CONTRIBUTIONS: General unrestricted donations support scholarship programs and grants, or donations may be used to establish or sustain existing programs. Donors may choose to include the Foundation in an estate plan. A gift to the Foundation is also a meaningful and dignified way to express sympathy for the loss of a loved one or respect for accomplishment. YOUR TAX DEDUCTION: The Anchor Bay Community Foundation is a certified 501(c)3 community foundation. Contributions to the Anchor Bay Community Foundation Endowment Fund may be eligible for the Michigan Community Foundation Tax Credit and are also deductible for Federal income tax purposes. ENDOWMENT FUND: A Finance Committee oversees a diversified investment program—one that has over the years brought a substantial return on our initial and ongoing investments. Portfolio value reports and financial statements are reviewed monthly before the Board of Directors. SCHOLARSHIPS AND GRANTS: Awards for higher education scholarships for liberal arts, science/engineering, business & technology, performing arts, fine arts, law enforcement/criminal justice and medical, and community grants are made by determination of the Board. Applications at Citizens State Bank lobby at 51066 Washington Street, New Baltimore. PROGRAMS: Contributions from the New Baltimore Lions Polar Bear Plunge dedicated to the Justin Mello Memorial Fund, along with Anchor Bay Community Foundation donations, have funded an identification program to hundreds of local children and to seniors suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The program, administered by the New Baltimore and Chesterfield Township Police Departments, includes an ID card with a current photo and vital information, all of which is integrated into the police departments' database, allowing immediate response to a missing child or senior. The program, provided free-of-charge, has been implemented at schools and senior facilities, and at public events, and is available at the New Baltimore and Chesterfield Township Police. MEMORIALS AND HONORARIUMS: Memorial donations in 2005-2006 acknowledged the lives and deaths of Justin Mello, Keith Marcola, Patricia Gendernalik, Mary McCracken, Leona Moos, Pope John Paul II, Juanita Smith, William J. Shaw, Darren R. Vermeulen, Alma Trebesch, Kathryn Powe, Henry Anthony Mello, Alice D. Sanders, Ruth Mae Shaw, Carmen Eggert, Mary Margaret Tuschak and Edwin Tolman. Honorarium donations were made to the Anchor Bay Mothers Club and the 2005-06 Anchor Bay School Board Members. EVENTS: Annual events include The Celebration Dinner" featuring dinner and cocktails, and honoring membership and contributions to the Foundation, and The Singing Christmas Tree"—a family holiday concert featuring the Anchor Bay Community Band and the New Baltimore Interfaith Choir. THE BOARD: The Board of Directors is a composite of interests, careers, and public activism that volunteer experience to this Foundation. Aside from the full Board, which meets monthly, various committees are in place—Event Planning, Finance, Fundraising, Grant and Scholarship.