End of Year 2009 Donations to CHERUBS

Happy New Year!!!!!

As we wrap up yet another year, we would like to remind everyone that it's that time of year again - time to make your end of year donations to receive tax credit on next year's returns!

We know that 2009 has been a very hard year for most financially. We know that donations are hard to make and as such, you should well research every charity that you donate to. Some must knows about CHERUBS as you contemplate which charity to support with your hard earned money:

• All donations made to CHERUBS, both cash and in-kind are tax-deductible. CHERUBS has been a 501(c)III non-profit organization since 1995.
  

• Donations made by December 31st are tax-deductible for 2009's tax return.
  

• In-kind donations, including those made to our CDH HOPE Totebag project, are tax-deductible.
  

• Donations can be made in honor or in memory of someone. Donations made in lieu of flowers at memorial services are also deeply appreciated.
  

• Donations are listed in our newsletter and families receive donation acknowledgements when someone sends a gift in honor or in memory of their cherub.
  

• Donations are used to directly assist families affected by CDH through 5 different funds (listed below). Donations made to specific funds can be made by clicking on the fund name below:

• CDH Family Support Fund – this fund covers all support services, including our web sites, newsletters, conferences, New Member Packets, get-togethers and other general operating costs. CHERUBS does a lot for CDH families and the CDH community and we incur quite a few costs during so. Just 1 newsletter mailing is now over $3000 for printing and posting with so many members. Our conferences are also expensive. Our monthly expenses are several hundred dollars for ink, postage, web site hosting fees, etc. It takes a lot to fund an organization with almost 3000 members. Remember, no one at CHERUBS gets paid and we have no office so every penny directly helps CDH families. And all of our services are FREE so we do charge membership fees.
  

• CDH Research Fund – to pay for the $1000 a year cost of research database hosting, programmer and to raise money for research organizations such as the International CDH Study Group. The CDH Study Group is a collective group of over 30 hospitals around the world specializing in CDH research. We chose to support groups like this one because we know that every cent will go directly to research on Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and research will be brooder and more advanced when collaborating with dozens of hospitals and researchers together.

• CDH Family Assistance Fund – A majority of this fund will go to help families with travel expenses such as airline tickets and gas. It will not go to lodging because CHERUBS highly recommends the free lodging available at Ronald McDonald Houses. Families will submit confidential applications to assistance and a committee will consider each request. Our goal is to make sure that all CDH families can afford to get to their cherub’s medical center and have a place to stay so that they can concentrate on their children instead of travel worries. We hope to assist a family through this fund by Spring, 2010. The remaining small percentage of this fund will go to the CDH HOPE Totebag Project, a new program that helps new and expectant families by supplying them with items needed during their cherub's hospital stay.
  

• CDH Awareness Fund – this fund helps to raise awareness of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia through balloon releases, giving away free CDH ribbon buttons and brochures and other items. It will also cover advertising costs, billboards, video production and much more.
  

• CDH Scholarship Fund – for CDH survivors and siblings. Families can raise money to give scholarships in honor / memory of their cherubs. We hope to award our first scholarship in 2010.

• Donations can be made on-line on our web site through PayPal.com, a secure site that we've used for over 10 years for donations. http://www.cdhsupport.org/donate/index.php PayPal accepts all major credit cards from around the world.
  

• Donations can be made by mail through check or money order (U.S. currency only please) made out to CHERUBS, 3650 Rogers Rd #290, Wake Forest, NC 27587
  

• CHERUBS never charges families for our services, materials or totebags. Our membership is free and always has been. Against the advice of accountants, auditors and other non-profit leaders, we have resisted mandatory subscription fees or charging for entrance into our forums or events. We have asked for members to make annual donations if they can afford to do so but it is never required. We want every CDH family who needs help to be able to freely access it.
  

• CHERUBS currently does not receive any grant funding. Our charity subsists solely from donations and fundraisers.
  

• CHERUBS has very little overhead with no office, donated phone lines and internet and no utility bills. But monthly expenses still add up quickly with 3000 members to serve.
  

• Only 2% of our members donate annually, with less than .5% volunteering. We depend on public donations greatly to keep our services and charity running.
  

• Donations make possible our annual CDH Conference, our newsletter, our web sites, our CDH HOPE Totebags, awareness materials, postage fees, awareness events and our 5 Funds. We do a whole lot of good on less than $30,000 a year in donations!
  

• Your donation will never go to pay anyone's salary. CHERUBS is run solely by volunteers and always has been. Our President has logged over 25,000 hours of volunteer work at CHERUBS in the past 15 years and our other volunteers have donated 1,000's of hours as well to help families affected by CDH.
  

• We do not pay lawyers, accountants, marketing executives or other 3rd parties and try to find sponsors and volunteers for in house needs such as web design, programming, graphic art, etc. We are blessed to have many amazing volunteers and pro bono professionals who want to help CDH families.
  

• CHERUBS has been audited and publicly files financial reports every year on our web site as well as with GuideStar.com - so you can rest assured where your donation money goes.
  

• CHERUBS is a GuideStar Exchange Partner in Trust recognized charity.
  

• CHERUBS posts our 990 tax returns and our financial reports - to show how much money in donations that we receive - and where your donations are spent. In detail. Very few charities do this, as by law it's only required to show people our tax returns (and only if they ask). CHERUBS has an open book policy when it comes to our financial info and our missions. We believe in high ethics and honesty and making sure that our members, and the public, know what we stand for.
  

• CHERUBS never "filters" donations. We do not serve as a bank system for donors to channel money to other institutions and use those donations as a marketing ploy for our charity. We encourage members to donate directly to hospitals and other charities themselves - since they are also non-profits. Credit should be given to those who worked hard to fundraise and raise awareness - the families. That said - if you'd like to donate directly to specific CDH center, we highly encourage you to do so and ask that you do not donate to them indirectly through us. That just makes more paperwork for both charities and takes the appreciation from the true donor - you! We would be happy to help you locate a contact person to accept your donation.
  

• CHERUBS never "banks" donations. Our donations are used immediately to serve the CDH community, instead of sitting in an account doing no one any good except collecting a little bit of interest. By law, charities cannot "save" large amounts of funds as the entire mission of any charity is to serve others.
  

• CHERUBS has never used a cent of donation money for any lobbying, trademarks, lawyers fees, or other government or legal issues. We make sure that every penny donated to our charity directly helps CDH families, not politics or special interests.
  

• CHERUBS is a grassroots charity run by a large array of those affected by Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia. Our Board of Directors includes CDH parents, grandparents, survivors, nurses, doctors and the world's top CDH researchers. No other charity in the world has such a respected, educated or experienced group of leaders who care so much about the CDH community.
  

• CHERUBS has been a non-profit for 15 years. We are not a fly-by-night organization. We are the world's first and largest charity for Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia with over 3000 members in 38 countries and all 50 states. We are a trend-setter in the services that help families affected by CDH, leading the way for other groups and newer charities who have followed in our footsteps. We will continue to lead until Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia is no more. We are devoted to finding the cause, prevention and best treatments for CDH.
  

• CHERUBS is a founding member of the Alliance of Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia Organizations, dedicated to work together with integrity on one mission - helping CDH families.
  

At CHERUBS, we know there are a lot of charities out there who are equally as worthy of your time and donation. We appreciate your consideration and your support of those affected by Congenital Diaphragmatic Hernia and hope that you will choose CHERUBS as the recipient of your kindness so that we can continue to help CDH families around the world.