[Alumni-chat] 501 c3 status and sponsorship information

[alanbenard at pobox.com]

I would refer people to Antioch University Alumi Board Acting Chairperson Rick Daily with these questions, as I was referred to ask him before. 

I do not think there is any intention to mishandle or misdirect the Revival funds. I think everyone is being very hopeful, honest and doing what they think is best. 

But I think there is a widely held misunderstanding of what a 501(c)3 is and does. Is it a US IRS tax code reference. It refers to tax-exempt status for non-profit educational corporations. In order to qualify, the corporation:

+ Must be properly incorporated in a state, commonwealth or the District of Columia

+ Must be in the business of offering educational programs

One must also be accepted as an appropriate tax-exempt corporation within the state/commonwealth/district.

There are many, many other requirements. Lots of law. You need competent legal advice in the jurisdiction in which you are incorporated to apply for this IRS status. So, checks handed over for deposit in Yellow Springs's US Bank branch this weekend may very well not be tax-deductible by a "new 501(c)3, if that type of status or business organization is appropriate for this venture. The Alumni Board does not have an educational program. Again, maybe it needs to set up a foundation. What are the donor tax-deductibliity implications of that? I don' t know, and I am very certain no one in McGregor 113 this weekend knows, either. 

Rick Daily wrote:

> 2.  Either (a) keep the Revival fund within the University Endowment but
> subject to the exclusive control of the Alumni Association Board of
> Trustees, or (b) immediately obtain 501(c)(3) status for the Alumni
> Association.

If B is difficult or impossible, we are left with A, and I still want to know why the University would store funds in its bank accounts for the Alumni Board and then disburse it so the board can challenge the university's decision to close the college. 

Alan Benard