|
July 28, 2010
Greetings,
As you know, over the last few years NHF and its
Chapters have been exploring ways to increase and enhance the
programs, support and resources available to individuals with
bleeding disorders and their families. One of these
efforts has focused on strengthening NHF’s relationship
with its Chapters. In that regard, Chapters were given the
opportunity to decide how they wished to be affiliated with NHF,
including an option to merge into NHF if they wished to do
so.
Five chapters have chosen to merge into the
Foundation. They include: (i) Central Ohio Hemophilia
Foundation; (ii) Hemophilia Foundation of Idaho, Inc.; (iii)
Hemophilia Foundation of Nevada; (iv) Hemophilia Society of
Colorado; and (v) The Nebraska Chapter of the National
Hemophilia Foundation. The merger has been approved by the
boards of directors and members of the five chapters and by the
NHF Board of Directors. The final step in the approval process
is to have the NHF Chapter Members (as the voting members of the
corporation) vote on whether or not to approve the merger.
NHF has called a Special Meeting of the Chapter Members for that
purpose, which will be held at 12:00 Noon (Eastern) on September
15, 2010 at the Foundation's New York City
office.
Upon the merger of the five chapters into NHF, each
of the five chapters will continue to be a Chapter Member of the
Foundation and continue to operate in the geographic area served
by the chapter prior to the merger. Each of the five
chapters will continue to offer programs and services in the
geographic area it served prior to the merger and funds raised
locally by a chapter will continue to be used to benefit the
local community. The only difference is that each of the
five chapters now will be a unit of the Foundation rather than a
separate corporation. As a unit of the Foundation, each of
the five chapters will be subject to NHF’s policies and
procedures and governed by the NHF Board of Directors, in
conjunction with the office of the CEO.
Subsequent to the merger, each of the five chapters
will have an advisory board and officers who will work with NHF
(through the Chapter Services Department) in overseeing the
chapter's programs and activities. Professional staff will
be hired for each chapter to support and enhance the chapter's
programs and services.
The Foundation and the five chapters are excited by
the prospect of this merger as it will enable us to better serve
the needs of those affected by bleeding disorders. If you
have any questions about the merger process or the enclosed
documents (Special Meeting Notice, Proxy Statement, Summary of Agreement and Plan of Merger),
please contact Joe Kleiber, NHF Vice President for Chapter
Services, at (212) 328-3720.
Sincerely,
Val D. Bias, CEO
|
