[OSGeo-Board] Charity status?

[rich at richsteele.org]

Quoting Frank Warmerdam <warmerdam at pobox.com>:

> We had some earlier discussions about what political activity, and
> I think we established there was no problem with us taking a position
> on policy matters in the political arena.  But that we wouldn't be
> able to provide funding to politicians or political parties at
> election time.  It might also preclude us advocating strongly in
> favor of one politician over another in an election.
>
> All considered, the ramifications seemed quite limited in this regard.
>
>> Rich Steele could be OSGeo's "go-to guy" on this, but I'm not sure
>> how around he is or to what extent he can offer pro-bono time.
>
> What I heard a few months ago was that there was no big rush to get
> all the 501(c)3 stuff in order.  That it is normal for an organization
> to not do this for as much as 12 months after launch.  But I too am
> interested in more detail on whether papers for this have been file,
> and if not, when this ought to be done, and if Rich will have time to
> work on it.

I'm still around, just back from an extended time away from email.   
Where we left the 501c3 process is that we can't make the filing until  
we have some good faith estimates and projections on the foundation's  
budget.  The IRS requires this to see whether you will fit into the  
public charity box.  The application form in all of its glory is here:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1023.pdf

See Part IX on pages 9 and 10.  I would suggest that Gary as treasurer  
and Frank as chair of Fundraising Committee take a stab at coming up  
with some numbers on this and circulate to the board list.  When the  
numbers look acceptable to everyone, I can drop them into the document.

-Rich