As vice president of the Sun City Foundation, I am compelled to respond to the letter recently submitted to the Independent by several Foundation board members. I find this letter to be inaccurate, inflammatory and detrimental to the operation of the Foundation.
The Sun City Foundation was founded in 1986. The Articles of Corporation, amended date Nov. 8, 2006, state, “the corporation is organized, and will be operated, exclusively for the benefit of, to perform the functions of, and to carry out the purposes of the Recreation Centers of Sun City, Inc. an Arizona nonprofit corporation, and to carry out exclusively charitable and educational purposes.” (Article II,A)
The bylaws of the Sun City Foundation, dated Oct. 12, 2020, Article III Section 1, state “ This corporation shall function as a civic, charitable organization whose purpose is to carry out exclusively charitable and health educational purposes and programs of the Recreation Center of Sun City Inc, an Arizona non-profit corporation.”
Early in 2024, the RCSC board, as well as several RCSC board supporting committees, discussed the possibility of RCSC applying for and receiving local, state and federal grants to offset some of the costs of operating and/or developing RCSC programs. It was determined the perfect place for that to happen was through the Sun City Foundation. When the idea was discussed by the Foundation board members at that time, it was soundly voted down.
The RCSC board then requested a legal review of both RCSC board and Sun City Foundation board responsibilities as related to the Foundation. The legal advice, which was shared with the Sun City Foundation board, stated the Foundation should continue to conduct the current function of charitable giving, as well as expand current fundraising activities. It is important to know that no bylaws were changed, only clarified. The members of the Sun City board continued to be uncomfortable with the expansion of Foundation activities.
The RCSC board then decided to move forward and plan to expand the Sun City Foundation activities with the knowledge that expansion was permitted by all relevant documents and it was in the best interests of Sun City. Please note the concept is to expand the Foundation, not eliminate anything it is currently doing. The Foundation will use the funds they currently have for charitable purposes.
This will be a lengthy process. Watch for announcements in the spring of 2025. In the meantime, the Foundation is here to do what it has always done – assist our most needy residents.
Anita Borski is also a member of the RCSC board of directors.
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