Application for recognition of exemption under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, AKA form 1023

IS OUTTA HERE!!!! ON ITS WAY TO COVINGTON, KENTUCKY VIA CERTIFIED, RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED PRIORITY MAIL!!!

Now the wait.

I've been told processing the application for charitable tax-exempt status takes anywhere from two to six months.

And so I wait.

Please pray for my application to be expedited, and LOI granted 501(c)(3) status. The sooner we get it, the sooner we can start fundraising in earnest. Hard core fundraising, not please-click-on-my-Paypal-button-if-you-have-a-chance fundraising. (Although everyone who reads this should be donating something through that button! Come on, could $25 or $50 really hurt that much? That's a couple weeks of lattes, for God's sake!)

I did finally have a revelation today about raising money during this sorrowful time pre-501(c)(3). It's the "Turn on the Light" campaign. I'm going to offer certain people the option of either giving now to help start things up or signing up for the LOI newsletter and being notified when the tax-exempt designation comes in. I'm going to make a version of my info sheet that includes that option. (I also need to find out what kind of deduction the IRS offers for a donation to a non-501(c)(3) organization. It may be that it's deductible despite my status.)

So now I have to:

1) Make the info sheet tailored to "Turn on the Light."
2) Create the first newsletter.
3) Figure out a way to create a database of potential victims - I mean donors.
4) Find out about the deductible status of donations to non-501(c)(3).

Which means I have to stop tweaking the web site. But I think I finished today by adding the copy clarifying the whole thing about a nonprofit retail:

What is a “nonprofit bookstore”?

A bookstore is a retail business, so how can it be nonprofit? Very simply, it can be both, and they are not mutually exclusive. Light of Islam Bookstore is a retail bookstore, but the profits don’t go to anyone but the company itself. Light of Islam is a registered nonprofit organization, and as such no profits can go to any individual involved with the store. The organization is governed by a board of directors and managed by an executive director who is an employee of the organization. There aren’t many models like this, but they do exist.

The primary purpose of selling books and providing educational activities is to fulfill Light of Islam Bookstore’s mission. It will be run just as a retail business would, but won’t rely solely on profits from book sales. That’s why we need support from donors, just as any nonprofit organization does.

You know, by reading this blog you're getting this genius for free, people. Buck up. $25. $50. This is me you're talking about. We go way back. Make me proud.