[FARC] FARC 501(c)(3) Status

[m.e.whitmore at comcast.net]

If you were planning to make a contribution to the Frederick Amateur
Radio Club and claim it as a deduction on your 2012 taxes, DON'T DO IT. 
You might get a letter from the IRS.  OK to make a contribution but
don’t claim it. More about this later.

Background.

I am still in the process of repairing the damage done to the Frederick
Amateur Radio Club by my predecessor Joe Durnal over the course
of his tenure as treasurer of the FARC.

During his tenure, we lost both our legal existence as a Maryland corporation 
and our status as a tax-free entity under federal IRS 501(c)(3) statutes. 

In addition, a Notice of Cancellation was received from State Farm Insurance 
Company dated January 16, 2010 which terminated our liability insurance.
All of this is the result of inaction on the part of Joe.

Corrective Actions.

Under Maryland law, all corporations are required to file an annual
personal-property tax return.  This was done every year from 1986 thru
2007 and then abruptly stopped.  Joe signed the form for 2007 and then
never filed another.  

In a letter from the Department of Assessments and Taxation dated
10/02/2009 the FARC was informed that its "charter or right to do business
in Maryland" will be repealed if no action is taken before 12/03/2009.  No
action was taken and FARC ceased to legally exist on that date.  Google
SDAT and click on "Business Entity is Not in Good Standing or Forfeited"
(we were both) at the bottom of the center panel on the SDAT home page.

I  filed the personal property returns for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012
and paid the $100 "revitalization" fee.  This is $100 of  the clubs money
wasted and represents the dues from just over six members.  Jim Ridgley
and I both signed another form called the "Articles of Revival" and sent that in
on 11/14/2012. The State took eight weeks to process the forms after which I 
received a letter dated 01/11/2013 stating that all of the above had been accepted
and that we were now an entity in good standing.

Liability Insurance.

My next priority was to get insurance for the club which had lapsed since the premiums
were not paid.  The cancellation notice is cited above. I received approval to proceed with
securing a new policy at the last meeting (01/21/2013) and this effort should be complete
in the next couple of days.

Now for the issues with the IRS.

IRS Notice CP120A dated June 13, 2011 states (in bold-face 16 point font) the following;
"Your organization's tax-exempt status has been revoked automatically because you have not
filed for three years".   You can see our status by going to  http://apps.irs.gov/app/eos and 
entering our Employee ID number (EIN) 52-1319008.  As noted there, our tax-exempt status
was revoked on 15 May 2010.   A little research indicates that the tax-exempt status can be
restored for a fee, of course.  This is typically $450 to $850 but may be less for small organizations such as ours.  At least another $100 of the clubs money wasted as the result of  negligence.

As soon as I can figure out what is required, I will request approval of the membership to pay
this fee and submit the required documents.

If anyone would like to see a copy of any of the documents that I have referenced, send me your
email address and and tell me which ones you would like to see. I will scan them and send you a copy.

73's

Mark Whitmore
Treasurer FARC