I've never argued i'm right, i have opinions and ideas, most steeped in the community's history. We know there were all kinds of missteps when Sun City opened and often time corrections were little more than by trial and error. With that out of the way, a quick story from the work session last week. One of the participants was a Gen X'er. He had moved here a short time ago, was extremely articulate and personable. He also was a tried and true techie guy which always impresses me. I'm lucky i can turn on my computer. I made a point to introduce myself to him after the meeting. We had a nice chat and shared some thoughts. Several of the working groups had talked about the RCSC restarting the bus tour (it stopped when the bus broke down and they didn't want to replace it). He laughed at the idea of getting on a bus with a bunch of other older potential buyers. As i am want to do, i pressed him. He had a great answer. He said he would rather have an app on his phone where he could jump in his car, hit the app and arrive at predetermined destination. Once there he could get a pre-programmed history or summation of the location. I know that's easily done, as many museum's use a similar technique complete with headsets rather than docents (guides). My initial reaction was; wow, brilliant. It still is, with one caveat. One of my problems is, i overthink almost everything. Analytical to a fault, his comments made me start looking at that next generation of home owners in Sun City. See, i freely admit, i don't get it/them. Think about it this way: I don't have restaurants deliver food to me; if i want it, i jump in the car and go buy it. I don't have my groceries picked up by someone else and brought to my door; we go pick them out ourselves. I've never been in an Uber nor have a i ever stayed at an Airbnb. I don't do online gaming with hundreds of others across the country. I guess all of which makes me a dinosaur to some. I suspect a good chunk of the folks my age are similar. We are fairly similar and probably more comfortable in social settings where we interact with one another. Many of us know our neighbors and keep a watchful eye out for them. If i told you it was even more structured through Sun City's first 50 years, would you be surprised? The point here is this; just maybe there will be a huge paradigm shift in the coming years. We know brick and mortar retail is being crushed by online retailers. Will that be the case for clubs and organizations in Sun City? Will the next generation of home buyers build relationships that aren't reliant on going to RCSC recreation centers, attending concerts at the Sun Bowl or volunteering and giving back to their community like those who came before us? If that's the case, thank God i'm old and on the way out.
In my previous work life, i unfortunately paid attention to mortality charts. Not because i was morbid (you know like scouring the daily death notices) but because our defined benefit pension plans were predicated on paying beneficiaries till the day they died (or their spouse died if they took the spousal option). The longer people lived, the more benefits we paid. I was fascinated at the steady increase in mortality rates. As a footnote, the past couple of years they have fallen (the covid19 impact i suspect). Be that as it may, the reality is the vast majority of us moving here are in the downside of our lives. Short of my neighbor who just turned 101 and moved here the day her house was completed (early 70's), we have less years in front of us than behind us. It's the exact reason we should live each day as it might be our last. The oddity of late is i have been thinking about several of the guys i went to high school with; more so how young they died and how much life they lost out on. If you are reading this, you most likely are a Sun City residents and are in your "golden years." For some, they aren't so golden, having lost a loved one or are having health issues that makes enjoying life more challenging. While we all tend to see life through our own lenses, which is often more active than some, we should never ignore there are those not so fortunate. Let me be very clear, i'm not talking about the panhandlers on Grand Ave, i mean your next door neighbor who is a shut-in or one of those struggling with deep depression or anxiety. My wife and i walk our dogs twice a day and i cannot tell you how many times over the past 20 years we have been walking by a house and asked her, "do you think anyone lives there?" There's so many homes with so little activity. Back in the day, there were at least two organizations that did wellness checks/daily phone calls. We used to be more in touch with the communities needs and available resources. I know, i am rambling, i do it often, mostly with myself. Emily and i are old friends and while we haven't always agreed, i understood her admonishment. I wasn't foretelling my sudden demise. I am honest enough to know we are only given today and we should take advantage of that. Doing anything less is folly on our part.
In my opinion, your post proves the importance of a Long Range Planning Committee. Let’s look at present trends and whether the money that is projected to be spent on future projects is what new buyers will actually be interested in having and/or participating in. Following up with your comments, how many of the hung-Ho theater group will be around to enjoy the project upon its final completion and how many of the next generation of buyers will embrace it? That’s the importance of a demographic study. I’m not opposed to spending money, I’m opposed to not spending it wisely. Bill, this one time where looking to the future is more important than looking to the past.
Bill, You are correct that we are quite a ways over the hill at this point in our lives. Fortunately I am able to enjoy it with only a few health issues and I have adjusted my spending habits to the money that I have coming in. I feel for those people who are not so lucky. Although RCSC has millions of dollars at their fingertips, I still hear that we have limited funds and staff to do the work that is needed. I believe that, so I have tried to offer up an avenue to access additional funding. Please stay with me while I explain. While serving on a Community Foundation Fund Board in my hometown, I learned something very interesting. The baby boomers hold 70% of the discretionary money in our country. We are the wealthiest generation ever because we have worked and saved most of our lives. We are currently in the beginning of the greatest transfer of wealth ever. Forbes estimated in 2021, that $61 TRILLION will transfer over the next 40 years. Most of that will go to family members, taxes, businesses, and charities. There are many articles about how nonprofits can access some of this very large amount of money, but there needs to be structure and a plan to do that. In my home town, Columbus NE, a city of 20,000+, the community has set a goal to try to encourage 5% of the local transfer of wealth to be donated to local charities. It is called Five to Thrive and they encourage local citizens to "invest in the community that invested in them". If every community can do that over a long period of time, it will be transformational to those areas. This is not taking the money that would be inherited by their children. There are tax incentives that enable people to bequest to charities and/or set up living trusts so that some of their hard earned money goes to charities of their choice, whether it is a church, food bank, arboretum, scholarships or any other favorite organization. Perhaps we could help RCSC with some of their/our hard to fund needs. I shared some of this information with Bill Cook this morning and how RCSC is perfectly set up to start exploring if we can do something similar in Sun City. Although RCSC is a nonprofit, it is not a charitable organization. However the Sun City Foundation is. That committee has done very good work to help Members with their lot assessments if needed and also sponsors the very successful Santa for Seniors campaign every year. I tried to explain that, if the Foundation, could broaden the scope of their mission, they are the perfect vehicle for accepting and dispersing money from donors, small and large. Certainly there would be obstacles to overcome and the devil is always in the details, but I encourage us to push our Dream buttons on, and see if this could work in SC. Perhaps a Community Foundation Fund, rather than RCSC or the Sun City Foundation, could be established. I am planting a seed for something positive that would be a long term plan to help Sun City to build on its wonderful past and present that we enjoy today. Certainly this would be something that would still be functioning after most of us are long gone. Another option would be to start a completely separate organization that could help RCSC as well as other Sun City charitable organizations such as the Posse, Sun City CAN, SCHOA, etc. I believe that Community Foundation Funds is a national organization that has tremendous resources to help. Now this is a positive endeavor that I could sink my teeth into. Are there any other takers? The mission of RCSC is "to provide for all Sun City residents the broadest range of recreational and social facilities possible to enhance their active lifestyle and well being." Helping seniors stay active, engaged and healthy is something many grants would want to help be successful. (Thinking along the lines of AARP Foundation, Banner Hospital Foundation, service groups, Kroger & Walmart Family Foundations, RCSC members through bequests and life estates, etc.) There is lots of money out there! Let's try to access it for Sun City in some shape or form. Thanks for reading, Janet Curry
Janet, Great suggestions! I’m interested in exploring possibilities for Sun City. Offering some non-profit grant writing experience. I think Community Foundation Funds would be a good inclusive start. RCSC should participate, not lead. They have more than enough to manage, IMHO.
Thanks, eyesopen! We might have to start with some of us as volunteers to write the initial grants. Although I don't consider myself a grant writer per se, I have written several competitive grants that were successful, pretty much all in the educational realm. I found it starts with a vision, find a funding source that supports that vision, and follow their directions for submitting the grants. As an example, I think health insurance companies would support keeping seniors healthy. I agree that RCSC has enough on their plates right now but I don't want to start something until the SAC committee and Long Range Planning Committee report back to the Board in the fall. The left hand needs to know what the right hand is doing. For now, I am planting a seed so that Sun City doesn't lose out on potential funding. Here is the article from Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/marvin...dented-generational-transfer/?sh=6027feb23869 A person can find numerous similar articles on the Internet under "Nonprofits: Greatest Transfer of Wealth". This is an article about Community Foundations: https://cof.org/foundation-type/community-foundations I will be gone this summer but I will connect with people back home that are involved in this and other Foundations. I am sure Sun City has many people with similar experience. We just need to find them and welcome their participation. Janet Curry
I understand the idea but businesses would want something in return and I dont know enough about it to know what would be possible but it would probably be public mentions or advertisement. What rubs me the wrong way is that people have the $ and just don't want to pay. Theyd love free money and this free money effort would blow up like a hot air balloon. Those who need charity should have it available through the foundation but those who are just plain cheap are pitiful. I have neighbors who fall into that category and I bet you do to. What's the magic number rec centers should hold in their bank account, anyone know?
Janet, excellent post. I did a bit of research about a year ago about the Sun City Foundation. In the original Articles, one of the Foundation's stated purposes was supporting the facilities of RCSC; current documents only state supporting members by helping pay annual assessments (I'm paraphrasing). I've long lamented what I see as a major missed opportunity. A charitable Foundation, especially one already established, is an incredible resource. Because of my Foundation background and interest, I have attended several Foundation meetings. At the first one, I asked about a potential project that was important to members, where I felt the Foundation would be a perfect vehicle to help facilitate fundraising: the response was "it's not what we do." The reasons given were inconsistent with the objectives of a philanthropic organization. A successful Foundation can be a lot of work in the beginning for volunteers, but it's not impossible. The RCSC Foundation was established to benefit only RCSC members/facilities; however, the community foundation model to support a broader scope is definitely worth the time to research. The wheel definitely doesn't have to be reinvented. Count me in. The Council on Foundations is a great resource.
Lots of interesting points made here and i hate to say this; been there done that. In 2012/2013 we tried to take the SC Foundation in an entirely new direction. And to be really clear, their IRS letter of application for their designated tax status allows for it. They never elected to do anything more than they do. Over the years, they did allow RCSC members to make significant dedicated donations to targeted projects. Helen T would write checks to the foundation which would be used for lawn bowling improvements. Several foundation board members were uncomfortable with it but the attorney told us it was perfectly legal in that it met exactly what was allowable given our tax status. I'm not going to repeat the story, i've written it several times. Suffice to say, the outside experts we brought in told us it absolutely could work. The insiders had zero interest in such an uphill climb. The Foundation has it's own documents but is still attached to the RCSC. It's good you met with the GM but before you start climbing any mountains make sure they buy into your efforts. Most non-profits that don't have a guaranteed yearly funding stream live in the world of grant writing for free money. The challenge with this idea is the RCSC is cash laden with guaranteed income streams and the ability to increase it with the wave of a hand.
Sun City is more than the RCSC! Funding options for the benefit of our entire community are worth exploring. “Perhaps a Community Foundation Fund, rather than RCSC or the Sun City Foundation, could be established. I am planting a seed for something positive that would be a long term plan to help Sun City to build on its wonderful past and present that we enjoy today.” Janet Curry “…the community foundation model to support a broader scope is definitely worth the time to research. The wheel definitely doesn't have to be reinvented.” Linda McIntyre
