[Mail_treas] GoFundMe Update

[A.J. Calderone]

Hello All:



I had many treasurers, or assistant treasurers, follow up my original email
from September 23rd with a request to share worthy information from
LaBrae’s investigation into GoFundMe accounts.  Our goal is to be able to
use a GoFundMe campaign and avoid private booster groups and/or staff
members being involved in managing, or receiving, the funds.  I did go
round and round with GoFundMe as they wanted us to provide a determination
letter from the IRS as to our 501 (c)(3) status.  As public schools we
don’t file for this, but we automatically have this status as a government
entity.  The IRS doesn’t issue letters of determination without an
application for non-profit status.  We did not, and would not, go through
the painstaking application process.  However, the IRS, upon request, did
issue a government entity letter, which LaBrae’s copy accompanies this
email as a representation of what the letter looks like.  Notice, nowhere
does it specifically identify the district as a non-profit. The letter
references what qualifies one for non-profit status.  I forwarded this
letter and a copy of our District bylaws citing our governmental authority
through O.R.C. and encouraged GoFundMe to consider using the information
provided, short of an IRS determination letter, as this is a growing trend
and more public schools will likely be utilizing crowdfunding to support
student activities.  Eventually, using our EIN, and the documentation
provided, they did concede to identifying the district as a non-profit,
thus earning us a certified charity label.  Now LaBrae is able to move
forward with crowdfunding campaigns.



LaBrae needed to be identified by GoFundMe as a certified charity, because
when the district is identified as a certified charity, any fundraising
campaign can be started with the district identified as the beneficiary,
which is the most critical factor, as certified charities who are the
beneficiary of a GoFundMe campaign will have *all funds disbursed directly
to the district*, bypassing the campaign’s organizer, making treasurers,
auditors, etc. very happy; keeping everyone safe.



In short, once a district is identified as a charity, then any student
activity group or student support group could start a GoFundMe campaign
according to the policy of the district.  During the setup of a campaign,
the campaign organizer will choose the campaign to be setup to benefit a
certified charity, rather than a personal campaign. Then the organizer will
search GoFundMe’s charity database, and select the district as the
charity.  GoFundMe partners with Paypal, and the fees for the fundraising
campaign and processing can obtained on the website.  I’ve included a link
below to GoFundMe’s pricing for more information.  I was informed that when
funds are sent to the district, GoFundMe or PayPal do not report from where
the money came.  The district receives the electronic transfer to their
bank account (Sorry, no paper checks!), and it is up to the campaign
organizer to report to the treasurer the donations and from whom they
came.  GoFundMe takes care of sending communication to the donor
acknowledging the donation and amount for tax purposes.



As for policies and guidelines, it is all very new, but NEOLA just recently
provided a generic crowdfunding policy and guidelines for district
consideration.  We are in the process of massaging those to fit our
expectations.



*Reference Links*



*LaBrae’s RoboVikes Campaign:*
https://www.gofundme.com/robovikes?ssid=796850875&pos=2

·        We originally had a personal campaign setup, then reconstituted it
and tested it with a $3 donation.



*GoFundMe Fees: *https://www.gofundme.com/pricing



*Email for GoFundMe:* support at gofundme.zendesk.com
<support at gofundme.zendesk.com>

·        You will not be able to call GoFundMe.  All customer support is
done via email.  They are very expeditious about responding.  You will
usually have a response within a 20-30 minute timeframe.





I hope this helps provide some answers for those who are considering the
use of crowdfunding.



Respectfully,

A.J. Calderone



Anthony J. Calderone

Superintendent

LaBrae Local Schools

1001 N. Leavitt Road

Leavittsburg, Ohio 44430

Phone:  330.898.1393

Fax: 330.898.6112

*http://labrae.school <http://labrae.school>*

*Twitter: @LaBraeSchools </https:/twitter.com/LaBraeSchools>*



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