On 02/01/2011 08:47 AM, Lisa Kachold wrote:
/While the whole charitable donation subject and process for
soliciting donations for both ABLEConf and PLUG (which, granted are
quite different orgs) and for Volunteers claiming a tax credit or
equipment donations, claiming a tax credit needs to be addressed
formally, and recommendations or best practices to members and
volunteers needs to written up and displayed on the volunteer section
of the PLUG website, this post at tax time can assist you./
*ARIZONA LEGAL Summary: *
A) Neither the PLUG, nor ABLEConf are 501c designated community action
agencies. (Estimated DIY ost to obtain $1,000 fees, etc.) 1 below. below.
B) Neither the PLUG nor ABLEconf have open public budgets. Part of A
above requires election of a board, and treasurer. Neither the PLUG
nor ABLEconf spend 50%of budget on services to Arizona residents.
[Unknown see B above]
C) Neither the PLUG nor ABLEconf have planning budgets, fund raising
events or submit events for TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy
Families, however we could easily do so, should we be able to take
501c equipment contributions, for computer recycling.
D) Neither the PLUG nor ABLEconf can submit a the Department of
Revenue letter
We could possibly get a charter as a "feeder organization" from LPI,
ScALE, or LOPSA, however, I believe they will also require standard
accounting and more. It might just be easier to DIY our own non-profit.
Non-profit status would allow us to:
0) Have elected or appointed Board members designated for various
ongoing responsibilities (so President [aka King] Hans doesn't have to
do everyone [or nothing which is what is required in a non-profit, yet
fails to grow because of limitations]])
1) Hold fundraisers
2) Reimburse people for tee-shirts, equipment purchases for events, or
at least provide a budget for BIG events and let they do as they will;
since we would be able: (see 3)
3) Provide tax write offs for volunteer time, equipment, cash
donations and mileage
4) Provide grants to youth for various purposes
5) Provide Scholarships to Member Classes or ASU?
*Current Needs:*
Of course we currently need:
0: a volunteer center for the PLUG both on the website (file and
information sharing and in he real world where we can lock up
equipment. I will set that up today in drupal).
1) Buy in and assistance from Der Hans for starting the Non-Profit
Project fundraisers and putting together the court papers for both
ABLEConf and plug (need address, [Han's house or business will do
fine, but a P.O. Box is optimal].
From:
http://www.azdor.gov/About/FAQs/QualifyingCharitableOrganization.aspx
*References Regarding Volunteer Status Taxes and Benefits *
A charitable organization must submit written certification on a
prescribed application form to
the Department of Revenue along with other information and documents.
To view the form
and detailed instructions, click here
<http://www.azdor.gov/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=BFl4fNNzpok%3d&tabid=133>.
The charitable organization must:
1) be a charitable organization that is exempt from federal income
taxes under Section
501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or is a designated community
action agency that
receives community services block grant program monies pursuant to 42
United States Code
Section 9901.
2) Spend at least fifty percent of its budget on services to Arizona
residents who receive
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits or to Arizona
resident low-income
households or to chronically ill or physically disabled children who
are Arizona residents.
“Services” means cash assistance, medical care, child care, food,
clothing, shelter, job
placement and job training services or any other assistance that is
reasonably necessary to
meet immediate basic needs and that is provided and used in this state.
3) Provide financial data indicating the organization’s budget for the
prior operating year and
the amount of our budget spent on services to residents of Arizona who
either receive
Temporary Assistance of Needy Families (TANF) benefits, are low income
residents of Arizona
or are chronically ill or physically disabled children and
4) State that the organization plans to continue spending at least
fifty percent of the budget in
the future on services to residents of Arizona who receive Temporary
Assistance of Needy
Families (TANF) benefits, are low income residents of Arizona or are
chronically ill or physically
disabled children.The organization must also notify the Department of
any changes that may affect its
qualifications. The certification or change letters should be mailed to:
Arizona Department of Revenue
Office of Economic Research and Analysis
1600 W. Monroe
Phoenix, AZ 85007
/Excerpt:/:
/*Charitable Contributions Tax Credit: If you are donating to a
charity, you have to itemize deductions on your Arizona return in
order to get this tax credit. */
You can't just pick any non-profit organization. To qualify for this
tax credit, a charity to which you would contribute must spend at
least fifty percent of its budget on services to Arizona's residents
who are considered working poor. You don't have to find that out for
yourself; each charity knows if they qualify for the tax credit. Most
of them will indicate this on their web site if they are. The
organization may also have a form for this contribution/ or online
payment system/. You can often find the annual report online to take a
look at how the money at that organization is spent. Even if the
charity's web site doesn't have the information, you can call them to
get it. The important issue here is that for you to receive the tax
credit, the organization must be able to provide a copy of the
certification letter from the Arizona Department of Revenue. Once you
know that the organization you support is certified, then you can make
the contribution and take your Arizona tax credit when you file your
tax return.
Charitable Contributions Tax Credit
If you are donating to a charity, you have to itemize deductions on
your Arizona return in order a charitable contribution deduction (get
this tax credit).
You can't just pick any non-profit organization. To qualify for this
tax credit, a charity to which you would contribute must spend at
least fifty percent of its budget on services to Arizona's residents
who are considered working poor. You don't have to find that out for
yourself; each charity knows if they qualify for the tax credit. Most
of them will indicate this on their web site if they are. The
organization may also have a form for this contribution or online
payment system. You can often find the annual report online to take a
look at how the money at that organization is spent. Even if the
charity's web site doesn't have the information, you can call them to
get it. *The important issue here is that for you to receive the tax
credit, the organization must be able to provide a copy of the
certification letter from the Arizona Department of Revenue*.
Excerpt::
Once you know that the organization you support is certified, then you
can make the contribution and take your Arizona tax credit when you
file your tax return.
If you don't have time to check out all the individual organizations
that might qualify, and you don't have a favorite qualifying charity
in mind, there are umbrella organizations, like United Way, where you
can donate the money and they will distribute it.
Abuse includes arrangements to improperly shield income or assets
from taxation and attempts by donors to maintain control over donated
assets or income from donated property. The IRS also continues to
investigate various schemes involving the donation of non-cash assets
including situations where several organizations claim the full value
for both the receipt and distribution of the same non-cash
contribution. Often these donations are highly overvalued or the
organization receiving the donation promises that the donor can
repurchase the items later at a price set by the donor. The Pension
Protection Act of 2006 imposed increased penalties for inaccurate
appraisals and set new definitions of qualified appraisals and
qualified appraisers for taxpayers claiming charitable contributions.
Donors donating in-kind goods and claiming significant deductions for
the contribution should expect extra scrutiny this year. Generally,
donations of property (other than cash, inventory, publicly traded
stock, or intellectual property) in excess of $5,000 require
qualified appraisal. Also, any single item of clothing or any
household item that is not in good used condition or better and for
which the donor deducts more than $500 requires a qualified appraisal.
The appraisal must meet the definition of a “qualified appraisal”
which requires specific information to be included and must be
prepared by a qualified appraiser who meets certain qualifications. If
the donor does include the appraisal with his or her tax return or if
the appraisal does not meet the specific criteria for a “qualified
appraisal,” the donor cannot deduct the contribution. The qualified
appraisal and qualified appraiser rules impose high standards that are
extremely specific. Care should be taken to ensure the appraisal and
appraiser meet these standards.
Additional resources:
http://www.azdor.gov/About/FAQs/QualifyingCharitableOrganization.aspx
http://charitylawyerblog.com/2010/03/30/abuse-of-charitable-organizations-and-deductions-included-in-2010-dirty-dozen-tax-scams/
* Categories
o Acquisition
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/collaboration/acquisition/>
(2)
o Annual Reports
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/arizona-corporation-commission/annual-reports/>
(2)
o Application for Exemption
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/application-for-exemption/>
(9)
o Arizona Corporation Commission
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/arizona-corporation-commission/>
(2)
o Arizona Nonprofit Corporations
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/arizona-nonprofit-corporations/>
(5)
o Arizona Nonprofit Lawyer
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/arizona-nonprofit-lawyer/>
(3)
o Articles
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/arizona-nonprofit-corporations/forming-a-non-profit-corporation/articles/>
(5)
o Audits and Examinations
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/i-r-s/audits-and-examinations/>
(1)
o B-Corp.
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/social-enterprise/b-corp/>
(1)
o Benefit Corporation
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/social-enterprise/benefit-corporation/>
(3)
o Board Chair
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/governance/board-chair/>
(1)
o Book Review
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/book-review/> (3)
o Business Judgment Rule
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/protection-from-liability/business-judgment-rule/>
(2)
o Bylaws
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/arizona-nonprofit-corporations/forming-a-non-profit-corporation/bylaws/>
(7)
o Carter Law Group
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/carter-law-group/> (5)
o Cell Phone Rules
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/cell-phone-rules/> (1)
o Charity Raffles
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/charity-raffles/> (1)
o Charleston Principles
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/solicitation-registration/charleston-principles/>
(1)
o Charter Schools
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/schools/charter-schools/>
(1)
o Collaboration
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/collaboration/> (5)
o Commensurate Test
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/commensurate-test/> (1)
o Commerciality Doctrine
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/threats-to-exemption/commerciality-doctrine/>
(1)
o Compensation Setting Procedures
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/compensation-setting-procedures/>
(4)
o Conflicts of Interest
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/governance/conflicts-of-interest/>
(1)
o Directors and Officers Insurance
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/protection-from-liability/directors-and-officers-insurance/>
(2)
o Donor Advised Fund
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/donor-advised-fund/> (1)
o Donor Issues
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/donor-issues/> (2)
o Donor Restrictions
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/endowment/donor-restrictions/>
(2)
o Economic Development
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/economic-development/> (1)
o Endowment <http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/endowment/>
(2)
o Ex-Officio Directors
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/governance/ex-officio-directors/>
(1)
o Excess Benefit Transactions
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/excess-benefit-transactions/>
(2)
o Executive Committees
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/governance/executive-committees/>
(1)
o Feeder Organization
<http://charitylawyerblog.com/topics/threats-to-exemption/feeder-organization/>
(1)
end excerpt:
*Any suggestions, ideas, or?*
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Lisa,
In this on in another post you put out a call for ethernet cable. I
have one 25' (I think) one 12' (I think) and 3 or 4 4-6' pieces of
car5e or 6 that I can donate if needed. I'll bring them tot he next
east side Stammtische or meeting and give then to you, Hans,or Bryan.
Scott Gwin
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