[MLUG - DISCUSSION] [Politics] Restrictions on Charitable Organizations (Stupid ones)

["Christian M. Cepel" <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

Are any of you out there aware that it is illegal for a church to take a 
collection 'earmarked' for a certain cause?

Only the governing board of a tax-exempt organization, in this case the 
board of the church, can earmark funds to go to a certain cause.

It's technically illegal for a church on Sunday to take up their normal 
collection and then take a second collection for the orphans in Honduras 
(btw, I've been there, and they are super cute and the sweetest, nicest, 
most fun kids I've ever met.  I wanted to bring 4-5 back with me.  They 
kicked our rears at football [Soccer], and kicked them good.)

It's technically illegal for someone to mark "Honduras Orphan 
Collection" in the 'for' line on a check.

The board has to 'decide' on a 'portion' of the church's income to 
earmark for each effort, un-influenced by the donating congregation.

Yes, it still happens, but it's technically illegal.

Even more stupid, when my wife was trying to take monetary donations for 
The Mid-Missouri Homes for Katrina Victims, and didn't have the years 
and money it can take to incorporate under 501c.3, the VVCC was 
reluctant to the point of not being able to funnel earmarked funds so 
that people could receive charitable giving tax receipts.

BTW, you'd never believe the STUPIDITY of FEMA.  We went to St. Louis to 
sit in on their half-day ECM-101 class (Emergency Crisis Management) and 
to be registered as volunteers for FEMA with our criminal background 
checks done and everything.  The people of St. Louis (through Catholic 
and Protestant charities) had setup a huge campus for refuges (and yes, 
refugees is the proper term, look it up before throwing Nonsense PC 
garbage at me).  The campus could house 2500 people, had sleeping areas 
for families, learning centers with internet access, job placement and 
relocation facilities.... EVERYTHING.  It was an awesome center, 
extremely well organized.

St. Louis was supposed to receive their first plane load of 250 people 
on the following Monday.  On Tuesday, FEMA announced that NOBODY would 
be flown to St. Louis, and that they were to shut the center down.  They 
had just arbitrarily decided to choose one of the other centers rather 
than spread it around between centers.

As such, our efforts (which had started to find success) to place 
displaced refugees in the Mid-Missouri area was effectively canceled. 
We were going to work with the charities in St. Louis to help funnel 
people who had family in the area, or who wanted a fresh start in the 
area, or who just wanted to be in a home for a moderate-term rather than 
in a campus.  FEMA also quashed our previous plan to take a bus down 
there to Red Cross centers and invite people to relocate (which would 
have been nuts anyways because criminal background checks needed to be 
performed on both the hosting families, and the refugees, and FEMA is 
supposed to cover that.)

Anyways.  I should no longer be shocked by such stupidity and 
wastefulness.  But, what can I say?  I'm still an optimist.




--
  //Christian

Christian Marcus Cepel            | And the wrens have returned &
EMAIL:PROTECTED icq:12384980  | are nesting; In the hollow of
371 Crown Point, Columbia, MO     | that oak where his heart once
65203-2202 573.999.2370           | had been; And he lifts up his
Computer Support Specialist, Sr.  | arms in a blessing; For being
University of Missouri - Columbia | born again.    --Rich Mullins

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