dlv

I belong to a small (35 members) midwest guild. We meet once a month 7-9 pm, Sept thru June. Leadership has told us that in order to maintain our nonprofit, tax exempt status we must devote at least one meeting to making charity quilts "as a group, in the place we normally meet". Is this true? Have any of you ever heard of this?

Traditionally the January meeting is designated to making charity quilts. The turn out is very poor, partly due to weather but also because most of us don't want to lug a machine for an hour and a half of sewing "envelope" style quilts which they want to hand tie. (I have nothing against tied quilts, I just don't care to make them.) A number of us would rather make the quilts at home & bring them to guild to donate.

I'd like to know how other guilds manage their charity quilts, and are there actual guidelines for this?

quiltedsunshine

One guild I belonged to had a similar requirement. But we had to have so many HOURS spent on charity quilts. So each month, the roster would go around, and we'd write how many service hours we had done at home.

Another guild I belong to has us make blocks for charity quilts at home, and donate them to the guild. Then someone takes them home and turns them into a quilt top. And someone else takes them home and quilts them. Then they are donated to CAPSA, QOV Little Lambs, etc.

quiltingshorttimer

does your guild have nonprofit status with the IRS? They have very specific guidelines as to what constitutes a true nonprofit. Our guild went through the process a couple of years ago for the purpose of accepting donations for a charity project--lots of work to get done!

that being said, I don't think there is a criteria of having to gather and make charity quilts any set number of times or at a specific place. Obviously, the guild would need to be focused on some type of community service and not making profits. Perhaps what the guild needs to consider is changing up what you do for charity so that all want to be involved. We do meet several times a year to work on charitable items, plus members work at home and bring things in.

mrs. fitz

Who checks on what you're doing? As long as there are charity quilts made and donated somewhere, who would really care how/where they are made? My very small guild doesn't report to anyone, we just make them. We meet twice a month; the second meeting is a charity quilt meeting.

PaperPrincess

I think it depends on whether the guild was formed as a club or legally incorporated as a non-profit group.

Prism99

It sounds to me as if this might be one of the "articles of incorporation" for when your guild applied for non-profit, tax exempt status. I am not a lawyer, but this requirement definitely does not sound like a legal requirement for either the federal government or the state government.

My understanding is that a guild might apply for non-profit tax exempt status so that, if they hold a quilt show, they are not taxed on the profits from the show. I think that when a group applies for this status, they must create "articles of incorporation" that include bylaws, etc. and apply for the status with the state.

If this requirement was in the articles of incorporation of your guild, then it is a legal obligation. The articles of incorporation can be amended, but the guild would need to follow a legal process for doing this.

You might want to ask for a copy of the guild's articles of incorporation to see if this is the wording that is in there. It might be time for a change.

Edit: I found a couple of websites that explain the process.
https://themodernquiltguild.wordpres...n-profit-info/
http://cullinanelaw.com/mqg/

sewbizgirl

Our group makes quilts at home and then brings them to meetings to show them and donate them. The only requirement to be a member is to donate three quilts a year. Most of us donate many more than that. We make lap quilts so three a year is not a big deal.

Sounds like maybe your guild leaders want to encourage "sew together" days and are using this as an excuse. As long as the group as a whole is making and giving quilts to charity, there shouldn't be a problem with keeping a tax exempt status.

linda8450

Interesting thread! A small guild (35 members) would probably not have applied for IRS charity tax status. It is costly (lawyers and tax audits involved). We have about 75 members in our guild and we inquired about this when we were asked to sell tickets at the mall for our "Opportunity" quilt. (Alabama does not allow raffles. The process was just too much to do and took a fairly long time to accomplish. Was not in our time frame for the mall event. We have never pursued it. We have a quilt show every year, with bazaar table and opportunity ticket sales. As long as we donate that money back into our community there has been no IRS issues. We don't have a specific time or place requirement, we work on Quilts of Valor (one of our members is our State Representative) and support a local women'ts advocacy group with baby blankets. We also do pillow cases for hospitals, including Shriner's. I would be asking some pointed questions. It might just be what they "want" to have happen, not what is required.

sweetana3

You do not need to machine sew at the meeting. How about organizing to bring about 4 or 5 quilts to tie together after the meeting part? Easy to bring and few supplies needed..

NJ Quilter

I think Prism99 may have hit the nail on the head with your organization. I don't belong to a quilt guild but to a different type of 503c organization (fire company auxiliary). I also filed the paperwork (including articles of incorporation) with the IRS and appropriate state for my sister when she filed for 503c status for her wildlife rescue. Nowhere in (that) state or federal guidelines was what you are describing outlined that I recall.

For the organization to which I belong - our auxiliary is a sub organization of the primary volunteer fire company so our status is defacto to theirs. Almost all of the charitable activities, by default, happen at 'the place where we regularly meet' (firehouse) so that part is a non-issue for us. Our sub organization was formed specifically for the intent of fund raising at the time (80+ years ago). And while 99% of those activities happen at the firehouse, there are other community-type events where we will do fund-raising activities as well.