Dear donors and supporters,
I am so proud to be a part of the Hartnell College Community College District! When I got word that we exceeded the 2021 Employees for Student Success 
campaign goals, I was overjoyed and filled with Panther Pride!
I am honored to be part of such a generous and caring group of colleagues and friends. The Hartnell Employee Giving Campaign for Student Success has reached its goal of 200 donors with a total donation of $134,000! I want to thank the employee giving committee and all of the employee philanthropists for their huge hearts and commitment to students. Go Hartnell!
As we gear up to assist students with scholarships, more funding has been allotted to help cover basic needs. I am so excited to share with you that United Way just approved a $2.18 million Rent and Utility Assistance Grant to help our students. This is a great stride forward in being able to ensure that students can be successful in the classroom while managing the economic hardships enhanced by the pandemic.
This is just one way we can support students now. They have shown how resilient they are through adversity and we are so honored to play a role in supporting them. We are putting a team together to make the process seamless for our students and plan to distribute $1.9 million in the next 10 months.
With your support and that of our partners, we are stronger together! Thank you for keeping Hartnell College close to your heart!
Best regards,
Jackie Cruz
Vice President,
Advancement and Development
and Executive Director for the
Hartnell College Foundation
Another way to help Hartnell students
What are Required Minimum Distributions?
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) generally are minimum amounts that a retirement plan account owner must withdraw annually starting with the year that he or she reaches 72 (70 ½ if you reached 70 ½ before January 1, 2020), or the year in which he or she retires. However, if the retirement plan account is an IRA or the account owner is a 5% owner of the business sponsoring the retirement plan, the RMDs must begin once the account holder is age 72 (70 ½ if you reach 70 ½ before January 1, 2020), regardless of whether he or she is retired. 
Retirement plan participants and IRA owners, including owners of SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs, are responsible for taking the correct amount of RMDs on time every year from their accounts, and they face stiff penalties for failure to take RMDs.
What types of retirement plans require minimum distributions?
The RMD rules apply to all employer sponsored retirement plans, including profit-sharing plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and 457(b) plans. The RMD rules also apply to traditional IRAs and IRA-based plans such as SEPs, SARSEPs, and SIMPLE IRAs.
The RMD rules also apply to Roth 401(k) accounts. However, the RMD rules do not apply to Roth IRAs while the owner is alive.
Consequences for failing to take Required Minimum Distributions.
If you do not take any distributions, or if the distributions are not large enough, you may have to pay a 50% excise tax on the amount not distributed as required.
There is so much to know about the required minimum distributions and it is always best to discuss this further with your financial advisor. But one thing is for sure, this type of charitable gift allows donors like you to give and avoid hefty taxes on distributions not taken. Utilizing this benefit allows you to give seamlessly. It is a win-win!
If you would like to have Hartnell College be the recipient of your required minimum distribution, please consult your accountant or financial advisor, then contact me at jcruz@hartnell.edu or (831) 755-6810.
Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) generally are minimum amounts that a retirement plan account owner must withdraw annually starting with the year that he or she reaches 72 (70 ½ if you reached 70 ½ before January 1, 2020), or the year in which he or she retires. However, if the retirement plan account is an IRA or the account owner is a 5% owner of the business sponsoring the retirement plan, the RMDs must begin once the account holder is age 72 (70 ½ if you reach 70 ½ before January 1, 2020), regardless of whether he or she is retired.
Retirement plan participants and IRA owners, including owners of SEP IRAs and SIMPLE IRAs, are responsible for taking the correct amount of RMDs on time every year from their accounts, and they face stiff penalties for failure to take RMDs.
What types of retirement plans require minimum distributions?
The RMD rules apply to all employer sponsored retirement plans, including profit-sharing plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, and 457(b) plans. The RMD rules also apply to traditional IRAs and IRA-based plans such as SEPs, SARSEPs, and SIMPLE IRAs.
The RMD rules also apply to Roth 401(k) accounts. However, the RMD rules do not apply to Roth IRAs while the owner is alive.
Consequences for failing to take Required Minimum Distributions.
If you do not take any distributions, or if the distributions are not large enough, you may have to pay a 50% excise tax on the amount not distributed as required.
There is so much to know about the required minimum distributions and it is always best to discuss this further with your financial advisor. But one thing is for sure, this type of charitable gift allows donors like you to give and avoid hefty taxes on distributions not taken. Utilizing this benefit allows you to give seamlessly. It is a win-win!
If you would like to have Hartnell College be the recipient of your required minimum distribution, please consult your accountant or financial advisor, then contact me at jcruz@hartnell.edu or (831) 755-6810.
Donor Profile
A family tradition begins: Alfred and Elvira honor parents with an endowed scholarship
Three years ago, Alfred and Elvira Diaz-Infante sat down with their family to discuss a way to honor Alfred’s parents, Luis and Evelia. In 1961, Luis and Evelia immigrated to Salinas, California. Being in a new country with a new language and few contacts was a challenge that they took on to provide better opportunities 
for their children and grandchildren to come.
“I wanted to do something special,” said Diaz-Infante about setting up this endowment to honor his parents. “It was important for my three children and the rest of the family to learn that thanks to my parents, they get to live here and have all the opportunities given to them.”
Before his passing last year, Luis expressed that while he was unable to have an extensive formal education, he was proud to see how much his four children and numerous grandchildren had achieved in their own educations and careers.
“We know that this success is due to the sacrifices he made to lay a strong foundation for his family and to the importance of education that he instilled in us,” wrote Alfred’s niece, Amy Diaz-Infante, in his obituary. “This educational legacy is not only enumerated in the achievements of his children and grandchildren, but also lives on in the local community through the Díaz-Infante Family Scholarship at Hartnell College.”
The Díaz-Infante Family Scholarship was established in 2017 in honor of Luis and Evelia with a $15,000 fund that will grow with family donating into it each year. It will be awarded to farmworkers, children of farmworkers, or low-income students pursuing degrees in business, engineering, healthcare, communications, or education.
“My wife and I wanted to create a culture of giving in the family,” said Diaz-Infante. “We wanted to have something that we could do together as a family.”
A family tradition begins: Alfred and Elvira honor parents with an endowed scholarship
Three years ago, Alfred and Elvira Diaz-Infante sat down with their family to discuss a way to honor Alfred’s parents, Luis and Evelia. In 1961, Luis and Evelia immigrated to Salinas, California. Being in a new country with a new language and few contacts was a challenge that they took on to provide better opportunities for their children and grandchildren to come.
“I wanted to do something special,” said Diaz-Infante about setting up this endowment to honor his parents. “It was important for my three children and the rest of the family to learn that thanks to my parents, they get to live here and have all the opportunities given to them.”
Before his passing last year, Luis expressed that while he was unable to have an extensive formal education, he was proud to see how much his four children and numerous grandchildren had achieved in their own educations and careers.
“We know that this success is due to the sacrifices he made to lay a strong foundation for his family and to the importance of education that he instilled in us,” wrote Alfred’s niece, Amy Diaz-Infante, in his obituary. “This educational legacy is not only enumerated in the achievements of his children and grandchildren, but also lives on in the local community through the Díaz-Infante Family Scholarship at Hartnell College.”
The Díaz-Infante Family Scholarship was established in 2017 in honor of Luis and Evelia with a $15,000 fund that will grow with family donating into it each year. It will be awarded to farmworkers, children of farmworkers, or low-income students pursuing degrees in business, engineering, healthcare, communications, or education.
“My wife and I wanted to create a culture of giving in the family,” said Diaz-Infante. “We wanted to have something that we could do together as a family.”