The Serve America Act

President Obama signed into law on April 21, 2009 the Serve America Act.
Who is the new community service bill named after?

Do You Know the answer?

Crossing America in a Wheelchair

In 1973, David Whittaker joined the U.S. Marine Corps and severely
injured one of his eyes during a training exercise. Medically discharged
with impaired vision, he went to graduate school and then worked for an
airline. Four years ago, he developed heart disease and was hospitalized
“too many times to count”. Besides all his medical problems, Whittaker
became homeless. With so much to despair over, what did he do?

Whittaker founded Veteran Cottages, an organization that aims to get
homeless veterans off the streets. He also decided to travel across the
United States in his wheelchair to raise awareness and funds for
homeless veterans housing.

Whittaker’s “Wheelchair Across America” tour began on May 2 in Key
West, Florida. Moving through the southern states, he plans to turn
northward and go through California and Oregon before ending his tour
in Blaine, Washington.

Do-Not-Mail

The DMA is putting organizations on alert for the upcoming onslaught of “do-not-mail” legislative proposals. So far bills have been introduced in Florida and Connecticut. The DMA reports that these bills could cause the loss of over three million jobs and a $650 billion decline in consumer activity.

Serve America Act

President Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act into law on April 21, 2009. This new community service bill will expand AmeriCorps and promote community and public service. A publicity campaign will encourage Americans to volunteer, enlist in national-service programs, or take part-time or full-time nonprofit or government jobs. A Nonprofit Capacity Building Program will provide $5 million a year for five years to help small and medium size charities get training in financial planning, grant-proposal wiriting and complying with federal tax laws.

Flag Amendment

Sen. David Vitter, R-Louisiana, introduced legislation to pass a proposed constitutional amendment that would return to the American people the right to protect their flag from desecration. Senate Joint Resolution 15 reads, "The Congress shall have power to prohibit the physical desecration of the flag of the United States."

In six consecutive Congresses, the House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a proposed flag-protection amendment, only to see if fall short in the Senate by as little as one vote. To date, 50 states have passed memorializing resolutions, asking Congress to pass the flag-protection amendment and send it to the states for ratification.

Presidential Proposal

The President's most recent budget plans are creating "heartburn" for many in the nonprofit community. President Obama proposes limiting the ability of families to receive full credit for charitable contributions if the family income is $250,000 or more. The proposal would limit the deductibility to 28% rather than the actual tax bracket of the donor.

Mail Services

Let Heritage do your next mailing or direct mail campaign! Heritage uses the most state of the art graphics, printing, sorting and delivery methods to deliver MAXIMUM POSTAL DISCOUNTS. Our massive mail volume (millions of pieces each month) allows us to take advantage of postal rules that make minimum postal rates a reality for our partners.

Donations Doubled for MADD

Thanks to a new program called DonorBridge, which offers reliable inforation on nonprofits and makes charitable gift-giving easier, donors donating to Mothers Against Drunk Driving on May 20 doubled the value of their contribution! The funds were matched dollar for dollar to celebrate DonorBridge's launch.

Rising from Katrina's Ruins

In the early morning hours of Aug. 29, 2005, Raymond Cuevas hoped for the best and feared the worst. Hurrican Katrina was headed straight for Waveland, Mississippi, and American Legioin Post 77. Cuevas, the post commander, and fellow Legionnaires had done all they could do to prepare for the hurricane. But in the end, their efforts were for naught.

Cuevas made his way to the waterfront and saw that Post 77 had vanished. All that remained of the 13,000 square-foot building was a concrete slab, twisted steel beams, a granite monument and flagpole. Gone was the post safe, containing more than $6,000 in cash and checks. With their Legion home completely destroyed, the post commander wondered what the future might hold for his 350 members.

Nearly two years later, in June 2007, Legionnaires and Ladies' Auxiliary members of Post 77 - along with Waveland city officials - broke ground for the new post building. After a lot of time, money and effort, the post held a dedication ceremony for its new home in March.

Military Voting Act

American Legion Nation Commander David Rehbein has expressed his support of the Military Voting Protection Act of 2009 (MVP Act). The MVP Act of 2009 calls for requirements that directly address problems identified in the Election Assistance Commission’s 2007 survey report. It will establish a more timely system for military absentee balloting and ensure that military personnel are not disenfranchised by the circumstances of their service. Members of the Armed Forces must be afforded every opportunity to vote and for those ballots to be counted, regardless of the geographic location of their duty assignment.

IRS 501(c)(3) Classification up by 5.2%

According to the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the IRS reported that the number of groups classified under § 501(c)(3) IRC rose by 5.2% putting the total to nearly 1.2 million charities and private foundations. The article said that in 2008 over 79,000 new organizations applied to the IRS for classification as a tax-exempt organization under § 501(c)(3)!

An Old Rancher's Words of Wisdom

Greetings and Best Wishes to Everyone for a long cool summer! With all that is happening on the political scene in Washington, we thought it might be interesting to pull up some rural down-home wisdom that is good to remember.

Your fences need to be horse-high, pig-tight, and bull-strong.
Keep skunks and bankers and lawyers at a distance.
Life is simpler when you plow around the stump.
A bumble bee is considerably faster than a John Deere tractor.
Words that soak into your ears are whispered…not yelled.
Meanness don’t jes’ happen overnight.
Forgive your enemies…once.
Do not corner something that you know is meaner than you.
It don’t take a very big person to carry a grudge.
You cannot unsay a cruel word.
Every path has a few puddles.
When you wallow with pigs, expect to get dirty.
The best sermons are lived, not preached.
Most of the stuff people worry about ain’t never gonna happen, anyway.
Don’t judge folks by their relatives.
Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back,
you’ll enjoy it a second time.
Don’t interfere with somethin’ that ain’t botherin’you none.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin’.
Sometimes you get, and sometimes you get got.
The biggest troublemaker you’ll probably ever have to deal with, watches
you from the mirror every mornin’.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
Good judgment comes from experience, and a lotta that comes from
bad judgment.
Lettin’ the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin’ it back in.
If you get to thinkin’ you’re a person of some influence, try orderin’
somebody else’s dog around.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest
to God.

And everybody back at the Ranch all said “Amen”!

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