[Marketing] [Board] IRS 501c3 Requirement: renaming Marketing Committee to Outreach Committee

[Seven (aka Arnulf)]

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On 11/30/2012 07:30 PM, Cameron Shorter wrote:
> Thanks to those who have weighed in on this thread. I'm now
> comfortable with changing the marketing committee to outreach
> committee.
> 
> Once decided, I suggest this is worthy of a press release.

Good idea. I am with you on this.

Cheers,
Arnulf

> On 01/12/12 03:41, Greg Buehler wrote:
>> All,
>> 
>> Actually, OGC has change the name of our program to "Marketing
>> and Communications" from "Outreach" (although my title remains:
>> Director, Outreach and Communication Services).
>> 
>> We are however a 501c6, not a c3.  So the rules are a bit
>> different. With our new Executive Director coming on board this
>> month, who knows, maybe we will change back ;)
>> 
>> I would definitely support OSGeo using the term "Outreach", as I
>> think that is in line with the intent of the function anyway.
>> 
>> Greg Buehler gbuehler at opengeospatial.org
>> 
>> The OGC: Making location count. 
>> http://www.opengeospatial.org/contact
>> 
>> 
>> On Nov 30, 2012, at 5:25 AM, Dr. Franz-Josef Behr wrote:
>> 
>>> I also second this. AS far as I know ISO and other institutions
>>> like OGC use also the term "outreach" to describe their
>>> intentions and activities.
>>> 
>>> Regards Franz-Josef
>>> 
>>> Am 30.11.2012 10:57, schrieb Seven:
> Am 2012-11-29 23:19, schrieb Alex Mandel:
>>>>>> I think it makes sense to do it.
> I second this. We have had several name changes in this committee
> and to be honest, we are not really marketeers and we do not really
> aspire to be. We are advocates and that list is probably the best
> proof of how we work. One previous name was "Promotion and
> Visibility Committee", quite a mouthful and we'd probably not want
> the "Promotion" bit anymore.
> 
> "Outreach" sounds good to me and would get my support.
> 
> Cameron, I also offer to help redirecting, renaming and changing
> what is needed in web site and wiki, have done it before and even
> now there are still old references, so a clean-up wont hurt
> anyway.
> 
> Cheers, Arnulf
> 
>>>>>> Background, our application for non-profit status in the
>>>>>> US is held up at the moment by the IRS who isn't sure if
>>>>>> we qualify. 501c3 orgs have to be in the public interest
>>>>>> and clearly demonstrate that. To get 501c3 as opposed to
>>>>>> some other 501c# would mean that donations from the US
>>>>>> would be tax deductible and we'd be able to apply for
>>>>>> many grants that require such a tax status.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> The IRS can be quite picky about what they perceive to
>>>>>> be commercial and in order to demonstrate that our
>>>>>> mission is in the public interest and not commercial,
>>>>>> changing the committee name makes sense.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I can't decide if it's a good idea to mention we hand
>>>>>> out OSGeo-Live for free and give talks on the topic to
>>>>>> encourage more users of geospatial tools in general.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> At this point I'm sure it's just a guess by our attorney,
>>>>>> but it is their job to figure this out.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I'll just note, when considering naming in regards to the
>>>>>> IRS you have think about the US interpretation of the
>>>>>> word, no other context matters.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Thanks, Alex
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> PS: Any alternate names to choose from?
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> On 11/29/2012 03:01 PM, Cameron Shorter wrote:
>>>>>>> Daniel, I'm open to the suggestion, but only if we can
>>>>>>> see reasonable value in it, as name changing is a bit
>>>>>>> messy. It means that web pages and archives point to
>>>>>>> old URLs which becomes confusing for someone searching
>>>>>>> for prior information.
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> Can you please provide some background explaining that
>>>>>>> this is more than just a minor hunch that we are basing
>>>>>>> a name change on. Maybe: * Who is suggesting it? * Is
>>>>>>> there any real or anecdotal evidence they can point
>>>>>>> to?
>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>> On 30/11/2012 7:33 AM, Daniel Morissette wrote:
>>>>>>>> Board, Marketing Committee,
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> One of the things that came out of my discussions
>>>>>>>> with our attorney around the OSGeo vs IRS 501c3
>>>>>>>> questions is renaming the "Marketing Committee" to
>>>>>>>> "Outreach Committee" or another name along those
>>>>>>>> lines which would be better perceived in a non-profit
>>>>>>>> context (i.e. less commercial).
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Would there be any problem with this name change?
>>>>>>>> This is one thing that we would like to propose in
>>>>>>>> our response to the IRS. See the answer to question
>>>>>>>> #1 at
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> http://wiki.osgeo.org/wiki/501c3_Application:_Questions_from_IRS,_September_2012
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>
>
>>>>>>>> 
Daniel
>>>>>>>> _______________________________________________ Board
>>>>>>>> mailing list Board at lists.osgeo.org 
>>>>>>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/board
>>>>>> _______________________________________________ Marketing
>>>>>> mailing list Marketing at lists.osgeo.org 
>>>>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing
>>>>>> 
> -- http://arnulf.us Exploring Space, Time and Mind
>>>> _______________________________________________ Marketing
>>>> mailing list Marketing at lists.osgeo.org 
>>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing
>>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>>> _______________________________________________ Marketing
>>> mailing list Marketing at lists.osgeo.org 
>>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing
>> _______________________________________________ Marketing mailing
>> list Marketing at lists.osgeo.org 
>> http://lists.osgeo.org/mailman/listinfo/marketing
> 
> 

- -- 
Seven of Nine
http://arnulf.us/Seven
Exploring Body, Space and Mind
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