Illinois Retired Teachers Association Foundation Fact Sheet
The Illinois Retired Teachers Association Foundation is a charitable organization and does not use IRTA dues money for any of the programs listed below.
Where does the money come from to support these programs?
Our funds come from two basic sources. First of all, our 93 Units across the state collect money from their members to support the Foundation. In addition, most of our units honor their deceased members with memorial donations to the Foundation. In the last 5-6 years, we have conducted a direct-mail fundraiser. It is often referred to as the “Label” fundraiser. Last year we received donations in the amount of $167,451. The mailing included individualized mailing labels, a personalized note-pad and 2 bookmarks. The cost of the product, the postage and the 3 mailings was $51,614. This means our net income was $115,837. In other words, the Foundation Programs listed below receive 69% of monies donated to the label campaign.
Programs:
Retired Teachers Assistance We are currently assisting 15 retired teachers with monthly stipends that total $4,850 a month. This is an annual total of $58,200.00. Our average monthly assistance check is $309.00. The checks range in amount from $160.00 to $500.00.
These grants are based on need. Recipients are required to fill out an application listing their monthly income from all sources and their monthly expenses. They are also required to send in their most recent tax return. A committee, made up of the Foundation Chair, the Foundation Treasurer, the Foundation Vice-Chair, the IRTA Executive Director and the IRTA Comptroller, reviews these applications and makes a determination as to whether the Foundation will assist them. Most of the people we assist retired many years ago and receive very small pensions. Many are single women or disabled individuals.
We are currently paying real estate taxes for one person. Before we started to pay the taxes, they were being charged on a credit card.
The Foundation will also assist people with one-time needs. These needs could be anything from medical expenses to paying back taxes so that a recipient doesn’t lose their house.
Scholarships (for aspiring teachers)
We provide six (6) $1,500 scholarships to juniors or seniors in college who are majoring in Education. Applications are made available on-line and are mailed to all the community colleges in Illinois. When we determine applicants have met all of our requirements, our Foundation Area Reps make a decision on the winner from each Area.
Excellence in Education Grants for Teachers We provide $15,000 worth of small grants to Pre-School through High School teachers for projects that they would like to do in their classrooms or for supplies that their school districts can’t afford to provide. Each year we rotate the areas from which we accept applications. We started in the Southern Illinois counties, then the Central Illinois counties and finally the Northern counties. In 2011 we gave out 36 grants in the Southern Illinois counties.
I CARE Ombudsman Program We support a Nursing Home Ombudsman program that sends volunteers into nursing homes to protect resident rights. ($26,000.00 annual) The Illinois Retired Teachers Association Foundation is designated as the provider agency for the Ombudsman Program for the Area 07.
ICARE provides investigative services, regular presence in long term care facilities, public information and community education, issue advocacy, resident and family council development and support, inquiry processing, long term care facility staff in-service training and volunteer management for the region’s 12 county area.
The Foundation has operated ICARE, formerly known as Project Advocate, Long Term Care Ombudsman program for Area 7 since 1992. Over the past 13 years, I CARE has been recognized as a leader in the state in terms of the quality of service offered to residents and their families, the large number of volunteers advocates recruited, the high volume of trainings offered to volunteers and staff on a state wide basis, the effective public information campaign achieved partly through producing and staffing of a public television show entitled “Quality Care Today”, the systems legislative advocacy provided through the Regional Ombudsman’s roles in several statewide workgroups and in the Statewide Ombudsman Association and in encouraging Pioneer Practices to be implemented in the facilities.
The Illinois Retired Teachers Association Foundation is a charitable organization and does not use IRTA dues money for any of the programs listed below.
Where does the money come from to support these programs?
Our funds come from two basic sources. First of all, our 93 Units across the state collect money from their members to support the Foundation. In addition, most of our units honor their deceased members with memorial donations to the Foundation. In the last 5-6 years, we have conducted a direct-mail fundraiser. It is often referred to as the “Label” fundraiser. Last year we received donations in the amount of $167,451. The mailing included individualized mailing labels, a personalized note-pad and 2 bookmarks. The cost of the product, the postage and the 3 mailings was $51,614. This means our net income was $115,837. In other words, the Foundation Programs listed below receive 69% of monies donated to the label campaign.
Programs:
Retired Teachers Assistance We are currently assisting 15 retired teachers with monthly stipends that total $4,850 a month. This is an annual total of $58,200.00. Our average monthly assistance check is $309.00. The checks range in amount from $160.00 to $500.00.
These grants are based on need. Recipients are required to fill out an application listing their monthly income from all sources and their monthly expenses. They are also required to send in their most recent tax return. A committee, made up of the Foundation Chair, the Foundation Treasurer, the Foundation Vice-Chair, the IRTA Executive Director and the IRTA Comptroller, reviews these applications and makes a determination as to whether the Foundation will assist them. Most of the people we assist retired many years ago and receive very small pensions. Many are single women or disabled individuals.
We are currently paying real estate taxes for one person. Before we started to pay the taxes, they were being charged on a credit card.
The Foundation will also assist people with one-time needs. These needs could be anything from medical expenses to paying back taxes so that a recipient doesn’t lose their house.
Scholarships (for aspiring teachers)
We provide six (6) $1,500 scholarships to juniors or seniors in college who are majoring in Education. Applications are made available on-line and are mailed to all the community colleges in Illinois. When we determine applicants have met all of our requirements, our Foundation Area Reps make a decision on the winner from each Area.
Excellence in Education Grants for Teachers We provide $15,000 worth of small grants to Pre-School through High School teachers for projects that they would like to do in their classrooms or for supplies that their school districts can’t afford to provide. Each year we rotate the areas from which we accept applications. We started in the Southern Illinois counties, then the Central Illinois counties and finally the Northern counties. In 2011 we gave out 36 grants in the Southern Illinois counties.
I CARE Ombudsman Program We support a Nursing Home Ombudsman program that sends volunteers into nursing homes to protect resident rights. ($26,000.00 annual) The Illinois Retired Teachers Association Foundation is designated as the provider agency for the Ombudsman Program for the Area 07.
ICARE provides investigative services, regular presence in long term care facilities, public information and community education, issue advocacy, resident and family council development and support, inquiry processing, long term care facility staff in-service training and volunteer management for the region’s 12 county area.
The Foundation has operated ICARE, formerly known as Project Advocate, Long Term Care Ombudsman program for Area 7 since 1992. Over the past 13 years, I CARE has been recognized as a leader in the state in terms of the quality of service offered to residents and their families, the large number of volunteers advocates recruited, the high volume of trainings offered to volunteers and staff on a state wide basis, the effective public information campaign achieved partly through producing and staffing of a public television show entitled “Quality Care Today”, the systems legislative advocacy provided through the Regional Ombudsman’s roles in several statewide workgroups and in the Statewide Ombudsman Association and in encouraging Pioneer Practices to be implemented in the facilities.