DISCLAIMER: These posts contain hints, tips and ideas from folks that have had some experiences dealing with this. It is NOT meant to be legal advice here - just related experiences. Please consult with a reputable professional if necessary. Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 12:08:34 -0700 To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: Pat Calloway Subject: EQ-ResQ: Non-Profit Workshop In response to popular request ... first please check out the archives from the classes we had last summer/fall on this topic: http://pages.prodigy.com/equinerescue/rescarch.htm You'll find lots of good pointers there and you can print them out for your own personal use. I believe that some folks have notebooks of many notes printed from this list just for reference/ideas, so you may want to consider something like that. I'll save the notes on this discussion and archive them as well. Here are a few questions to start us off - pick any or all. How many of you on the list are non-profits and when did you acquire the status? How long did it take to file? How bad was the paperwork? Did you hire a professional or do it yourself? What are some of the advantages and disadvantages to being a non-profit? Have you found it increased your donations or not? What are some reference materials that you found handy in filing? Would you be willing to act as a "mentor" to someone who wanted some help in filing their 501(c)(3)? Pat Calloway, Equine Rescue Listowner epona@concentric.net (AZ) http://pages.prodigy.com/equinerescue/home.htm ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: Williams Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Non-Profit Workshop Date: Sun, 01 Aug 1999 19:14:59 -0500 > How many of you on the list are non-profits and when did you acquire the > status? Ours is pending. We filed in June, and we're waiting. Impatiently.. :) > How long did it take to file? Ours went slow. We had an attorney who had volunteered to do everything back in February. I sent everything to him, and in late March he decided he didn't have time. If I had known _that_ in Feb., I would have done it myself. So, things went slow until I got help from a fellow rescue in Texas who had just submitted theirs. > How bad was the paperwork? It was tedious. > Did you hire a professional or do it yourself? Did it myself - asked the other officers questions and had my husband check over to make sure I had not forgotten anything. > What are some of the advantages and disadvantages to being a non-profit? Don't know yet. :) > Have you found it increased your donations or not? I have had several people who would have donated horses instead of sending them to auction (I did try to find them other contacts, but they were not very patient)if they could have gotten the tax write off. I do have a few people, as well, who are waiting to donate money until we're a non profit. > Would you be willing to act as a "mentor" to someone who wanted some > help in filing their 501(c)(3)? > Certainly. -- Jennifer Williams President, Lone Star Equine Rescue - http://www.lser.org/ Editor and Designer, Equine Designs - http://www.equinedesigns.com/ ICQ # 21839353 ============================================================ To: equinerescue@mylist.net From: jaci_ackerman@juno.com Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Non-Profit Workshop Date: Wed, 4 Aug 1999 01:10:53 -0700 >How many of you on the list are non-profits and when did you acquire the >status? NCERL is 501(c)3 non-profit and we acquired it in September 1998, five months after filing and eleven months after "opening for business." >What are some of the advantages and disadvantages to being a non-profit? The advantages are being able to use it in our marketing materials. I think people are more willing to donate money and items if they can write it off on their taxes. It also seems to make people feel more comfortable that we are a legitimate charity and worthy recipient of a gift. I guess the disadvantages are that you have to keep good records, but that's not really a disadvantage since you should do that anyway. >Have you found it increased your donations or not? It's hard to tell whether it was the tax-exempt status, or becoming more established, or a combination of the two. Our donations have definitely increased in the past year! Jacalyn Ackerman, jaci_ackerman@juno.com NC Equine Rescue League http://members.aol.com/ncerl ============================================================