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--></style></head><body lang="EN-US" link="blue" vlink="purple"><div class="WordSection1"><p class="MsoNormal">Hello All:</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">I had many treasurers, or assistant treasurers, follow up my original email from September 23<sup>rd</sup> 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.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">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 <b><u>all funds disbursed directly to the district</u></b>, bypassing the campaign’s organizer, making treasurers, auditors, etc. very happy; keeping everyone safe.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">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. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">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.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><u><span style="font-size:14.0pt">Reference Links</span></u></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b> </b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>LaBrae’s RoboVikes Campaign:</b> <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/robovikes?ssid=796850875&pos=2">https://www.gofundme.com/robovikes?ssid=796850875&pos=2</a></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>We originally had a personal campaign setup, then reconstituted it and tested it with a $3 donation. </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>GoFundMe Fees: </b><a href="https://www.gofundme.com/pricing">https://www.gofundme.com/pricing</a></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:support@gofundme.zendesk.com"><b><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none">Email for GoFundMe:</span></b><span style="color:windowtext;text-decoration:none"> </span>support@gofundme.zendesk.com</a></p><p class="MsoListParagraph" style="text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1"><span style="font-family:Symbol"><span style="mso-list:Ignore">·<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman""> </span></span></span>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.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">I hope this helps provide some answers for those who are considering the use of crowdfunding.</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Respectfully,</p><p class="MsoNormal">A.J. Calderone</p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal">Anthony J. Calderone</p><p class="MsoNormal">Superintendent</p><p class="MsoNormal">LaBrae Local Schools</p><p class="MsoNormal">1001 N. Leavitt Road</p><p class="MsoNormal">Leavittsburg, Ohio 44430</p><p class="MsoNormal">Phone: 330.898.1393</p><p class="MsoNormal">Fax: 330.898.6112</p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:red"><a href="http://labrae.school"><span style="color:blue">http://labrae.school</span></a></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="color:#595959">Twitter: <a href="/https:/twitter.com/LaBraeSchools"><span style="color:#595959">@LaBraeSchools</span></a></span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p><p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align:justify"><b><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt">Confidentiality Note:</span></i></b><i><span style="font-size:9.0pt"> This electronic mail transmission, including any and all attachments, is intended only for the person or entity to which it is addressed. It may contain confidential and/or privileged material. Any review, transmission, dissemination or other use, or taking of any action in reliance upon this message by persons or entities other than the intended recipient is prohibited and may be unlawful. </span></i><i><span style="font-size:10.0pt">If you receive this message in error, please immediately notify me by email or telephone, and delete this message from your computer and network system, without copying or forwarding it. </span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal"> </p></div></body></html>