Friday, September 18, 2015
Printing volunteer...
David Lasko, husband of one of the Virginia Lovers' Gourd Society members, has donated his time and printing resources to the chapter for 13 years. Using his collection of antique typefaces and printing equipment, he has generated the unique look the chapter enjoys -- not polished, kind of old fashioned. Volunteers make a 501(c)(3) happen!
Tuesday, September 1, 2015
Potential Grant Paths
Foundation Directory Online is a part of the Foundation Center's online searchable database of sources for nonprofit organizations. It is a purchased service that gives information to folks looking for places to request grant money. However, there are free places to do searches and by scaling up and down on the map provided, it became clear there is a library here in town where we can go to get full access to this database! Yay!
Monday, August 31, 2015
Benefits of 501(c)(3) Status
Mollie Cullinane describes the benefits as having to do with tax exemptions, under Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3):
* exemption from Federal income tax -- we do not have enough income to be taxed, but we file anyway to establish a record;
* tax-deductible contributions -- this is worth knowing since we could encourage membership and donations when they can be tax-deductible (it would be worth generating a tax-deductible letter/form to offer donators upon receipt of goods, services, or money);
* possible exemption from state income, sales, and employment taxes -- membership dues are our only 'income' besides the money generated at the gourd auction at our annual show;
* reduced postal rates -- we checked into this and we would have to mail thousands of brochures or postcards to take advantage of this benefit, several dozen postcards is not enough;
* exemption from Federal unemployment tax -- no employees;
* tax-exempt financing -- nothing to finance as of now.
So, the biggest benefit we can make immediate use of is the tax-deductible letter or form to encourage donations for our outreach programs. Foundation Group adds another benefit which caught my eye: "Ability to apply for grants and other public or private allocations available only to IRS-recognized, 501(c)(3) organizations." Now we are talking benefit! We can locate grants that align with our mission and hopefully be able to fund the equipment and materials. What if we could get money to fund toolbags of tools to use for gourd crafting educational seminars?
* exemption from Federal income tax -- we do not have enough income to be taxed, but we file anyway to establish a record;
* tax-deductible contributions -- this is worth knowing since we could encourage membership and donations when they can be tax-deductible (it would be worth generating a tax-deductible letter/form to offer donators upon receipt of goods, services, or money);
* possible exemption from state income, sales, and employment taxes -- membership dues are our only 'income' besides the money generated at the gourd auction at our annual show;
* reduced postal rates -- we checked into this and we would have to mail thousands of brochures or postcards to take advantage of this benefit, several dozen postcards is not enough;
* exemption from Federal unemployment tax -- no employees;
* tax-exempt financing -- nothing to finance as of now.
So, the biggest benefit we can make immediate use of is the tax-deductible letter or form to encourage donations for our outreach programs. Foundation Group adds another benefit which caught my eye: "Ability to apply for grants and other public or private allocations available only to IRS-recognized, 501(c)(3) organizations." Now we are talking benefit! We can locate grants that align with our mission and hopefully be able to fund the equipment and materials. What if we could get money to fund toolbags of tools to use for gourd crafting educational seminars?Friday, August 28, 2015
About the Prohibitions
Reviewing the prohibitions brings me to considering what our organization has done so far, and what plans are upcoming.
1 - It is obvious no one profits in any way from the public appearances and outreach the group does. In fact, many members and the officers are donating more time and resources to the group than we take in through membership dues. Members donate gourds for the outreach programs [an example is the 400 egg gourds that are going to a Kidz Fest gourd program at The Gathering at the end of October]. Tents, banners, tables, and printed materials are stored at officers' homes. Printing of postcards and promotion posters is done by the husband of one member on his antique letterpress equipment. All in all, we are a volunteer organization. We manage our dollars very carefully.
2 - Political support. OH MY! The officers and members come together for the enthusiasm of gourd we all have. We are a diverse political set of folks and purposefully resist talk or reference to anything political, especially in the current climate of the country. So, actively supporting or opposing anyone would only serve as a wedge between us. If a political figure had gourd skills we valued, then that would be another story but we would encourage his/her presence from the art/gourd point of view.
3 - Legislative actions....this could be a slippery slope if the right situations came along. What if gourds became a taxable item, different from the agricultural area? What gourd farms came under unfair scrutiny for business purposes? What if gourds were found to be medicinal and therefore controlled somehow? These are ludicrous from today's point of view, but things happen. Could we maintain a neutral stand when the core of our existence is challenged?
If we stay true to our core mission of education, encouragement, and support, we should be fine.
1 - It is obvious no one profits in any way from the public appearances and outreach the group does. In fact, many members and the officers are donating more time and resources to the group than we take in through membership dues. Members donate gourds for the outreach programs [an example is the 400 egg gourds that are going to a Kidz Fest gourd program at The Gathering at the end of October]. Tents, banners, tables, and printed materials are stored at officers' homes. Printing of postcards and promotion posters is done by the husband of one member on his antique letterpress equipment. All in all, we are a volunteer organization. We manage our dollars very carefully.
2 - Political support. OH MY! The officers and members come together for the enthusiasm of gourd we all have. We are a diverse political set of folks and purposefully resist talk or reference to anything political, especially in the current climate of the country. So, actively supporting or opposing anyone would only serve as a wedge between us. If a political figure had gourd skills we valued, then that would be another story but we would encourage his/her presence from the art/gourd point of view.
3 - Legislative actions....this could be a slippery slope if the right situations came along. What if gourds became a taxable item, different from the agricultural area? What gourd farms came under unfair scrutiny for business purposes? What if gourds were found to be medicinal and therefore controlled somehow? These are ludicrous from today's point of view, but things happen. Could we maintain a neutral stand when the core of our existence is challenged?
If we stay true to our core mission of education, encouragement, and support, we should be fine.
| It would be a challenge, but we would maintain an honest system. |
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Compliance Guide - 3 Prohibitions
The foreword of the IRS Compliance Guide states "federal tax law provides tax benefits to nonprofit organizations." This particular guide reviews the activities that could mess with nonprofit status. [Later, we will review the IRS publication, Life Cycle of a Public Charity.] For now, there are specific situations that could provide evidence to support a revocation of nonprofit status.
Initially, is it important to note the officers, directors, employees, or in our case volunteers, must work to ensure nothing happens that will jeopardize our nonprofit status:
1- no one can profit, or accrue assets, from the organization's dealings; the IRS prohibits individual benefit because nonprofits serve a public interest, not private ones
2- we cannot directly or indirectly get involved in political campaigns; we can have members or guest speakers who happen to be in politics, but we are prohibited from promoting that aspect of the person.
For example, we can promote voting [have gourds that say Vote!, not not Vote for So-and-So.] Being a gourd organization, the closest we would get to this is doing goofy gourd art saying "Vote Gourdheads for Congress!" BwHahahaAaAa!
However, having said that, we could not invite a political figure to our annual festival and promote him/her attendance as a political event. This kind of advertising would be deemed a violation in the eyes of the IRS and worthy of revocation of our nonprofit status. It just takes one complaint to the IRS!
3- we are not permitted to engage in "substantial legislative activity" such as lobbying. We cannot urge the public, members, or employees to contact anyone for the purposes of supporting, opposing, or proposing legislation. In the words so commonly stated around the patio, "We are Switzerland!" We are neutral in matters of politics.
Initially, is it important to note the officers, directors, employees, or in our case volunteers, must work to ensure nothing happens that will jeopardize our nonprofit status:
1- no one can profit, or accrue assets, from the organization's dealings; the IRS prohibits individual benefit because nonprofits serve a public interest, not private ones
2- we cannot directly or indirectly get involved in political campaigns; we can have members or guest speakers who happen to be in politics, but we are prohibited from promoting that aspect of the person.
| General US interest, not politically specific. |
However, having said that, we could not invite a political figure to our annual festival and promote him/her attendance as a political event. This kind of advertising would be deemed a violation in the eyes of the IRS and worthy of revocation of our nonprofit status. It just takes one complaint to the IRS!
3- we are not permitted to engage in "substantial legislative activity" such as lobbying. We cannot urge the public, members, or employees to contact anyone for the purposes of supporting, opposing, or proposing legislation. In the words so commonly stated around the patio, "We are Switzerland!" We are neutral in matters of politics.
 |
| Is this guy for real, really? Oh My Gosh!! He is for real! |
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Positive Reasons for Being a NonProfit
The positive reasons for being a nonprofit basically involve money, either being able to gather it, or not paying taxes (so being able to keep and use more of it). Being a 501(c)(3) allows a group to write for grant money to pay for equipment, materials, employees(?, checking on that), and promotion of the group's mission. Right now, the Virginia Lovers' Gourd Society has been working with membership dues, money from the Virginia Gourd Festival auction, and volunteer donations. We do a lot with very little.
 |
| ...very little money so far. |
Where To Start...
Initially, the best place to start would be the IRS but that website is big and a little overwhelming. At first, what is needed is a summary of pros and cons for becoming a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
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| We did it, but then "What to do?" |
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