Group Rules & Procedures
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Meetings
Meetings are held at the start of each quarter on the second Tuesday at 7pm. Meeting months are January, April, July, October.
Meetings are held either in person or virtual via Zoom (this is decided on a case-by-case basis)
Members should feel welcome to have family members join the meetings. A family/group can be a member, they are just allowed one cause submission and one vote each quarter. Essentially, a submission/vote equates to a $100 donation.
Meetings serve as a way for members to share ideas, brainstorm cause submissions and collaborate face to face. Meetings are completely optional, members who can’t/don’t attend meetings can still be involved in the group. Meetings generally last 30-45 minutes.
Member Submissions
Every member is allowed to submit one (1) cause each quarter. The cause must be considered “worthy” of receiving a donation AND be in Colchester. Causes can be existing non-profits, groups, businesses, projects, service organizations, individuals, etc. As long as there is a viable and reasonable need for the funds, we are allowed to give a tax-deductible donation to the cause.
Submitting a cause each quarter is optional. Every member submission will be added to the voting survey for all members to consider and vote on each quarter.
Members can submit a cause at the quarterly meeting or email their cause submission to [email protected] before the quarterly meeting. If more than one member submits the same cause, it will be listed on the voting survey one time.
Voting
Every member has the opportunity to vote on the causes they want to see funded each quarter. All member submissions are added to an online survey after the quarterly meeting. The survey link is sent via email to all members after the meeting. Voting closes at the end of the day Friday after the Tuesday meeting.
Votes are anonymous. We ask members to only vote one time per quarter.
Using the survey, members are asked to choose the top 3 causes they’d like to see funded. Their #1 pick receives 3 points, their #2 pick receives 2 points, and their #3 pick receives 1 point.
After the voting period has ended, Kim and Brian tally up all the points. The three causes with the highest number of total points are the ones that will receive the group’s donations.
Voting is optional. It is a way to democratically decide where to donate the group’s collective donations. The point of Colchester Cares giving group is to combine financial resources to make more of an impact, which is why we collect cause ideas and then select 3 causes to donate to each quarter.
Cause Winners
Once the points are tallied from the survey, we determine the 3 causes with the most points. The three causes with the most points each receive an equal amount of the group's total donations (33%).
For example, if we have 30 members and every member makes their $100 donation, we have $3,000 to give that quarter.
First place would receive $1000
Second place would receive $1000
Third place would receive $1000
Survey Tie Breaker
In the event of a point tie on the survey, the cause with the highest number of votes would win. If there is still a tie, Kim and Brian will choose the winning cause from the tie options.
Submitting Donations
Members should submit their $100 donation no later than the Friday after each quarterly meeting. Donations can be submitted online using debit/credit by going to donate.colchestercares.org. Checks can also be sent, see donate.colchestercares.org or instructions.
Your $100 donation can be submitted before the quarterly meeting, just let Kim/Brian know so they can help keep track.
Kim and Brian DO NOT receive donations and cash/check/money should not be submitted to them. Money goes directly to our non-profit partner The Givinga Foundation. When you submit a donation, we do not see credit/debit or personal information, therefore we cannot track which members have and have not submitted a donation. All we see is the last 4 digits of the card used.
Once the donation is submitted, you will see a follow up screen that you can save/print for tax purposes. Any processing fees associated with credit card use are covered either by Givinga or Kim/Brian. This means 100% of member’s $100 quarterly donations go to our chosen causes.
Sending Checks to Recipients
Once winners are chosen and donations have been collected, Kim/Brian notify the winners. We then submit the winners to Givinga. Givinga sends donation checks to each recipient via mail.
Meetings
Meetings are held at the start of each quarter on the second Tuesday at 7pm. Meeting months are January, April, July, October.
Meetings are held either in person or virtual via Zoom (this is decided on a case-by-case basis)
Members should feel welcome to have family members join the meetings. A family/group can be a member, they are just allowed one cause submission and one vote each quarter. Essentially, a submission/vote equates to a $100 donation.
Meetings serve as a way for members to share ideas, brainstorm cause submissions and collaborate face to face. Meetings are completely optional, members who can’t/don’t attend meetings can still be involved in the group. Meetings generally last 30-45 minutes.
Member Submissions
Every member is allowed to submit one (1) cause each quarter. The cause must be considered “worthy” of receiving a donation AND be in Colchester. Causes can be existing non-profits, groups, businesses, projects, service organizations, individuals, etc. As long as there is a viable and reasonable need for the funds, we are allowed to give a tax-deductible donation to the cause.
Submitting a cause each quarter is optional. Every member submission will be added to the voting survey for all members to consider and vote on each quarter.
Members can submit a cause at the quarterly meeting or email their cause submission to [email protected] before the quarterly meeting. If more than one member submits the same cause, it will be listed on the voting survey one time.
Voting
Every member has the opportunity to vote on the causes they want to see funded each quarter. All member submissions are added to an online survey after the quarterly meeting. The survey link is sent via email to all members after the meeting. Voting closes at the end of the day Friday after the Tuesday meeting.
Votes are anonymous. We ask members to only vote one time per quarter.
Using the survey, members are asked to choose the top 3 causes they’d like to see funded. Their #1 pick receives 3 points, their #2 pick receives 2 points, and their #3 pick receives 1 point.
After the voting period has ended, Kim and Brian tally up all the points. The three causes with the highest number of total points are the ones that will receive the group’s donations.
Voting is optional. It is a way to democratically decide where to donate the group’s collective donations. The point of Colchester Cares giving group is to combine financial resources to make more of an impact, which is why we collect cause ideas and then select 3 causes to donate to each quarter.
Cause Winners
Once the points are tallied from the survey, we determine the 3 causes with the most points. The three causes with the most points each receive an equal amount of the group's total donations (33%).
For example, if we have 30 members and every member makes their $100 donation, we have $3,000 to give that quarter.
First place would receive $1000
Second place would receive $1000
Third place would receive $1000
Survey Tie Breaker
In the event of a point tie on the survey, the cause with the highest number of votes would win. If there is still a tie, Kim and Brian will choose the winning cause from the tie options.
Submitting Donations
Members should submit their $100 donation no later than the Friday after each quarterly meeting. Donations can be submitted online using debit/credit by going to donate.colchestercares.org. Checks can also be sent, see donate.colchestercares.org or instructions.
Your $100 donation can be submitted before the quarterly meeting, just let Kim/Brian know so they can help keep track.
Kim and Brian DO NOT receive donations and cash/check/money should not be submitted to them. Money goes directly to our non-profit partner The Givinga Foundation. When you submit a donation, we do not see credit/debit or personal information, therefore we cannot track which members have and have not submitted a donation. All we see is the last 4 digits of the card used.
Once the donation is submitted, you will see a follow up screen that you can save/print for tax purposes. Any processing fees associated with credit card use are covered either by Givinga or Kim/Brian. This means 100% of member’s $100 quarterly donations go to our chosen causes.
Sending Checks to Recipients
Once winners are chosen and donations have been collected, Kim/Brian notify the winners. We then submit the winners to Givinga. Givinga sends donation checks to each recipient via mail.
