Berkshire Hathaway 2000 Annual Report Download - page 21

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20
Shareholder-Designated Contributions
About 97% of all eligible shares participated in Berkshire's 2000 shareholder-designated contributions
program, with contributions totaling $16.9 million. A full description of the program appears on pages 74-75.
Cumulatively, over the 20 years of the program, Berkshire has made contributions of $164 million
pursuant to the instructions of our shareholders. The rest of Berkshire's giving is done by our subsidiaries, which
stick to the philanthropic patterns that prevailed before they were acquired (except that their former owners
themselves take on the responsibility for their personal charities). In aggregate, our subsidiaries made contributions
of $18.3 million in 2000, including in-kind donations of $3 million.
To participate in future programs, you must own Class A shares that are registered in the name of the
actual owner, not the nominee name of a broker, bank or depository. Shares not so registered on August 31, 2001
will be ineligible for the 2001 program. When you get the contributions form from us, return it promptly so that it
does not get put aside or forgotten. Designations received after the due date will not be honored.
The Annual Meeting
Last year we moved the annual meeting to the Civic Auditorium, and it worked very well for us. We will
meet there again on Saturday, April 28. The doors will open at 7 a.m., the movie will begin at 8:30, and the meeting
itself will commence at 9:30. There will be a short break at noon for food, with sandwiches available at the Civic’s
concession stands. Except for that interlude, Charlie and I will answer questions until 3:30.
For the next couple of years, the Civic is our only choice. We must therefore hold the meeting on either
Saturday or Sunday to avoid the traffic and parking nightmare that would occur on a weekday. Shortly, however,
Omaha will have a new Convention Center with ample parking. Assuming that the Center is then available to us, I
will poll shareholders to see whether you wish to return to a Monday meeting. We will decide that vote based on
the wishes of a majority of shareholders, not shares.
An attachment to the proxy material that is enclosed with this report explains how you can obtain the
credential you will need for admission to this year’s meeting and other events. As for plane, hotel and car
reservations, we have again signed up American Express (800-799-6634) to give you special help. In our normal
fashion, we will run buses from the larger hotels to the meeting. After the meeting, the buses will make trips back
to the hotels and to Nebraska Furniture Mart, Borsheim’s and the airport. Even so, you are likely to find a car
useful.
We have added so many new companies to Berkshire this year that I’m not going to detail all of the
products that we will be selling at the meeting. But come prepared to carry home everything from bricks to candy.
One new product, however, deserves special note: Bob Shaw has designed a 3 x 5 rug featuring an excellent
likeness of Charlie. Obviously, it would be embarrassing for Charlie make that humiliating if slow sales
forced us to slash the rug’s price, so step up and do your part.
GEICO will have a booth staffed by a number of its top counselors from around the country, all of them
ready to supply you with auto insurance quotes. In most cases, GEICO will be able to offer you a special
shareholder’s discount (usually 8%). Bring the details of your existing insurance and check out whether we can
save you some money.
At the Omaha airport on Saturday, we will have the usual array of aircraft from Executive Jet available for
your inspection. Just ask an EJA representative at the Civic about viewing any of these planes. If you buy what we
consider an appropriate number of items during the weekend, you may well need your own plane to take them
home.
At Nebraska Furniture Mart, located on a 75-acre site on 72nd Street between Dodge and Pacific, we will
again be having “Berkshire Weekend” pricing, which means we will be offering our shareholders a discount that is
customarily given only to employees. We initiated this special pricing at NFM four years ago and sales during the
“Weekend” grew from $5.3 million in 1997 to $9.1 million in 2000.