee worked very hard with the Board to establish some membership guidelines and to help us define the role of the members within our organization.

The Web Committee has determined the categories for the website, and will soon be working hard to get those in place. I also believe Jennifer will be back working on the adoption pages so we can start posting dogs in need of homes.  I’m looking forward to that page.

The Funding Committee has reviewed an application from another organization for disbursement of funds. They will soon be finalizing and writing policy to go with the form. I believe the first goal is funding of emergency vet care for deaf dogs.

I would like to give a personal Thank You for your support in our endeavors. Although we still have a distance to go, we would not have been able to get this far without all of you.

Katrina
President, D2Care

Sadly, Pam was unable to continue in her Board capacity. She submitted her resignation from the Board affective August 30, 2006. Due to personal issues in her life, she does not know how often she will be able to get to a computer, so wanted to tell everyone “thank you for your trust and support”. Myra Ellis agreed to take on the role of Treasurer until the next election. Please welcome Myra to the D2Care Board position of Treasurer.

Pam’s resignation, obviously, left us short a Board Director. We, as a Board, had already built into the Bylaws that we would have two weeks to fill a vacancy before going back to the membership, but had not determined the logistics. So, after discussion, we decided to revisit the election polls on the helpingdeafdogs list. Becca Incledon was the next runner up, and after approaching her, she has agreed to accept the open Board position. Her tenure started on September 1, 2006. Please welcome Becca to the D2Care Board of Directors.

Becca has much work to do to get caught up. She is reviewing the current version of the Bylaws. She will shortly submit her bio for the website to Jennifer, so take a peak there in a few days and find out a bit about your newest Board member.

Remember, we have our first Board meeting, to be held via “chat room” on September 10, so come back a few days after that to read the minutes. Each of our committees continue to progress in their missions.

The membership committee is almost done with their initial assignment. Many of the decisions left are for the Board to make with input from the committee. But membership dues have been set at $15 per individual and $25 per family living at the same address (two votes per family fee, with voters being 18 or over). We are not yet accepting memberships, and won’t until we actually submit the paperwork for the 501c3 exemption. That really should be done by the end of September or early October. There will be a yearly fee for membership from July 1 thru June 30 of the next year.

The membership will have two meetings per year, January and May. The January meeting is to review the Board candidates and to get the polls set up for voting. The May meeting is to announce the new Board members and to review that year’s financial statement. Other agenda items will be determined prior to each meeting. These will also be held via “chat room”.

The Web committee continues to review and refine the menu items to expand the website. The current article has not been replaced with a new one as of yet because our webmaster is waiting for “google” to catch up with us and do whatever “google” does with websites. As soon as that happens, then we will have new articles posted. One is already waiting in the wings, so be prepared for a new and exciting story on the home page.

The funding committee is creating the application for funds from D2Care. Discussion is occurring to determine application procedures and qualifications.

We have a new committee. This is our Marketing and Merchandise committee. They have just begun the process of planning for marketing and merchandise development for our organization. They are currently working on a “logo” to give our organization that special “look”.

Thank you for your continued support and enthusiasm. Without you, we would not be able to do what we are doing to help deaf dogs all over.

Katrina
President, D2Care
ww.d2care.org

It’s time for the fun to begin!  We’re putting together a Marketing and Merchandising Committee.

Our Mission Statement is:

“The purpose of the marketing and merchandising committee is to develop, design and market materials and merchandise for the purpose of fundraising and promotion of the D2Care organization.”

We’ll keep you posted on who we are and our progress. 

Here’s the fun part.  We want YOUR input.  Let us know what you want.  Is it T-shirts and bumper stickers? Or how about hats and coffee mugs?  We’ll have to start out slow so we want to know what you want most.  Don’t forget to include colors in your suggestions.

You can email me by going to the D2Care “About Us” page and then to the “Board” page.  Click on the “Send a Message” link next to my name.

Warmly,

Lori Skinner
V. P. D2Care

Well, it’s time for another progress update for D2Care. 

We are getting very close to completing our Bylaws with only a few decisions yet to make in the body of the Bylaws. Once completed and approved by the Board, you will be able to find a copy on our website.  Our first “official” Board meeting will be held on September 10. Visit our website a few days after that, and read the minutes.

The Membership Committee is working with the Board to answer a few remaining questions concerning the membership Articles.  The application is complete, but has to be converted to a format that can be used on the website.  Look for our announcement that we are accepting memberships.

The Web Committee is progressing in the development of an outline for the website. They have collected “dream big” ideas for the website and are now categorizing those ideas for the menu. The next pages to be developed will be the membership and donation pages.

The Funding Committee has collected “need help applications” from other nonprofits that provide funds for animal rescue and vet care. They are reviewing these to create an application that will work for us.

As soon as the Bylaws are complete and approved by the Board, we will complete the paperwork for the 501c3 application. Once that paperwork is sent in, we begin the process of writing policies to augment and support the Bylaws.  The Bylaws are the organizations foundation, while the policies are the structure and framework of the organization.

Katrina

President D2Care