Featured Funds – Rocker Memorial Skatepark
The Rocker Memorial Skatepark WILL be built and shredded in honor of a friend of the community, Steve “Rocker” Anderson, who passed away in an avalanche on Donner Summit December 24, 2012.
The goal of the Rocker Memorial Skatepark Project is to provide Truckee/North Lake Tahoe with a state of the art, 25,000 square foot skatepark to benefit the entire community. The park will also be capable of hosting world-class competitions that will increase year-round tourism and generously give back to the community that is helping make this dream a reality.
We had a great turn out at the Truckee Rec Center for the Rocker Memorial Skatepark public input meeting. We were fortunate to have a visit from Wormhoudt, Inc – Skatepark designers/builders: Zach Wormhoudt, Brian Sizer and Craig Waltz. They offered a forum that allowed everyone to formally share their ideas for design features we hope to see in the new park. Building upon the initial design, attendees were able to make additional suggestions using drawings and clay sculptures. The meeting was also hosted by Truckee-Donner Recreation and Park District chair, Steve Randall. This meeting is one more push forward in continuing our momentum as we aim for breaking ground in Spring of 2018.
Rocker Memorial Skatepark will provide a place for skaters of all ages and abilities while also serving as a centralized community meeting place for all area skaters. We believe that this project will also serve as a reminder of the impact one person can have and the importance of carrying that legacy into the future to change lives through skateboarding.
If Rocker’s passing could teach us something, its to spend our time where it counts, having fun with friends & sharing the joy of what we love with others. Truckee’s new skate facility will be a focus of the community Rocker was a part of, and memories of our friend will make the community bigger, better, and more fun than it ever was.
Our website at rockermemorialskatepark.org includes a link back to CharitySmith for ongoing donations.
Scholarship News – Dalton’s Moon Foundation
The Dalton’s Moon Foundation found a great way to thank their Golf Tournament attendees AND highlight the scholarships they have given out in Dalton’s Name. On their website is also a link to the many photos taken at the event. Ask us how you can do this too!
Going Merry Partnership
Going Merry is a scholarship marketplace that allows students to easily find and apply directly to scholarships, while additionally allowing the sponsors (such as Memorial Funds) to easily view and judge all applications online.
There are huge benefits for managing the entire application process through Going Merry:
- You or a committee can review applications online from anywhere.
- If you prefer, you can download and print the applications.
- You set the eligibility requirements so only specific students are allowed to even apply
- For example, you can limit the application to only students in a specific area, school, grade level, academic concentration, etc.
- We provide visibility of your scholarship to more students.
- We provide customer service if you have questions or technical issues.
- Every student who completes a Memorial Fund scholarship application can then easily apply to dozens of others scholarships. Every application is autofilled with student information thereon forward. You make both your life easier and students lives easier.
All you have to do is complete this short form https://goo.gl/forms/StW3ZKRoowLXrNfE3 and Going Merry will handle the rest. We promise this form takes less than 5 minutes.
Here’s what you can expect going forward:
- Going Merry will transition your scholarship application to their site.
- Here is an example of what it will look like.
- Going Merry will provide accounts to Fund Admins.
- All you have to do is log-in, review applications, and choose a winner!
- Please feel free to visit our website to learn more!
CharitySmith Notes
Hello! It has been an incredibly busy and productive year for CharitySmith and I am pleased to have the opportunity to share some details on two major initiatives for our organization. First, we are embarking on a partnership with GoingMerry to manage and expand our scholarship application process online. GoingMerry is a Stanford based nonprofit organization that has created a cost-effective online platform for students to search for scholarships. Our partnership with GoingMerry will mean more students will be able to search for CharitySmith scholarships and should ease the management of the application process for our Fund Administrators. Be expecting an email with a link to Going Merry soon from Stacey Spain. The goal of this partnership is to make it easier for our Fund Administrators to plan, receive and make funding decisions on scholarships they have created in honor of their loved ones. We will be here to help you understand and implement this change.
Second, as many of you know, after years of research and diligence we have finally launched an investment platform. If your fund has over $10K and is eligible to participate, and our Third Party Administrator will be sending you quarterly reports on your investments. Stacey will be sending you a form to use to deposit more into the account or to make withdrawals. She will outline the quarterly processing windows for changes to your account. Additionally, more information will be sent regarding the details of the strategy and implementation of the Investment Strategy so funds not yet at the $10K mark can plan fundraising goals accordingly. We have worked for three years to bring an investment plan forward and to initiate this best practice for the funds over which we have fiduciary responsibility, and we look forward to working with you as the program is implemented.
As CharitySmith grows we never want to lose track of our tight community of Fund Administrators and our close working relationship with you. Please know we are always available if you have questions or need something from us.
Thank you for making CharitySmith so successful, we are honored to serve the needs of our families every day.
Best,
Rachel Ward Rohlen
Rachel serves as the President for CharitySmith. She is the CEO of WestFace Medical Device and has her B.A. in International Studies from the University of Washington. Rachel has been involved with CharitySmith since 2006 and previously served as the Executive Director. Rachel lives with her husband, two sons and two dogs in Truckee, CA.