|
|
| Back to the Table of Contents |
A Director's
Chair: An Update on the Co-op's Not-for-Profit Initiative
|
by Bruce Huttner
|
The Board of Directors is
happy to announce that the Co-op's new not-for-profit corporation is
now up and running! On July 29, the Certificate of Incorporation for
the Honest Weight Food Coop Community Education & Outreach Council,
Inc. was filed with the New York Secretary of State. The Outreach
Council filed as a Type B corporation under New York's Not-For-Profit
Corporation Law. The Outreach Council has also applied to the IRS for
tax-exempt status.
So, what does all this mean? Well, the purpose of the Outreach Council
is to provide educational and outreach programming for the community at
large and to promote those core values that are so important to the
HWFC. The Outreach Council hopes to sponsor all types of educational
and outreach programming to educate the community about healthy food,
whole foods, holistic living and environmental issues related to our
lifestyle choices. Because the Outreach Council is a tax exempt
not-for-profit, we will be able to fund this work through contributions
that will be tax deductable for the donors. In this way, it is hoped
that the Outreach Council will be able to greatly expand the education
and outreach work that is now being done by the Co-op itself.
Currently the Co-op does this type of education and outreach work using
staff and member volunteers. While the Co-op is deeply committed to
this education and outreach function, the use of Co-op resources to do
this type of work places real limitations on the types of programs and
outreach activities that we can do. By creating and supporting an
independent corporation dedicated to these educational and outreach
functions, it is hoped that more education- outreach work can be done,
as the Outreach Council will have a staff that is 100% dedicated to
education and community outreach.
The Co-op will itself remain deeply involved in this work. First, the
Outreach Council will have its offices at the Coop. A member of the
Co-op Board will sit on the Board of the new Outreach Council. In
addition, the Co-op will be providing essential financial assistance to
the Outreach Council by making contributions to it. These contributions
will be tax deductions for the Co-op, so the Co-op will be realizing a
tax benefit at the same time as it helps to finance the work of the new
not-for-profit.
This is truly a "win-win" arrangement. The Co-op will be able to expand
its presence in the community through the education and outreach that
the Outreach Council does, while also realizing a tax benefit for its
members. The Outreach Council will also solicit contributions for its
work from individual and corporate donors, thus freeing the Coop from
the financial burden associated with this work. Coop staff members who
are working on these projects will be freed up to focus their energies
on the Co-op's business.
This is truly an exciting time to be a member of the Honest Weight Food
Co-op. Stay tuned for further updates on the progress of the Outreach
Council. We hope to have a response from the IRS soon! Until then, if
you are interested in volunteering your time at the Outreach Council,
contact me (or any Board member) and we'll hook you up.
|
| Back to the Table of Contents |
|
|
|
