New Elks National Foundation Video Available 

The ENF has been working hard during the past year to create a great video about the good works of the Elks. Copies of the video will be sent to each Lodge to show during Indoctrination, ENF events and any other occasion they have to promote the Elks.

 Visit our YouTube channel to be one of the first to see it, http://www.youtube.com/user/ElksNationalFndn.

ENF Grants additional $1.4 Million in Grants
From the Elks National Foundation

Three things were front and center on the minds of the ENF Trustees last weekend in Chicago:

1) The incredible fiscal year just ended, which saw the endowment fund rebound from a down year with 25.6 percent growth, record-breaking support from the membership, and the biggest year for bequests since 1991-92.

2) Although the Great Recession appears to have ended and the country is slowly recovering, many people and communities are still hurting.

3) Since we created the Community Investments Program in 2005, Elks Lodges have found increasingly creative and effective ways to use our grant money to improve the quality of life in their communities.

Meeting for the first time this fiscal year on May 8 in Chicago, the Board voted unanimously to spend an additional $900,000 on the Community Investments Program to expand the philanthropic reach of Elks Lodges.

The money will be used to double the dollar amount of Gratitude and Promise grants. These grants will now be worth up to $1,000.

"We've been so impressed by what the Lodges have accomplished with our CIP grants," ENF Director Jim O'Kelley said. "We can't wait to see what they do with twice the money."

"The membership has been so generous in their support of the Foundation," added Board Chairman Bob Sabin. "Now we're going to help them do more for their communities."

In addition, the Board increased the Bonus Grant pool to the state associations by $500,000. The Foundation now will award $1.5 million in bonus grants and a total of $7.9 million to the state associations. To see how the Foundation will help your state in 2010-11, please click here.

The additional grants increase the Foundation's operating budget for the year to an all-time high of $19.2 million.

Elks Training Program Update
From the Grand Lodge Newsletter

Thirty-seven State Associations reported participation by Lodges and Members in the 2009-2010 Elks Training Program, including a total of 1,212 Lodges and 12,864 Members.

Of the 37 State Associations, the following seven will receive an award in their respective group at the Grand Lodge Session in Orlando, FL in July: Group 1, Louisiana; Group 2, Maine; Group 3, Georgia; Group 4, Oklahoma; Group 5, Michigan; and Group 6, California/Hawaii & New York (Tied)

Ten State Associations reported 100 percent Lodge Participation: Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland/Delaware/District of Columbia, Minnesota, Nevada, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia. They will be mailed their awards.

The Grand Lodge, Lodge Activities/State Associations Committee thanks all those states and Members who participated. Special thanks to the State Chairmen and committees for administering the program, showing that Elks Care--Elks Share.

If you have news or information of interest to the members of the Maine Elks Association, please send your articles to Public Relations Director Wayne Cotterly at meapr@fairpoint.net for inclusion in the MEA Calendar, the MEA Website, or future issues of this newsletter.

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