Nolose is temporarily not a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization and we are currently resolving the situation. In the interest of transparency, we are letting you know what our legal status is and what that means for our community. Please see the questions and answers below. If you have further questions, you are welcome to write to feedback@nolose.org.
What happened?
We recently discovered that Nolose’s federal tax exempt status was automatically revoked due to failure to file our organizational tax returns. We did some sleuthing, and discovered that Nolose has been submitting tax returns since 2015 under our old employer identification number and name — the name was changed in 2014 and we received a new EIN in 2015. We have been working with lawyers to ensure that we can reinstate Nolose’s tax-exempt status.
What is the financial impact on Nolose?
We don’t know what the financial impact on Nolose will be. The break in our tax-exempt status started in October 2018 and we hope that our reinstatement will be retroactive to December 2018. We anticipate legal and accounting fees of up to $5,000, which is within the cushion of savings that Nolose carries. We feel confident that Nolose will have enough funds in the budget to continue our planned activities.
What’s next? Will Nolose regain 501(c)3 status?
We expect that Nolose will regain federal tax exempt status by the summer. The good news is that once our application for tax exempt status is approved our tax exempt status is applied retroactively, so any revenue Nolose brings in while our paperwork is in the queue should not be taxed. Because we have been diligently filing taxes for the past few years–just using the wrong EIN–we have excellent financial documentation that makes this process easier.
What is the Board of Directors doing to keep something like this from happening in the future?
We are currently seeking a new California-based tax accounting firm familiar with non-profits to manage our accounts and file taxes. We are also in the process of recruiting new Board members interested in developing programming, communicating with our community, engaging in fundraising, and ensuring good nonprofit governance practices for the organization. Our current tax status challenges has illustrated the need for better document storage practices to save important organizational files and ensure new Board members can access them easily. We also hope to improve our project management tools to better track and evaluate our work.
Over the next year, we plan to continue to implement SPAL grants and hope to launch a new program to provide funding for regional and national fat liberation events. We hope you will consider volunteering for a coordinator or committee position (social media coordinator, fundraising committee, SPAL committee, trans justice working group, etc.) to contribute to Nolose’s efforts and help us work more sustainably. If you’d like to volunteer, go to http://nolose.org/get-involved/volunteer/.
Can I still donate to Nolose?
Yes! Your donation will not be tax exempt, but we welcome your financial support! You can donate by clicking here: http://nolose.org/get-involved/donate/ We will announce when your donations will be tax exempt.
The work that we’re doing right now is what Nolose needs to continue to grow and thrive, so Nolose’s volunteer board appreciates your understanding and support! Please keep talking to us and watch for announcements about our programs and other exciting news!
–The Nolose Board
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