All Members Please Read

[ReefWidowed]

Please read the entire post


As most of you know, I have been working on getting us non-profit status through the IRS ( 28 page form that needs 38 pages of instructions)

I am proposing a change to our Constitution to better adhere to the regulations set out by the IRS.

Old Mission Statement: The mission of C-SEA shall be the general advancement of the marine aquarium hobby, and in particular, the advancement of the hobby among the C-SEA membership


Proposed New Mission Statement: The mission of the Cleveland Saltwater Enthusiast’s Association (C-SEA) is to foster research, education and responsible reefkeeping by its members in a community environment.

Reason for change: To be eligible for Tax-Exempt status an organization must be religious, educational, scientific, charitable ect... We are filing under educational. There needs to be obvious evidence of that stated in our Constitution/Bylaws.

There will be copies of any/all proposed changes at the Frag-a-thon available for members to read. The Mission Statement is the biggest change.

I will restate the changes at the Nov meeting while our guest gets ready. We will take a quick yea/nay vote. If there is not an obvious Yea vote, it will be tabled until after the new year and no changes will be made.

I obviously want to get this moving as soon as possible, but I don't want to make anyone feel rushed into making a material change to our Constitution and Bylaws


Jennifer

 

[MJAnderson]

I say we go religious. I have a chalice that I swear you can see the virgin mary's profile under 20k radiums.

 

[ReefWidowed]

And that's why I love you

 

[fambrough]

New status or not, that's a far better mission statement than the old. I hope that club activites live up to it (small youth scholarship awards, fund raising drive for the aquatic division of the zoo...). Do we do anything like this already? I really don't know. Speaking only for myself, of course, I'd pay a few extra bucks in membership dues to see that happen.

I rarely get to the meetings, so it's unlikely that I'll hear about the change first hand or be able to cast my vote. Is it possible to vote in absentia? Please keep us posted here. Thanks for your hard work.

 

[brad]

I went through this process about 5 years ago, and worked with a few attorneys who are former IRS agents. I am not an attorney, and things can change, but here is what I remeber:

If an organization has less than $25,000 / year revenue and would be qualified to operate as a 503c non-profit if it filed the paperwork, it can operate the same way as a 503c without filing.

A mission statement is actual important, but only for how the IRS would look at it. They don't want people starting a generic nonprofit, that gives $100 to schools, takes care of a dozen kittens and buys everyone ice cream.

Deductiblity of donations is the responsibility of those making the donations and how they file taxes. C-Sea has very little to do with this.

I do like the idea of revising the mission statement, but think the old one was good enough for the IRS. I am not thrilled with "to foster research, education and responsible reefkeeping". As I move towards a PhD, I am more research focused, and what we are doing is not research. Real research would be a good direction for our club, but it isn't what we do now. I would also change the wording to "to foster marine aquarium research, education and responsible animal husbandry". The way you word this sounds like we are promoting education and research in general, and not related to the hobby. This may just be from hanging around lawyers too much.


This is all just my opinion, and I haven't been on the board in years.

 

[ReefWidowed]

The filing is for recognition status for when we do things like book space for our swap and so that we would be able to offer tax benefits to those who donate to us as well. The problem with the old statement, is that no where in the rest of our Constitution or Bylaws does it mention that we fit any of the requirements of the status. If the research part bothers you, it can be changed. That's why something so major like this has to be voted on, and i wanted to give plenty advance notice for comments/questions. I like your suggested change and think it would fit well.
So, more like this"
"The mission of the Cleveland Saltwater Enthusiast’s Association (C-SEA) is to foster marine aquarium research, education and responsible reef husbandry by its members in a community environment."

 

[the budman]

i like it for what my .02$ is worth

 

[Notathumpa]

Do other clubs do this?

 

[itZme]

If they are a non-profit organization.

 

[ReefWidowed]

Also wishing to amend the accounting period. I would like to change it from a June year end to a December year end....much easier

 

[newsalt1]

I think what you are doing is great. I applaud you for the time and effort that you are making on behalf of the club. Getting a non profit status should as you have stated make it more desirable for companies to donate things as now they will be able to deduct their donations legally. The change in the mission statement and the accounting period will have my vote Friday night.

 

[serpentman]

Jen, thanks for all the hard work on this.

Not to nitpick but I would drop the research altogether and stick with education and responsible husbandry.

 

[Bowman]

I applaud your efforts as well. When we looked into 501c3 status previously it was apparent that the focus needs to be on education. Coming up with a good mission statement that represented that focus is the key. I would suggest looking at other clubs mission statements and tailor ours accordingly. The changes also get my vote.

 

[ReefWidowed]

"The mission of the Cleveland Saltwater Enthusiast’s Association (C-SEA) is to foster the growth of a sustainable marine aquarium hobby through education,responsible reef husbandry and the sharing of information by its members in a community environment."

Closer?

 

[itZme]

I think you have it nailed down with that one.

 

[serpentman]

I agree.

 

[DiscoReefRover]

that one sounds like a winner to me ....

 

[boozerell]

I like the last version as well.

 

[Kreeger1]

Awesome work there Jen...

 

[rj ripetide]

What's wrong with the research part? Many of us do record keeping and experiment with different methods of reef keeping, lighting, temperature, kalkwasser, calc reactors and such.... For an example, Chuck Stottlemier and his non-photosynthetic reef tank. Is not what he has done considered research?
Just curious why you would want to drop it.... Maybe not all of us does such research, but some do.