[Ansteorra] Disaster Relief Fundraising

[Ansteorra Exchequer via Ansteorra]

Greetings Ansteorra -

I have received the following letter from the Society Exchequer, regarding
fundraising for disaster relief efforts. There's a lot of good information
here, including how to record these donations on the Exchequers' side.

<> TL;DR 1: SCA account money (including Event profits) can go to Branches
within our Society or to 501(c)3 organizations with an FEIN - be sure to
get the FEIN for anything outside our Kingdom!!

<> TL;DR 2: Money raised independently of an SCA account (ie silent
auction, tavern) can go to the Disaster Relief Coordinator's efforts.

Please let me know if you have any questions about any of this,

~Elsa


<><>

Greetings,

It has been a difficult month with two areas being affected by major
storms. First Houston and now Florida. Those in Trimaris and Ansteorra have
been affected the most.

I know many of you are asking about how you can help. The below was posted
back during Katrina and still applies today.

SCA BRANCHES MAY DONATE TO OTHER 501 (c)(3) ORGANIZATIONS. This includes
the American Red Cross, Unicef, the Salvation Army, etc.  These
organizations work within the tax code to provide needed supplies and
services to afflicted families.

SCA BRANCHES MAY DONATE TO OTHER SCA BRANCHES. However, please wait at
least a month or two so that the exchequer is ready to handle the
donations. They may have real life to handle right now and sending them a
check when they have no access to the bank would not be helpful.

If a branch wants to donate SCA equipment or regalia, please check with the
branch first to make sure that what you want to give them will be a) needed
and used, and b) not also promised from another branch. No one wants to
have 12 sets of thrones and no banners, coronets or pavilions.

If your group donates to another SCA branch, the money may not be given to
private individuals in any fashion.  The funds can only go for items used
within our organization.

SCA BRANCHES MAY *NOT* DONATE TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT ONLY BENEFIT SCA
MEMBERS.  This is a clear violation of our tax-exempt status.

SCA BRANCHES MAY *NOT* DONATE TO ORGANIZATIONS THAT DO NOT HAVE OFFICIAL
IRS NON-PROFIT STATUS.

Now for the technical stuff:

If you do make a donation to another 501 (c)(3) Organization, you will need
to obtain their Federal Tax ID number. The donation would be listed in your
Quarterly workbook on 12b – Donations to SCA Inc. Subsidiaries and Other
501 (c)(3) Nonprofit organizations. Most non-profits are quite happy to
give you their tax ID number to receive a donation.

If you send funds to a branch that uses the same tax ID that your branch
does, it is recorded as a transfer out. (In Kingdom or out of Kingdom,
whichever applies.)

If you send funds to a branch with a different tax ID number, follow the
instructions above for donations to another 501 (c)(3) Organization. Make
sure you get their tax ID number as you will need to enter this in your
report.

Lastly, if you want to raise money for individuals, it must be done
unofficially.  The money may not be handled by an SCA Officer or run
through an SCA account.

Please feel free to copy this to any appropriate lists.
Kathy Palmer
Society Exchequer
SCA, Inc.

<><>

Elsa von Snackenberg, OP

mka Elizabeth Snyder
Chancellor of the Exchequer
Kingdom of Ansteorra
405-880-2062