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United Way Campaign Raises $5.4 Million
 On April 8th United Way of Treasure Valley announced the successful completion of our 2007-08 Community Campaign which raised $5.4 million, a 2 percent increase over last year. The campaign which began last September, involved more than 360 organizations, 400 volunteers, 28 Loaned Executives, the 37 members of our Board of Directors, and United Way staff.
"I would like to congratulate everyone - the companies and organizations, employee campaign coordinators and teams, loaned executives, and volunteers," said Eldon Book, Executive Vice President and COO of Intermountain Gas and the 2007 United Way Campaign Chair. "Without their hard work and energy we could not have accomplished raising more than $5 million for our community."
 More than 15,000 individuals donated during the campaign and all of the money pledged to United Way here in our community... stays in our community with a 100% local approach. Congratulations also to this year's Spirit of Caring award winners - presented to organizations and individuals who ran top United Way campaigns including Simplot and Boise Cascade/Boise Inc. pictured on the right. Other winners include: Costco, Banner Bank, U.S. Bank, St. Luke's, IGI Resources, City of Nampa, Kelly Parker - Bank of the Cascades, Teresa Alexander - Albertsons/SUPERVALU, Hart Gilchrist - Intermountain Gas, and Teri Kulig - Horizon Air.
Click here for a full list of winners by category and the 2007-08 campaign results announcement.
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 Annual Meeting - Registration Deadline
If you haven't registered for this year's United Way's Annual Meeting breakfast on Tuesday, April 22nd, time is running out. We're anticipating this year's event will sell-out, so if you want to be there, don't wait another minute! Tuesday, April 15 is the official registration deadline. Our 80th Annual Meeting is sponsored by Albertsons/SUPERVALU. Click here to register.
We're excited to welcome keynote speaker, Heather McLeod Grant, a graduate of Harvard and Stanford Universities and a published author, speaker, advisor, and consultant to high-impact organizations. Ms. Grant is  the co-author of the new, best-selling book Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits, which was recently named "Book of the Year" by the Economist. The book reveals what it takes to truly change the world and shares the stories of 12 powerful organizations.
We're also excited to have Boise State Radio as a media sponsor for this event. We hope to see you on April 22nd for a fun, inspiring, morning with Heather McLeod Grant.
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Alternative Spring Break - Break Through Project
 More than 70 high school students from all over the TreasureValley mobilized in an outstanding display of teen community service for United Way's first alternative spring break: Break Through with the Original Gangster's Basic Academy of Development in Nampa on March 28-29th.
In just two days, the students converted an undeveloped lot that serves as OG'sBAD campus into a neighborhood gathering place. They created a 300-foot landscaped path, a  sand volleyball court, hung new shutters on the building, tore down an internal wall, and designed and painted an inspired mural. The school hosted the students overnight with a neighborhood potluck dinner of homemade Mexican food, salsa dance lessons and dancing. Click here to see news coverage and photos of the event.
This project happened because people came together to make it happen. Volunteers, the business community, city government, agencies and schools gave countless hours and financial support to this community development effort.
Thank you to our many sponsors: Tates Rents, Greenhurst Nursery, Costco, Wells Fargo, North by Northwest Productions, Wal-Mart, Treasure Valley Family YMCA, Lowes, Upchurch Remodeling, McU Sports, Franklin Building Supply and the Millick Family. Thanks also to our outstanding Steering Committee Members and the many adult advisors who helped on this project!
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Investment Volunteers Decide 2008 Grant Recipients
 United Way recently completed our annual Community Investment Process. The process is community-driven and this year 65 volunteers completed the extensive review of over $3.2 million in United Way grant applications from 72 Treasure Valley service agencies. Volunteers served on one of three teams and the Health Investment Team is pictured on the right.
In total, volunteers spent over 1,900 hours reading grant applications, conducting site visits, attending presentations and discussing where to invest United Way's 2007-08 Community Care Funds. The grant awards will be announced after our Annual Meeting on April 22. Many thanks to the volunteers who helped make it all happen!
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Free Tax Prep Program Helps Thousands
 At the end of March, the Free Tax Help Program sites located throughout the Treasure Valley and staffed by dedicated volunteers filed over 4,000 tax returns totaling over $3.5 million in tax refunds. Of that amount, $1.2 million was claimed in Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) and nearly $800,000 in Child Tax Credits (CTC).
The program, part of United Way's Financial Stability Partnership initiative is sponsored by Bank of America. It provides important resources and information to help the elderly, low-income, non-English speaking and disabled taxpayers with the preparation of their tax returns by trained individuals at no cost to them. United Way helped promote the program through a media campaign after learning that last year, according to the IRS, more than $11 million in EITC went unclaimed here in the Treasure Valley alone.
 Because of the Economic Stimulus Package passed by Congress and signed by the President earlier this year, the Coalition for Economic Improvement (CEI) site located at 2717 South Vista Avenue in Boise will remain open on Tuesdays through June to help those that still need to file. In order to take advantage of this payment infusion program, filers have until October 15th to file with no penalty for filing late.
Click here for more information or call 2-1-1, the Idaho CareLine.
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| Helping Idaho Families Pay For College
 April is National Financial Literacy Month. What a great time to learn more about a program that could help Idaho families pay for college. Idaho State Treasurer Ron Crane recently announced that tuition at Idaho's four-year colleges will increase this fall. This can be scary news for families wondering how they're going to pay for college. While scholarships and loans are available, we all know that savings is the first and most important step in financing a college education.
The Treasurer's office runs a program called IDeal - Idaho's 529 college savings plan. 529 plans are State-sponsored plans that help you save for college tuition, room and board, books, supplies, and other qualified higher education expenses. And, the education savings can be used for your children, your grandchildren, your nieces and nephews, even for yourself.
Opening a savings account is simple and easy:
You can open an account for as little as $25. Check with your employer to see if they offer payroll deduction. This will make saving even easier.
Idaho taxpayers can receive a State income tax deduction of $4,000 per year for contributions to their IDeal account; $8,000 if married, filing jointly. Better yet, the money in the account grows tax-free and qualified withdrawals are tax-free.
Need another incentive? Enroll in the Upromise Rewards Service and you can earn money back on products you already buy. It's quick, easy, and free. Thousands of products are available for purchase through hundreds of retailers, including all Idaho Albertsons/SUPERVALU stores.
Click here for more information about the IDeal College Savings Program or the Upromise Rewards Service
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"Did U Know?"
Each month we feature interesting facts, information and trivia about United Way in our e-newsletter. Answer the question below correctly and you could win some cool prizes courtesy of our generous Caring Club merchants and local retailers.
Trivia Question:
Name two of the six practices that high-impact nonprofits use to achieve extraordinary impact according to the best-selling book Forces for Good, by Heather McLeod Grant.
(hint: the answer can be found at www.forcesforgood.net.)
Our trivia contest winner will receive one free registration to United Way's 80th Annual Meeting breakfast on Tuesday, April 22nd and a copy of the book Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits that you can have autographed after the meeting.
Submit your answer here.
Good Luck!
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Trivia Contest Winner
Congratulations to Ann Perry, Boise Inc., last month's trivia contest winner. Ann correctly identified two of the sponsors of this year's Alternative Spring Break - Break Through project, Tates Rents and Wal-Mart.
Ann receives a $25 gift certificate from The Cheesecake Factory.
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To sign up for our monthly e-newsletter, click here
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