Hat’s Off & Call to Action

As President of the Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation, I wish to extend my sincerest gratitude to each of you who supported the MRTA/MRTF fundraising which made 2010 such a fantastic year. I wish to give my HAT’S OFF to all who participated in our MRTA/MRTF fundraising activities which made it possible for us to pay $136,000 on the building mortgage in 2010. This year is shaping up to be another great year thanks to your commitment to MRTA and your generosity.

MRTF’s priority continues to seek contributions and to organize fundraising campaigns to reduce the mortgage of the new office/classroom facility. Our building is our billboard and has given us status and permanency at the voice of education retirees. Nevertheless MRTA is still assisting educators in the classroom. The Foundation sponsored a fundraising luncheon, featuring Missouri’s First Lady Georgeanne Nixon, for our Classroom Grant Program. The most successful fundraising luncheon ever! Generous MRTA members and corporate contributions enabled us to award seven MRTF Classroom Grants to worthwhile projects across the state. Grant winners are featured on the web at www.mortf.org.

CALL TO ACTION: Our primary fundraising event for 2011 will be our address mailing label campaign. Early in May 19,000 MRTA members received a gift of address mailing labels from MRTA/MRTF. It is our hope that every post office in Missouri will see our labels with the MRTA and MRTF logos as they travel to every state and country of the world. As you use and enjoy these address labels will you send an appreciation contribution for them? Any amount will be appreciated and will add up in a hurry. If all 19,000 members would send MRTF a minimum contribution of $20 we could retire the mortgage on our office facility this year. Any surplus dollars would be added to our MRTF Endowment fund.

It is so exciting to be able to announce that on June 15, 2011 we were able to reduce our debt by another $39,500 from the address mailing labels and membership dollars reducing our mortgage below $196,000 on an asset valued at $940,000.

For our second fundraising activity this year and after being absent for a year, our popular Silent Auction will return. This is planned for the MRTA Annual Meeting being held September 13 and 14, 2011 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City. We are asking every MRTA unit and every Board member to contribute an item to the auction. Cash gifts will be gladly accepted in lieu of auction items. Within this newsletter is more information on some of the items being offered at the Silent Auction and a chance for everyone to participate through a sealed bid opportunity.

It has become clear that now, more than ever, we must rely on the generosity of you, the members of MRTA, who are committed to MRTA’s future to pay off our MRTA/MRTF office facility and MRTF classroom center. If you have not responded with a tax deductible contribution for your address mailing labels please do so today. There is no deadline. We will make a second building mortgage payment this year and how large of a debt reduction we end up with in 2011 is up to you and your generosity.

As MRTA member donors, this enables each of us to communicate a sense of ownership in our office facility. Please make your tax deductible contribution payable to: Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation.

We are very grateful for all of you. Your legacy of service to children and education will stay alive through the Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation and the work of MRTA.

Jane Fullerton, President

Missouri Retired Teachers Foundation