Guilds & charity quilts quesion
 

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?

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.

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.

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.

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

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/

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.

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.

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..

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.

I belong to three guilds one small, two large (over 100 members). None are registered as non profit. We have sales, raffles, and have quilt shows. We aren't registered as anything to state or federal. All three guilds have a designated all day sew day once a month for donations quilts. Or kits made up to take home to work sew and turn in. We have several lawyers and one retired judge as members in the larger guilds. And the mayor's wife is a member of the smaller guild. I guess you can make a guild as formal as the group wants it to be.

It sounds like your leadership is either dictatorial and the membership is not one the same page. Do you have the right information about legal and guild requirements? If your participation for the sewing day is poor it sounds like another avenue of making charity quilts is in order. Personally, I would not go and tie quilts because they do not hold up in use. Yes, they might be quicker than simple grid quilting or meandering quilting but they just do not hold up. I know I would not do that. You need more information and an open and honest discussion and a new, unified plan. There is nothing nicer than fellowship and sewing but.....you need to want to do it. Why, do you want to belong; or, do you want to belong?

I think Prism is correct, that your group's by-laws state that this annual meeting is required, and that this was part of the plan to get non-profit status. There are many reasons why even a small guild would want to be designated as a non-profit. One reason is that it enables donors to write off their donations to the group. I've belonged to a number of guilds in different areas, and all were involved in charitable works and had non-profit status. Even the smallest guild (fewer than 30 members) applied for this status and received it while I was a member. It was not expensive, required no lawyers, and was based on the quilt education that the guild provided to the community (teaching children to quilt, quilting workshops for adults, etc.) This guild also provided a large number of quilts to members of the community, but my point is that the non-profit status does not have to be based on making and giving away quilts; it can be based on other types of activities, and the real requirement is to show that the group has a purpose that does not include making a profit.

We get a small grant to apply to sewing for charity. All the Granter asks is a report and a few photos. I know this isn't answering OP's question, however.

This is an interesting thread. For years various members of our guild have sworn up and down that we are a non-profit organization with the IRS. I have asked to see the 501c3 papers, including the reports that have to be made to the IRS. There aren't any. There is confusion in our group over 501c3 status and the state sale tax exemption that we have. Perhaps that is the case with the poster's guild. In her case, I would ask to see ANY paperwork that states that rule about charity work at one meeting per year. If any document comes forward, then examine it to see what authority it has.

I've been a member/board member of several 503c quilt guilds over the years and none of them required on site making of 'charity' quilts. In fact, we made them at home and turned them in at meetings during Show and Tell. The current guild has a group of dedicated members (about 12-18) who meet monthly for 4-5 hours to assemble, sew, or complete quilts to be donated. Many other members sew them only at home and bring them to the meetings.

Jan in VA

I am going to echo this--our guild did not pay an attorney or for an outside audit--we filled out the paperwork, file the annual tax return to show no profit, have an audit committee that goes over books annually, etc. Our non-profitstatus is not based on a set requirement for charitable work (although we do a ton)but on our mission to promote the art of quilting through education outreach. We do have a by-laws and policy procedures.

I have belonged to a quilt group and 2 car clubs that all had tax exempt status with the IRS. I helped with the paperwork for one of the car clubs and agree with dunster and quiltingshorttimer -- we did not need lawyers or extensive paperwork. The quilt guild by-laws included having one meeting where we made charity quilts (though most of us made them all year). The by-laws can be changed so you can check on it.

You can actually check the status of your guild, just google. Also every member should have a copy of the bylaws. The guild I belong to meets every month, 3rd Monday am hours. And we do make charity quilts. This year we made a large number of quilts for newborns in needy families. However, members are encouraged to make the baby quilts all year round, batting is given. A few members make Linus quilts. Every Sept, we have a sew-in! Meeting is short, covering only essentials. Members can also donate fabric. Since I was in charge this year, I asked for the donated fabric be cut into 6 1/2 squares, which made the sew-in more productive. Each person who stayed to sew was able to make 1-2 quilt tops. Backing fabric and batting was again provided and if the member wanted to finished the quilt then or take it home it was ok. They could finish them any way they chose, binding them either from the back to front or cutting their own binding. Machine or hand quilting or tie, it was all good. We will be collecting the finished quilts this month and giving them to an organization that works with the hospital nursery.

You all should be proud that your Guild makes donation quilts. When I moved, I joined the local Guild and was appalled that they neither made or had interest in making donation quilts, even though they had lots of donated fabric. I quit them and make/give my own donation quilts. My previous Guild always had donation quilts on hand for community members who had a tragedy, death, fire, severe illness.

What about a Saturday sewing day where all you do is work on charity quilts? Or maybe a retreat? Take pictures and put an article in your newsletter about it.

I belong to both a quilt club and several guilds. For our quilt club (not technically a non-profit, since we are a club in a adult community), we have a charity group that meets once a week. As far as the guilds go, they have smaller groups that either donate fabric, material, and/or time (i.e making blocks or pillowcases) to a nonprofit (one example, QOV) or make their own quilts and items that they donate to a group of their choice (like a homeless, domestic violence, or teen group).

I'd like to thank all of you for your input. I emailed a copy of this thread to the members of my guild, along with some of my own suggestions. So far I've only heard from a few members, but the responses have all been positive. Hopefully, it will lead to an open discussion and positive changes to the way we do things. Thank you!