Fall Fundraiser - 2024

Dear Friends of Lexington Odd Fellows Cemetery, Inc. (LOFC):

It is now more than six years since the Lexington Board of Alderman voted to transfer ownership of Odd Fellows Cemetery to a group of concerned people who have relatives and loved ones interred at Odd Fellows. This group of people then came together to create a tax-free corporation specifically for the purpose of maintaining and preserving the cemetery. With the conveyance of the cemetery to LOFC, the City of Lexington ceased providing any financial support for the cemetery. However, with the generous support of so many of you, we have come a long way, but our work is not finished and our need to continue to grow our endowment is not complete.

You may ask, “Why is an endowment important?” An endowment is a permanent savings account or a prudent and conservative investment account that provides ongoing financial support. This is invaluable during uncertain economic times. During lean times when donations are down, an endowment can provide for the necessary and ongoing maintenance of the cemetery. During strong economic times when donations are bountiful, an endowment can provide for capital improvements to the cemetery like better signage, new fencing, and repairs to ancient markers and headstones that no longer have living family to make the necessary repairs.

This year was the hottest summer in recorded history. Coupled with high rainfall and a longer growing season, it was necessary to move from two grass cuts a month to three cuts a month of the 16.99 acres that make up the cemetery grounds. Simply put, our groundskeeping budget was fifty percent greater than in prior years. With increased hot weather trends predicted, we must accept that this year is not an anomaly but rather a function of global warming.

In April 2019 we sent out our first newsletter in which we projected an annual budget of approximately $40,000. Today with increased costs for maintenance and repairs, our budget is 70 percent greater or $68,000. This does not include money for any capital improvements as noted above. Last year we had to spend a significant amount on road repair within the cemetery due to erosion. We were fortunate to cover this cost with a spring fundraiser. We have not had a fundraiser this year and for that reason we are reaching out to each of you who have family buried in LOFC or Temple Beth El Cemetery (TBEC) to please consider donating if you have not already done so for the year.

In 2020 LOFC reached an agreement with TBEC whereby LOFC assumed the maintenance and preservation of TBEC. In exchange, TBEC transferred $72,679.28 to the LOFC Endowment. Conservatively invested, this income should generate approximately 6% or $4,300 per year, which would have initially covered Beth El’s share of expenses based on its acreage which computes to 11.78% of the combined acreage of the two cemeteries. Regrettably, now that our combined expenses have increased substantially and are $68,000, the earnings from the Beth El transfer are not sufficient to fully cover its share of the expenses.

Thirty-one of you are members of the Maintenance Club and as such donate through your bank account or credit card each month. Donations range from $10 to $50 a month but can be any amount with which you are comfortable. If this is an option that appeals to you, I urge you to visit our website as listed above and sign up for the Maintenance Club. Others prefer to give on an annual basis, with donations ranging from $50 to $13,000. Sadly, two of our most generous donors are no longer with us.

As members of your board, it has been our goal each year to bring in sufficient donations to not only cover our annual expenses, but also sufficiently to increase our endowment so that when the lean days arrive, as surely, they will, we are well prepared. Our donations for the year are down and as of the end of September totaled $34,570.76. Without your help we will not have adequate incoming funds to cover our annual expenses, nor will there be a surplus to grow the endowment. In short, our expenses will be greater than our income.

Therefore, we are specifically reaching out to those of you who made an initial donation to LOFC but have not donated since then. Perhaps you assumed that there were sufficient benefactors, so your further contributions were not needed. We are also reaching out to those of you who believe that because either you or your ancestors purchased plots from the City of Lexington with “perpetual care” for $3 that you do not need to support LOFC. Neither of these assumptions are correct, so LOFC needs your support today.

In addition to annual giving, please consider other ways to give such as a planned gift by naming LOFC as a beneficiary in your will, creating a trust arrangement or even a simple charitable gift annuity. Gifts of stock or other securities are also welcome. Memorials and honorariums are an appropriate way to remember a deceased friend or loved one on a special occasion, such as their birthday, burial date, wedding anniversary, or other special occasion. Finally, LOFC is always eager to welcome new volunteers, so if you would like to become involved, please let us hear from you.

The cost of maintaining and preserving LOFC and TBEC is significant and will only increase with time. Revenue to cover these increasing costs can only come from the private donations of people like you. Please consider becoming a donor to LOFC so that we can continue our good work of preserving our historic cemeteries, where our ancestors and friends are interred.

Please help us grow the endowment for Odd Fellows Cemetery by making a gift before year-end. Your support allows us to preserve and maintain this cherished site for our community.

Enclosed is an addressed envelope for check donations, or you can give online at lexingtonoddfellowscemetery.com/giving. You may make a one-time gift or join our Maintenance Club for ongoing maintenance with a monthly donation.  No amount is too small, and every dollar makes a difference.

Thank you for your support. With your assistance, we can honor and sustain the legacy of Lexington Odd Fellows Cemetery.

Yours sincerely,

The Board of LOFC 

To Donate by check

Please mail your tax-deductible checks to:
Lexington Odd Fellows Cemetery, Inc.
PO Box 1213
Lexington, MS 39095-1213

To Donate online

CLICK HERE TO MAKE YOUR ONLINE DONATION

To Join the LOFC Maintenance Club
(Make a monthly recurring donation for ongoing maintenance)

CLICK HERE TO JOIN THE MAINTENANCE CLUB

Lexington Odd Fellows Cemetery, Inc. is a 501(c)13 organization, and your gifts are deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.