Autism Speaks Charity Race

[aehrath]

Dear club members!

I am in touch with the president of the USC chapter of Autism Speaks and they expressed an interest in doing a charity race event in the name of autistic children.

As far as I know the club currently cannot do this as per the current bylaws.

So I wanted to see what the level of interest was to attend an event like this and to either do this as a separate event outside the club or if the bylaws could possibly be changed so we can hold events like this in the future.

The intent of this post is to open up the discussion.

Thanks, Alex

[lrayner]

The Club bylaws prohibit charitable fundraising because, as a social club, any money raised would be considered taxable income to the Club. In other words, the Club would be paying income taxes on the money given to the charity. Instead, the Club encourages its members to donate directly to charities of their choice.

Last year the Board revisited this topic and reviewed the IRS regulations governing charitable fundraising. It is a minefield and, while some clubs might choose to dance around the regulations, it makes no sense to put our Club at risk of an audit and penalties by playing games with the rules. The one clearly allowed exception for charitable activity is donation of goods or services, and the Club does this with events like the underwear and socks drive and the dinner for the Monarch School.

The Board also recently explored the viability of seeking non-profit status and you can see a summary of that in the August Board Minutes, printed on page 36 of the September Windblown Witness.

I share the above with the hopes of promoting continuity of knowledge, so that when the topic is raised again in a few years, someone can step forward and share the reasons behind the bylaws!

As for level of interest in a driving event, I would suggest putting something more specific out there to gauge interest. Something novel or different might capture peoples imaginations.

Good luck