By MICHELE F. MIHALJEVICH
Indiana Correspondent

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. — Money from the sale of ag-related specialty license plates in Indiana goes to scholarships and programs for young adults, officials said.

Indiana has had a specialty plate promoting the 4-H Foundation since 1996, and one for the FFA Trust since 2000, said Dennis Rosebrough, communications director for the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). Last year, 1,571 4-H plates and 969 FFA plates were sold in the state, he said.

In 2008 in Indiana, more than 6.5 million license plates were sold, and of those, more than 2.6 million were specialty plates. “This is a fundraiser, so it behooves them to advertise their plates,” Rosebrough said. “If you support us, buy a plate.”

Specialty plates cost $40 more than regular plates, with $25 going to the specific organization. The remaining $15 is an administrative fee that covers the costs of production, inventory and other administration, he said.

Many organizations opt to allow the state to collect the fee and pass it on, but a few collect it themselves. Under that system, the plate buyer must get a letter of authorization showing prepayment, from the particular organization, before a plate may be purchased, Rosebrough said.

From 2007 through March 31, 2009, Indiana 4-H received about $70,000 from the state from the sales of its specialty plate. The 4-H Foundation switched from requiring prepayment to allowing the state to collect the fee in 2007, he said.

“The goal was a reliable, ongoing fundraising source, where you don’t have to have a staff person working on it every day,” said Kenda Resler Friend, 4-H Foundation advocate and corporate communication leader for Dow AgroSciences. “This gives us the flexibility to support programs we want to support.”

Funds are used to help support the state junior leader conference, 4-H roundup and adult leader recognition, she said. The money also funds Indiana delegates for trips to such events as the National 4-H Conference and National Collegiate 4-H Conference, said Shelly Bingle-Coffman, executive director of the Indiana 4-H Foundation.

Of the $25 the organization receives from each plate sold, $10 goes to the county 4-H program where it was purchased, she added. In 2008, the most plates were sold in Hamilton County, followed by Elkhart and Marion counties.

The 4-H plate wasn’t really necessary to increase awareness of the program in the state, Friend said.

“This is another tool in the toolbox,” she said. “The extension offices in each county are the front line. It’s a really nice complement to what we do. Branding wasn’t our number-one goal, but it was after fundraising and building relationships with the counties.

“Over a million 4-H alumni live in Indiana. The 4-H clover is one of the most recognizable symbols in agriculture.”

The Indiana FFA Foundation received more than $188,000 from the sale of its specialty plate from 2000 through March 31, Rosebrough said.

“The license plate sales program exceeded our expectations and certainly helps to support our programs,” said Brian Buchanan, executive director for Indiana FFA.

“It’s a nice boost for our budget, and a good chunk of money you can count on every year.”

About 70-75 percent of the money from plate sales goes to scholarships for FFA members who want to attend college, he said. The rest goes to other programs.

“Each year, we give 60 to 80 scholarships, of $200 to $250,” Buchanan said. “Our approach is to try to spread it out as much as possible.”

The FFA Foundation decided to request a plate after noting the money other organizations have made from them, he said.
“It really came out of a brainstorming session with a group of board members,” Buchanan said. “These plates kick off a substantial amount of money. And a lot of people see the plate and they already know what FFA stands for.

“We find once people buy the plate, they keep buying it each year. Most of our promotion is through word of mouth.”

The Indiana State Department of Agriculture supports the idea of specialty plates, said Jeannie Keating, manager of media relations.
“We certainly are looking for ways to support and promote agriculture, as long as the mechanism doesn’t compromise safety,” she said.

Indiana offers 70 specialty plates, Rosebrough said. Organizations interested in a specialty plate have to meet certain criteria, such as they must be not-for-profit and they must be able to guarantee a minimum number of sales.

The deadline to apply is the March 31 before the year the plate will be available.

The decision to approve specialty plates is made by the BMV, Rosebrough explained.