Mission Statement for ZCF Zeb’s General Store Charitable Fund (ZCF) will make contributions to organizations that seek to improve the welfare of children in the Mt. Washington Valley. Such organizations should have a non profit status, although this is not a requirement for being a recipient of the fund. For purposes of definition, The Mt. Washington Valley includes the towns of Eaton, Madison, the Conways, Bartlett and Jackson. Children are defined as between the ages of 5 and 16. Operating Procedures Zeb’s General Store will make every effort to make an annual contribution to the fund. Such contributions will typically take place in the month of December. The amount and timing of the contribution is entirely at the discretion of the owners of Zeb’s General Store. It is hoped that Zeb’s General Store can contribute $10,000 per year to the fund for the foreseeable future to allow the fund to grow its asset base. This amount may be less and is, again, at the discretion of the owners of the store. All monies of the fund will be segregated in an interest bearing savings account in the name of ZCF. The fund will be the property of Zeb’s General Store until such time as the “fund advisors” (see below) determine that the fund is of a size that warrants applying for a non profit status, whereupon the fund will be a separate corporate entity. All decisions regarding grants will be made by the owners of Zeb’s General Store. Zeb’s General Store will, at its discretion, select advisors to sit on an advisory board for the fund and make all decisions regarding making grants to those entities who have applied for grants from the fund. ZCF will solicit applications for grants from the fund. All grants must be in writing (electronic submissions are acceptable) and contain the information requested. The fund will not make more than three grants per year. No individual grant can exceed $2,000. This ceiling can be raised in subsequent years by the advisors depending upon growth of the fund. All Benefit Request Forms must be completed by two submission dates: December 31 and June 30. The advisors will meet in February and August to review the benefit request forms and make a decision as to who will receive monies from ZCF. The ZCF advisors may change these date at their discretion. The grants from the ZCF will not exceed more than 60% of principal in any one year. It is hoped that the assets of the ZCF will grow each year through contributions and investment income such that the annual awards can become larger and increase in number. The goal at the early stage of the fund is to grow the assets of the fund. Contributions by individuals or other entities to the fund will be welcome but not solicited. Copies of this Mission Statement and Grant Application Form will be available at the Zeb’s General Store and on the Zeb’s website. All applicants, who are successful recipients of a grant from Zeb's Charitable Fund, are required to acknowledge receipt of the gift, in writing, within 60 days of receipt of the funds. Failure to acknowledge may result in the forfeiture of the grant. Any public announcements, such as a letter to the editor in the local papers, etc. would be most welcome. Grant Applications All grant requests must be submitted by December 31 for consideration by the ZCF Board of Advisors in its February meeting. All grant requests must be submitted by June 30 for consideration by the ZCF Board of Advisors in its August meeting. Awards from the fund will be made not later than March 30 and September 30 for those applicants approved during the bi-annul submission periods. The Request Form must be presented to shop@zebs.com or by mail to the attention of Peter Edwards or David Peterson. The application must not be longer than three pages (excludes supporting materials). The application will contain information for the following categories. The application will be rejected if the information is incomplete. Date of Application: Name of Organization: Address: Contact Person(s) name, address, phone number and email address: Names of officers and members of the board for the organization: IRS Status: Amount Requested: Description of Organization: Description of Purpose/Program/Project for which grant is requested: Have other applications been made for this, if so, from where? Project or program budget if applicable: List of supporting materials Zeb’s Charitable Fund Press Release Mission Statement and Request Form PDF format