Grumbler Fund

Roxanne Langley

CGF, Certified Grumble Framer
Joined
Sep 14, 2000
Posts
178
Loc
Woodlands, TX
Many months ago after Katrina we as a group had started talking about putting together "The Grumbler Special Fund," to help out our fellow framers when needs arose. The fund was established with a bank acount open under the same name and over the past few months there have been contributions made and dispursed to our friends in need.

This post is simply a gentle reminder to everyone that the fund is alive and well and if anyone would like to contribute you may send your contributions to me at the address below. I have set up an e-mail group folder so that as any funds are to be disbursed we are all in touch and can make a joint decision as to how much and whom when needed. And remember no amount is too small, when lumped together it becomes a large sum.

Thanks everyone for their contributions so far and if anyone has any questions or concerns please feel free to e-mail me directly.

Have a wonderful day,
Roxanne Langley
 
Grumble Fund Is Alive and........

So am I. I'm so sorry guys, life and business has a way of really taking over your life and before you realize it the days, weeks and months are gone. I've been a lurker most times but all in all the gallery just absolutely took over my world 24/7 and the end of September I had to make some changes to get my life back. Shutting down the artist section and getting the framing all back re-organized was a bit overwhelming.....but digress. That will have to be for another posting probally on Warped.


Anyway, yes our Grumble Fund that we started back during Hurricane Katrina and Rita is alive and well and we have $569.64 to date. So far the only distribution we made was to Buddy Drago as many of you know. I talked to Wally Fay today and told him that I'm more than happy to keep up with this if you guys would like, and I promise on my CMC I won't drop off the face of the earth again without telling you.

So new address if anyone wants to contribute $5 or whatever. As we all know, alot of small checks add up to large amounts. I can be reached at:

159 Anise Tree Pl
The Woodlands, TX 77382
281-636-6342 mobile
langleyroxanne@yahoo.com or roxanne@langleyhousegallery.net

Thanks guys and I'm back to start posting and helping where I can. Missed everyone and the hot topics,

Roxanne Langley
 
I know the logistics would be difficult, but wouldn't it be nice if a suggested donation from active Grumbler participants was $5. per month to this fund? When a person joins the forum, he or she would receive information on the donation and perhaps again in 3 months. Some easy way to schedule an automatic bank payment to the fund? Of course we would need a committee to oversee distributions as well, and a CPA to handle the tax and set up a non-profit of some sort.

In the past my kids have gone to schools that had this sort of thing in place for families in sudden need.
 
I'm glad to see there is a fund for Grumblers in need. I have only been grumbling for a year, and did not know about it.

I'll send a check Wednesday.

I can think of one current grumbler that could use a little help.

Yes, surferbill...I would agree with you. Perhaps something could be done there...
 
At one time way back when we were first talking about putting this together a mention was made pertaining to setting it up as a non-profit organization. We decided against it due to the fact that we're a bit spread out around this world. However, with that said if this is something that we want to check on at this time and make it a 501(c)3 just let me know.

Any and all suggestions are welcomed....

Roxanne
 
I'm not so sure about the idea of a fund. We have always come to the aid when one of us needed emergency money. We heard what the problem was and if we thought we wanted to help, we sent in money.

The trouble with funds is they can grow beyond anyones expectations. Large sums of money will always be attractive to the unscrupulous. More problems can arise from these well intentioned funds than the number of problems they actually solve.

Years ago when I was in the Army, our company had a "catch a thief " fund. We were required to contribute one dollar per month. The idea was, if you caught a thief, you got all the money. Once thievery starts in a military unit it can seriously undermine the moral of the whole unit. Someone steels a pack of razor blades, the victim in turn rips of another pack from someone else, before long everyone is ripping each other off, no one trusts anyone. They took this very seriously.

Anyway, our fund had grown to over five thousand dollars, this was back in 1962, that was a huge sum of money in those days. A new buck Sergeant joined our unit, he was married, had a few kids, lived in military housing on the base. He was with our company less than a month, when he "caught a thief". The thief was a well liked PFC who inadvertently picked up the wrong hat from the mess hall hat rack, a common occurrence. We all had our names on the inside of our hats, so when this happened, we just returned the hat to the owner of it. When the PFC returned the hat to the sergeant, he was taken to the first sergeant and a theft charge was placed against him. The new guy got the money, the kid went to the stockade for a month, then was kicked out of the unit.

The first sergeant banished the fund, told us if we caught a thief, all he wanted to know was where the body was. He then proceeded to make the new buck sergeants life so miserable, he voluntarily transfered from our outfit.

Large amounts of money will always create problems and distrust. I do think the idea is commendable, like I am sure all of us do, but I am going to have to pass on this one.

John
 
I like the idea of helping out grumblers in need. But the costs associated with a 501c3 would sap up funds. It might be better if we just decided for ourselves whether & how to put our own funds aside for this, then send money to the needy grumbler when the situation warrants.
 
I would like top add, if the bulk of Grumblers chime in on this one with a positive yup, we wanna do this, then of course, I am on board. I like the idea, it's the problems it can create that I don't like.

John
 
I am on the board for a foundation which has a 501c3 classification and I do not think that this fund is something that you want to mess with trying to get the classification.

As Richard pointed out, the costs would wipe out the fund and also you would need to elect a board which would have to meet during the year and you would have to come up with bylaws that would include setting up rules on how money is to be invested and distributed.

A lot of work for a fund that only has 500-600 dollars
 
Speaking from experience, there has to be some type of oversight, otherwise, friendships and trust can be destroyed forever. Some guidance on how the funds are distributed, etc. I'm not against, just I have been there done that, and had my integrity questioned, because the proper mechanisms were not put in place beforehand. I assure you, it was all on the up and up, but when something as simple as the unit snack fund went from making 30-40 bucks a month to making a couple hundred a week, people started in with all kinds of questions, etc. Perhaps an informal charter, and at least some type of checks and balances so the innocent don't get accused of wrong doing. I'm not the only one where something with good intentions blows up in their face.

dave.
 
I like the idea of helping out grumblers in need. But the costs associated with a 501c3 would sap up funds. It might be better if we just decided for ourselves whether & how to put our own funds aside for this, then send money to the needy grumbler when the situation warrants.


I have to agree with Richard. If a need is made known and we agree and are in a position at that time we can help directly.
 
Paypal would be an easy way to do this, if you didn't want a check going out. I also need my own fund, ya know we all should have saved about 8 months of expenses save up in a rainey day fund.
 
I also need my own fund, ya know we all should have saved about 8 months of expenses save up in a rainey day fund.
Oh, how I wish!

I have learned so much from this. I'm still pretty puny today, and Wonderful Husband came home from work early today....sick. ACK!

I'm here to take care of some bidness (keeping the phone connected, for one!) and contacting customers to keep them up-to-date. Going back home in awhile. Everyone has been so understanding. The sun is out and I might wrap up in a blanket and get my face warm.... A little vitamin D....some more orange juice and Gatorade and chicken soup. Maybe this red-hot poker in the middle of my back will melt away.

I WILL BEAT THIS!! GRRRRRR!
(There......I know I'm getting better, now that I can growl, even if it's only on the keyboard!)

For the rest of you (okay, us), still sticking our heads in the sand because you don't-wanna-think-about-it, or it-won't-happen-to-me.....get into action! Do something! Protect yourselves!

Afleck! Quack! Look into it!

A line of "emergency" credit with your bank?....ask about it!

Part-time employee? I did, and it didn't work out. Gotta look elsewhere...another subject. Thought I could do without....not. I will be searching other avenues, per suggestions here.

I'm going to get a pizza, go home and bake my head in the sun, alongside my husband, and we will do this together.....with Grumbler support, and I thank you all for your messages and well-wishes.

All will be well.
 
Oh, how I wish!

Only passing along what any financial adviser would recomend, pay off your debt, then save, save, save. Oh how I wish too. I was laid up for six weeks after a hernia surgery, the bandages caused second degree burns on my stomach, becasue I had an allergic reaction, I'm fair skinned. Anyways out of the shop for weeks and then unable to lift anything more than five pounds for 6 weeks. A few years later my umbilical hernia is back again, but not painful this time. A long story short, my wife and I are trying to save for that rainy day.
 
Randy

Off topic…………….I spent a wonderful time on a business training course many years ago in Ann Arbour …………wonderful place…

The company was Gelman Sciences (now part of Pall) …………

Tom Monaghan (Dominoes Pizza) was an investor in the business and came to Ireland to visit the Gelman operation here I had the wonderfull experience of spending a good part of three weeks with him…………unfortuantly I missed what he was up to (pre internet days and no Dominoes in Europe at that time)………if it had caught on there is a good chance I could have being running Dominoes in Europe these days…

I can recall going to a restaurant in Ypsilanti where there was a tree that had bent over and grown back into the ground…

Anyway that me on a memory crawl…………great memory, great people, and great place.

Val………..I hope you are doing OK today………remember “easy does it”……….and I hope you are getting to see some friends…..
 
I like the idea of helping out grumblers in need. But the costs associated with a 501c3 would sap up funds. It might be better if we just decided for ourselves whether & how to put our own funds aside for this, then send money to the needy grumbler when the situation warrants.

I couldn't agree more ... I like the underlying notion, but no matter how noble the intent, establishing and controlling a formal fund is fraught with potential problems.

Rather than trying to establish subscriptions to an organized fund it is far better to have an impromptu collection as and when a situation arises.

Here are just a few of the problems that would / could be faced with an organized fund:

  • Selection of legal form of structure
  • Establishment of articles of association
  • Creation of a nominating committee for officers
  • Election of officers
  • Retention of officers
  • Costs of administration
  • Terms of membership ... are all Grumblers eligible to (a) subscribe (b) receive benefits, or only those who participate at a certain level of activity within TG?
  • Rules for distributions from fund ... how is someone nominated for a distribution, how is approval granted, what happens if there is disagreement, are there caps on amount that can be distributed, etc., etc.
  • How are funds invested pending distribution? Who has signatory authority?
  • Are contributions to the fund eligible for charitable deductions?
  • What happens if someone lapses their payments to the fund but remains a Grumbler? Are they still eligible for a distribution?
  • Etc.
  • Etc
  • Etc
  • Ad nauseum
  • In short a nightmare!
By contrast an informal collection driven by an obvious need requires nothing more than a bit of behind the scenes effort by those who are concerned. Anyone who is interested in supporting that person can make whatever level of donation they can afford directly to the person who is experiencing difficulty.
 
I think the biggest problem with saving is that we are all conditioned to having it all right now. I suggested to my employee that she start a savings account and put a measly ten dollars a week in it. The idea was to get her in the habit of saving, not to make her rich over night. She thought I was out of my tree, "That's only fourty dollars a month, what good will that do me?????"

I helped another young framer get into business many years ago. He is currently not doing so great, I made the exact same suggestion to him, he just smiled and rolled his eyes, another stupid old man suggestion.

People can not get it through their skulls that before credit cards, that is what everyone did. It was called emergency money, pay for a new water heater and such. Now they all need a credit card "for emergencies".

It makes much more sense to pay 24% interest on a credit card than to save a stupid ten dollars a week.

Now we are thinking of all sending in a similarly small amount to build a "fund", for emergencies. How about just starting a fund for yourself, something like a savings account?

For those of you who think this is a stupid suggestion, I sincerely apologize. I honestly did not mean to insult your intelligence.

John
 
For those of you who think this is a stupid suggestion, I sincerely apologize. I honestly did not mean to insult your intelligence.

John

Hey John, not insulting at all. This always good advice, even for those who have stocks, IRA, real estate, and all the rest. A few dollars a month into a savings account. Always a good idea, IMHO.
 
Thanks Kirsti, I have been doing that for years, and years. I do not have a credit card, I use debit cards only. I have plenty of stocks and savings, and it started with a few bucks a week over thirty years ago.

The idea is not to save fourty dollars a month, the idea is to get into the habit of saving. Once you are in the habit, it almost becomes a hobby. Windfalls like a tax return or whatever, do not become some much needed pile of junk like a Jacuzzi. You will instead find yourself sticking it into your savings account. As that account grows, it ends up getting shuffled into stocks that pay dividends. As the years go by, you end up being a cranky old man with plenty of money.

John
 
All great responses. I guess at this point my one and only question is "what would you folks that contributed many, many months ago like for me to do with our remaining funds?" I can either return your contributions and you may send them to whomever you would like or I can send a check out from here to a deserving individual(s).

Thanks everyone and have a great evening,
Roxanne Langley
The Woodlands, TX
 
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