SCMS FOUNDATION
AMENDMENT OF BYLAWS
The 1968 SCMS Foundation Bylaws were revised in 2019 to, among other things, increase the number of trustees, and bring them in line with current law and statutes. The proposed Bylaws will be voted on by the members at the SCMS Foundation Annual Meeting on Tuesday, June 15, 2021.
Click HERE to review the original 1968 Bylaws
All Saginaw County Medical Society members are also SCMS Foundation members!
The SCMS Foundation was formed in 1968 and originally funded through physician donation of earnings from educational and charity work.
Following are the Powers and Duties of the Foundation pursuant to the Constitution and Bylaws:
Section 2. Powers and Duties. The powers of the Board of Trustees shall include but shall not be limited to the following:
- To provide or guarantee loans, grants, and scholarships to deserving medical students, para medical students and nurses (or students pursuing any scientific health career).
- To assist charitable or educational institutions not operated for profit, whether supported by private donations or public taxation, in the promotion, development and attainment of health careers.
- To promote the science and art of medicine and the betterment of public health through exhibits and other programs of education and advisory service to the public on matters of health and hygiene.
- To promote scientific or medical research for the purpose of alleviating human suffering.
In the spring of 2016, the Foundation Board surveyed members to determine what direction the Board should go as far as funding initiatives. Sixty-two percent said we should continue the Essay Contest and assist the Alliance with nursing scholarships, and 81 percent wanted to continue medical student loans. Additionally, 38 percent were in favor of grants to medical students; 70 percent in favor of scholarships; and 73 percent would like to see loan forgiveness to loan recipients who return to Saginaw to practice. In 2012, the Foundation Board voted to forgive all interest if the student returns to Saginaw upon completion of a residency to practice. In response to YOUR comments, the Board voted this month to start a loan forgiveness program. If a loan recipient returns to Saginaw to practice upon completion of their residency and they are a dues paying member of the SCMS/MSMS and attend two membership meetings a year, 25 percent of their principal balance will be forgiven at the end of each year they are practicing in Saginaw County, with a maximum of $5,000 per year forgiven.
This year, six loans totaling $25,000 were awarded to medical students. Also as a result of YOUR comments, the Board voted to award $1,000 in scholarships to winners of the CMU Health 2016 Research Abstract Symposium that took place on May 20 at CMU Health in Saginaw.
The majority of funding for loans, scholarships and the Essay Contest is through the annual Golf Outing. Please note that golf is secondary at our annual outing. Your donation in the form of sponsorships represent funding for medical education. In 2016, $21,500 was raised from the Golf Outing, with a total of more than $151,000 raised in the past six years,
Please consider making a donation to the Foundation so we can expand our assistance to medical students. You can also name the Foundation as a beneficiary of your estate if you so desire.
We are in need of two more physicians to serve as Trustees on the Board. The time commitment is minimal – we only have one or two meetings a year, and issues are addressed via email. It’s a very easy way to have a voice in funding and shaping the future of medicine in Saginaw County.
If you are interested in serving on the Foundation Board, please contact Joan Cramer at jmcramer@sbcglobal.net or (989) 790-3590.