Important Notices

Hare Krsna!

This e-newsletter is all about ISCOWP policy changes for the year 2012 with a mention of spring! Check out the ISCOWP Facebook page and the ISCOWP Cause page as Balabhadra is updating them regularly. Become members of these pages so you too can be heard with your opinions, pictures, links and stories of all things about cows and cow protection.

Thanks for your continued support for cow protection!

Yours,
Chayadevi
(Irene M. Dove)
ISCOWP Co-Managing Director

Changes in Premium and Adopt A Cow Policies

Changes in ISCOWP Premium Policy

To meet the current charitable donatons, substantiation and disclosure requirements for this year of 2012 (IRS publication P1771) we need to change our premium policy.

We have ordered the printing of t-shirts and tote bags for premiums: (We will let you know when we have updated the t-shirt page on the ISCOWP web site to reflect the new designs and products)

The changes in our premium policy are:

1. ISCOWP logo printed in colors, as seen on our facebook page, on 100 % light ash cotton t-shirt.
2. Revised Kiss My Ox in black ink on 100% cotton natural t-shirt.
3. Tote bags 100% natural cotton canvas 10.5″x14″x5′ with gusset and 24″ canvas handles. ISCOWP logo printed on them in different colors.

We hope to revise the ISCOWP t-shirt line and add new designs.

Here are the premium categories.

$1000
You receive one tote bag, two cow protection t-shirts, 1 organic produce gift from our farm and a pictorial report of artik, prayers and treats offered to the cows in your honor.

$250-501
You receive one tote bag and one cow protection t-shirt.

$108 – $249
You receive 1 cow protection t-shirt

$51
You receive one canvas tote bag with ISCOWP Logo.

Any donation of your choice

All donors will continue to receive the ISCOWP News 3 times a year and, if the email address is provided, the ISCOWP monthly e-newsletter.

NOTE: In place of pictures that we send donors and adopters we hope to be sending videos. We just received donated video cameras and we are learning how to use them.

Changes in the Adopt A Cow Program

To make it simple and to be within the rules of the IRS for 2012, the new premium program for adopting a cow will not include any organic produce gift and in place of that, one cow protection t-shirt. All the other benefits of adoption will still be intact as follows:

1. A seasonal (4 times a year) email pictorial update of your adopted cow or ox.
2. An “8 by 10” photo of the cow or ox of your choice,
3. An adoption certificate,
4. One 100% cow protection t-shirt.
5. Monthly e-newsletter updates of international outreach activities and activities with the cows and land at the ISCOWP farm.
6. The ISCOWP News 3 times a year.
7. The good feeling that you are helping to protect Lord Krishna’s cows.

For 16 years, we have held the cost of adoption at $420 a year although the cost of operation has increased for us. Adoption now is $501 for one year and $41.75 a month. The changes have been made on the ISCOWP web site. If you have already adopted online at the subscription rate of $35 a month you will continue to be billed by paypal for that amount until your adoption expires after one year. Then if you wish to readopt, it will be at $41.75 a monthly rate per year or a $501 one time payment.

The IRS has advised us that any pledge whether given in installments or in one lump sum is treated the same as far as premiums given in exchange.

Transition Period

If an adopter has already received at the least one organic produce gift within their year of adoption, then there will be no more organic produce gifs or any cow protection shirts as their premium gift has already reached the value limit for a donation without a disclosure statement. All other adoption benefits remain unchanged.

We will be getting in touch with the adopters who adopted since December to give them their full premiums and the $1000+ donors who gave late in 2011 for the same reason. Please get in touch with us if you don’ hear from us within a month of this letter.

All premium changes are now on the ISCOWP web site and all fundraisers will reflect the changes from now on.

We are most sorry for the inconvenience. We have always tried to follow the rules of the IRS and feel it is important to do so. Therefore, we are making this effort to comply with the current rules. Thank you so much for your patience and support.

Waiting for Spring

We have been cleaning up the greenhouse and getting it ready to plant seeds for the spring garden. Five types of tomatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, spinach, carrots, pole beans, tomatillos, lettuce, 3 types of winter squash, two types of cucumbers, zucchinis, watermelon, musk melon, carnations, zinnias, asters, rainbow chard, kale, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and dahlias for now.

The cows, although fed hay by us in the barn, are looking forward to the green lush grass of spring. The first day of spring is in March, usually around the 20th. Depending on the weather, whenever the grass is high enough, the cows will get their chance to roam and pasture to their delight!