HEMA Alliance Tax Exempt Information

[Jeremy S.]

I searched in vain for this information, so here are a few questions and thoughts to get things started.

What is the HEMA Alliance tax exempt number?

How is the Alliance going to calculate the non-cash revenue for this year's filing with the IRS?

The tax exempt number is needed by anyone who is planning on deducting any donations to the Alliance this year. Any donation worth over $75 requires a receipt be given stating the tax exempt number and the value of what was donated. Along the same lines, the value of those donations needs to be captured on the Form 990 or 990-EZ that the Alliance is required to file every year to keep its 501(c)3 status. So that pair of training swords that someone purchased and donated to the HEMAA for use in their local groups needs to be counted Same thing goes for any practice space that was donated (and written off by the dojo etc that gave you the space and time).

Edit: I know this isn't the most exciting stuff, but it is (can be) important.

[RJ McKeehan]

Bumping this thread because I think this information is super important especially for encouraging donations within groups...
I'd also like to know!

[Jeremy S.]

Someone with actual authority will come along to answer, but I can at least relate what I've been told and what I've been doing the last few months.

The Alliance is going to ask for a year end accounting of donations. So start getting that together now. Because of the rather small amounts we're talking about, the filing with the IRS is likely to just be a card saying the HEMA Alliance is below the lower limit. Technically, the Alliance is supposed to issue a receipt if the gift is worth over $75; individual filers only need a receipt if the gift is over $250. There's a plan to have an automated receipt request on the main Alliance page, so that takes care of the receipt issue.

The EIN# is needed (along with proper authorization) if a member club plans to open a bank account as an affiliate of the Alliance. This can have several advantages over a normal business account, depending on the bank. The same goes for opening a non-profit paypal account. It means the Alliance Board of Directors needs access to the accounts and should receive copies of the year end statements.

The EIN# is also needed if your group plans on applying for any sort of grant or matching donations. I know many companies still match employee donations to non-profit groups; schools, libraries and charity groups benefit from this all the time and I see no reason the Alliance can't as well. It does make for some more paperwork for the GC and Board.

We're currently waiting for a check to be cut on a $1K grant

[RJ McKeehan]

Nice, thanks Jeremy. I will utilize this information soon