Jeff and Gene Meyer started the Caribou Club as a fun way to stay in touch with lifelong friends, especially around surfing and the beach. Their theory was that as caribou grow old, they run more toward the back of the pack, making them easy prey for wolves. And like the caribou, as we go through our lives, we have to stay up “with the pack” or we will be history. We had fun with this concept, and so did our other many friends, with camp outs, surfing trips, parties, and even logo hats.

Then Jeff became very ill, (Amyloidosis). In navigating through the medical system, (Mayo Clinic, clinical trials in San Diego, daily visits to doctors and UCLA Transplant Center), we discovered that many of our expenses were not covered by insurance, including caregiver, transportation, certain tests, nonskilled nursing, and co-pays when you reach a limit. Many of Jeff’s friends and family members wanted to help him out with these daily expenses in the hundreds of dollars, so we decided that if we started a non profit corporation, at least these donations would be tax deductible. Jeff did not live long enough to see the attached document from the IRS, but he would feel quite proud, (and he would probably have asked if you have any old cars to donate!)

Caregiver, non skilled nursing, transportation, various equipment to help him get around, it was an expensive out-of-pocket shocker that nobody but the patient pays for. If you need a nurse to come to your house to take your blood pressure, that’s no problem for your insurance. To have someone comes to your house to help you take a shower or to cook you a meal, you pay.

Attached above, please find a letter from the IRS granting the Caribou Club Foundation, Inc. full 501 (c) (3) non profit status. This means that people who donate anything to the CCF will receive a full charitable deduction on their tax returns, just like the Red Cross, AARP, or your church.

We are all volunteers. There is no paid staff. All board members serve for free. This is an effort to inform you of what we’ve been doing to try to help Seniors. If you would like to donate by Dec 31, we will send you a receipt for your tax deductible donation which you can use in preparing your 2018 income tax return.

Finally, according to our bylaws, we will not spend donation proceeds on political campaigns, alcohol, Dodger tickets, (Sorry, guys), or anything personal for members of the board. The board will also determine the need for distributions of donations. 

Gene Meyer, CEO

Caribou Club Foundation