By-Laws Question - Team Dissolution

[DaveF]

I lead a robotics 4-H club and team that competes in both VEX and FTC. I would suggest talking to you county and/or state 4-H staff about this. I know in our state (MD) there are procedures on how funds and equipment are handled if our club were to dissolve. More than likley any rule your county or state 4-H office has in place would over-ride your bylaws.

[Trying to Help]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions!

Katie, I do like your idea about donating leftover parts to neighbor/friend teams.

DaveF, it's not that simple. I'll pm you.

Tristan, thanks for taking the time to write that really long post. I've got a lot to learn about 4-H still and I've spent a year as a 4-H leader.

4-H started before 501(c)3 designations were given out so it's a little confusing. But the government has ruled that we are a non-profit, so we're all set there. Our club has a specific non-profit EIN. There are times, as I found out this year, that we have to use a different EIN for certain grant requests and we use one that is tied to the university.

We have no corporate sponsors at the level that might want to claim a robot; this year the funding is looking particularly grim. So, that's not a worry but it is good to know about.

Again, no school board, no conflict there.

I'm not sure about the limited liability for debts and property because we're not a 501(c)3 organization nor a for-profit corporation. Last year, the mentors dug into their checkbooks and paid for the unfunded portion. We're trying very hard to come up with more funding this year.

I'll keep working on this!

Thanks again,

Trying to Help

[Tristan Lall]

I did some research, and apparently the IRS recognizes the national or state 4-H organization under §501(c)3, but the individual chapters—like yours—are incorporated separately and benefit from the charitable status without having to file all the paperwork. So you're getting the best of both worlds: support from a major nonprofit, which handles the legal heavy lifting with regard to charitable status, and significant autonomy within the local chapter (which is incorporated independently as a non-profit).

If mentors donate things to the non-profit (money or gifts), it's probably tax-deductible for them in some form. That has the dual effect of giving the mentors a break on costs, and establishing explicitly that the non-profit owns the stuff (no question of whether they're borrowing it).

I also found some more comprehensive advice about dissolution of non-profits: here and here. They confirm my suspicion that upon dissolution, the non-profit's assets will be taxed if distributed among team members. (To avoid diversion of assets with an "exempt purpose".)

Also have a look at the Nonprofit Good Practice Guide, especially this.

[Trying to Help]

Thanks Tristan!

This will definitely help. You're not studying law, by any chance? Or non-profit management?

I do appreciate the information.

Trying to Help

[Akash Rastogi]

If you have any non 4H 501c3 questions, I could help out. PM if you need anything. We've been 501c3 since '97

[Trying to Help]

Originally Posted by Akash Rastogi

If you have any non 4H 501c3 questions, I could help out. PM if you need anything. We've been 501c3 since '97

Thanks for the offer. I'm sure that at some point in time, I'll run into another question. So far the most confusing one this fall was with regard to using our EIN or the university's but I suspect that was a combination of the particular non-profit and our 4-H status.

Overall, if there are any groups considering starting the process to become a non-profit, I think they should look into 4-H. There's a huge overlap between FIRST and 4-H when it comes to goals. And I've learned a lot (and I sure I have plenty more to learn) about 4-H this year. It's definitely not just about sheep and chickens.

Trying to Help