Dear 4060 Members,

If you remember, last January a thread was started regarding how the Forty-Sixty Forum could & should make a greater impact on the lives of people who are dealing with the trauma of Mid-Life Crisis. Since then, a tremendous amount of work has been done behind the scenes to develop a non-profit corporation to do just that.

Now, it is with great excitement that I have the privilege to announce the formation of a new non-profit corporation called Forty-Sixty, Inc. The creation of this corporation opens the door for many exciting opportunities that will provide greater service to those in need during this overwhelming time in their lives.

Another major reason that this corporation was formed is because of the nearly overwhelming costs associated with running the Forty-Sixty Forum. Currently, about 10,000 people per month visit the site. In addition, as of the time of this writing, there are 97,054 posts, 88 blogs with over 1200 entries, over 2700 member's information, countless Private Messages & photos that are all stored online. This is important to know because all of these things take storage capacity. The storage and administration of these things cost money and the more the forum grows, so do the costs. To date, the cost for this forum has been paid out of the founder's (Newman & Phoenix) own pockets. However, the forum has grown to the point that in order for it to continue to grow, additional revenue must be obtained.

Because of the far flung membership, the time difference and for the simplicity of setting up the first Board of Directors, they have been drawn from the USA. However, all members will be considered for the second and subsequent terms.

The Board of Directors will serve on an annual basis and continuing members of the Board and new members will be decided by the existing Board members. Since we are a global internet group, it is practically impossible to handle officer and Board member selection in any other manner. However, with that said, we want to open up participation with committees and every year we can ask for people who are interested in serving on the Board. The existing Board will make the ultimate decision as to Board members and officers.

The inaugural Board of Directors is as follows:

· Wekin1 - President

· Praying4aMiracle - Vice President

· Firefly - Secretary

· FrustratedForties - Treasurer

· Carol - Registered agent for the Corporation

· Haggie - Board Member

· Newman - Board Member

· Phoenix - Board Member

· DearHeart - Board Member

It is important to reiterate that Forty-Sixty, Inc. is a non-profit organization. Therefore, it is illegal for the corporation or any of its Board members to profit from the proceeds of revenue. This is important because the intent of Forty-Sixty, Inc. is to help others and each member of the Board of Directors has a heartfelt passion to do just that. It is with this passion that we move forward with the Corporation and the implementation of some exciting projects.

A few of the projects that are currently being developed are as follows:

· An e-book that will incorporate the collective wisdom and advice contained within the posts and threads of the Forum since its inception. This e-book will be available for a cost and be able to be downloaded.

· A "Lending Library" will be available to help maximize the opportunity to get educated on the subjects of MLC, hormonal change, relationships, etc. The goal of the library will be to help make sure that all those who want to be educated can be, regardless of their financial status.

· A used clothing exchange program is being developed to help assist those in need with their clothing requirements when they are unable to financially afford to meet them themselves. It is a very real problem that for many, they simply cannot afford to buy suitable clothing for job interviews or school clothes for their children, etc. On the other hand, there are many who do not have this problem and would love to help another get through it. This program would accommodate a solution to meet this need.

· A "Donation Station" link will be incorporated within the Forum to allow for the opportunity to donate financially to the Forty-Sixty cause. Many have expressed a desire to donate financially but haven't had a convenient way to do this. The Donation Station will not only solve this problem but will also help provide for the much needed revenue required to run this site.

While there are many other things being discussed, these are but a few of the things currently underway. As soon as possible, each of these programs will be unveiled as they get fully implemented.

As we go along, there will be plenty of opportunity for all who desire to help out, to do so. In fact, the strength of the Forum as well as the new corporation will lie within the generosity of the many, not the few. As such, various committees will be set up for the above projects and we encourage any whose hearts speak to these various projects to volunteer.

So, if any of you are interested in lending your time and/or expertise, always feel free to do so. As we get fully organized, we will be able to provide a more precise assessment of the needs of the Corporation as well as a means to fully take advantage of the help and support of volunteers in an organized way.

In the meantime, feel free to comment on this new endeavor here on this thread. This same announcement will be placed on a "read-only" thread that will be updated regularly as to the new developments as they arise. You will not be able to post any responses to the read-only thread because it is important that all relevant notices regarding this new venture are kept "clean" for easy reading.

Last but certainly not least, we want to extend our deepest appreciation to DearHeart for her unbelievable dedication, expertise and downright hard work she has put into this endeavor. Truly, without her individual effort, this corporation may have been delayed months or even years. DearHeart, thank you just doesn't seem enough but truly, on behalf of all the members of Forty Sixty, THANK YOU!

In closing, on behalf of the entire Board of Directors of Forty-Sixty, Inc. I would like to express our heartfelt thanks to the commitment that has been shown by all members to this site so far as well as your future commitment in helping this new aspect of our journey move foreword.



Wekin1 & The Forty-Sixty Inc. Board of Directors

It is with honor and pleasure I announce we have opened up our bank accounts for Forty-Sixty, Inc. At this time we are able to begin recieving donations which will help us to begin benefitting this forum and the cost to run it as well as to extend assistance to the programs we are going to begin trying to go forward with.

Please remember:


Should you wish to make donations you may send checks or money orders made payable to: Forty-Sixty, Inc.

Your checks or money orders can be mailed to:

Forty-Sixty Inc
c/o Debbie Stocking
4930 Tyrell Rd
Owosso, MI 48867
United States

Coming soon to this very thread will be information on making donations if you wish through Paypal.

Thank you in advance for your assistance in helping us to help others.

Frustrated Forties and the Forty-Sixty, Inc. Board of Directors

As we move forward with our endeavor to further assist others in this time of challenge. It is my pleasure to announce we are ready to begin moving forward with some of our projects. I am gathering the names of those interested in helping with a few of the projects that we want to help develop and give shape to in the future of the Forty Sixty Inc. We believe these projects will further enhance our abilities to help others as they arrive here whether in the midst of MLT/MLC or from the perspective of the LBS.

Right now the three main areas we are looking to try and expand on are:

The E-book- There will be much help needed here as we look for people to help read, offer ideas, collect information, editing, etc. It is our hope that with this book it will help all who are affected by MLT/MLC and will also offer an opportunity for us to generate an income to help the forum become self supportive financially.

The Lending Library- There are many of us who have purchased books we may read 1 or 5 times but once we are done with them and have moved on to something else, what do we do with these? Well it is our hope that maybe in the realm of paying it forward we can pass these on to others. So we are looking for your ideas, suggestions and contributions as well as possibly helping out with the making this work for everyone involved.

Clothing Bank- We are looking to help those in need of an opportunity to get their lives started again. Maybe someone here needs to find a job but as a stay at home parent finds themselves in need of an outfit to use for interviews. As well as many who have gently used clothing that would not mind passing them on to someone who is in need.

If any of these areas is something you are particularly drawn to or have an idea or opinion about or would like to be part of, I am asking you to please PM me and let me know which area you are interested in or what your suggestions/ideas are. We will be putting these together into their own sub committees to try and address each and how to make it beneficial to others.

Please understand if you are not contacted right away it does not mean you will not be contacted. Everyone on the Board of Directors is a volunteer and we are all trying to spread ourselves out with our family, jobs and daily responsibilities as well as our passion to help others who find themselves here just as we have.

I look forward to hearing from you!!!!!

Frustrated Forties

Hey, Family...

It has come to my attention <ahem> that there are some questions and concerns regarding the Board of Directors for the new non-profit entity that is The Forty Sixty Forum, Inc. Because some folks might misunderstand, perhaps, the purpose and the position of those Board Members, I have decided to do a short primer. Feel free to direct any questions you might still have to any one of us on the Board.

In brief, just as with any Board of Directors for a non-profit, we are a group of volunteers who are working with Phoenix and Newman to find ways to make the 4060 Forum self-sufficient economically so the drain on their personal funds is kept to a minimum. You read all over the Board these days that it takes approximately $400 US dollars each month to keep the Board running and, until now, the cash it took came strictly from the founders of the Forum.

Many of you on the Forum have made generous donations (and we thank you) to Phoenix and Newman just when they needed it to keep from going under and those monies have now been secured within the umbrella of a non-profit organization. All money contributed by the end of February will now be forwarded to the non-profit entity - by request of all those who donated this past year - with tax deductible receipts going out in the spring of 2009. Now that we are a legal non-profit entity, any monies donated will go straight to the Forty Sixty Inc account (and by request, a receipt will be sent for tax purposes at the end of the tax year).

Those of us from the Forum who are also on the Board, will spend the rest of our one year appointment to offer not just emotional support for the continuing direction of the Board, but will draw on our own gifts and strengths to see that things are set up in such a way that the Forum becomes self-sufficient and continues to support the cyber community that uses it.

We have NO MODERATOR status. We are still just regular schmoes trying to use what we have to make this place survive by it not becoming more of a burden on the originators of the Forum - who are - although we often forget - just human (although I have seen both of them in capes). We are not able to read your PMs, or visit in Protected Forums without having already been a part of them; we are not able to remove people from the Forum; we are not able to trace your activity, discover your whereabouts, and raid your refrigerators (although I might just be working on a program that would allow me to do so seeing as I am almost always hungry).

We are YOU. This year, however, we are YOU by proxy and next year, some of YOU will be us. There is nothing nefarious going on (even though I do hear theme music when we as a Board meet). We have no more rights and/or privileges than any other person signed up here.

We all believe that what exists as the Forty Sixty Forum is significant, life changing and sustaining; a ministry of comfort and outreach we are all proud to serve. Seriously, it is a directorship we all take seriously but which offers us no more proprietary rights to the site than we had prior to being on the Board.

It is an exciting process watching Phoenix and Newman's brain child burgeon with growth but like any child, "it takes a village" to grow it...

Hope this clears some stuff up.

Peace.
Haggie