Musicians Relief Fund........two years and counting

[Thor]

i've been following this thread but am not directly involved. i would like to make a suggestion. if any funds are still available, make a donation to a charity like

MR HOLLANDS OPUS
http://www.mhopus.org/

OR
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

at least then, some kids will be the beneficiary of the funds and we, well those who contributed will get to help kids get instruments. just my .02.

I am down with these suggestions. Especially if it helps
get instruments into kid's hands.

 

[Joe Gress]

So what ever happened?

 

[NJL]

i ate a turkey sammich

 

[Joe Gress]

Lot's of people ate a few turkey sammiches during the course of this this event. What was the outcome of all of it though?

 

[Thor]

At this point it is my understanding the Tom Bowlus has dissolved the non profit corp, and that there are some funds remaining to be disposed of.

Tom has not indicated how much is left yet, and we have not come to an agreement as to whom that should be disbursed if any funds remain in escrow with him or his agents.

I'd like to move this one step forward and get a definitive answer on what, if anything, remains of these funds.


Edit: Actually, Tom did make an earlier approximate disclosure. Sorry Tom, I had forgotten about that.

 

[tombowlus]

I think a resolution to this is long, long overdue.

Please, someone pick a charity that I can send this money to!

For reasons stated earlier in this thread, I'd rather that other people choose where it should go to. Once you do that, I'll make the donation and provide proof of payment to whomever wants to be the 'appointed watchdog.'

Tom.

 

[tombowlus]

By my records (which I can fax to anyone, if they want to confirm the specifics), on August 17, 2006, I received $1,048.38 (via paypal). Of these funds, $225 went to filings with the Ohio Secretary of State. $68.25 went towards an official record book. I checked with the accountant, and even though I know for a fact that he spent a good bit of time working on this, he is not charging us anything. We never did file with the IRS, so no fees expended, there.

This leaves $755.13. I do, however, need to file a Certificate of Dissolution, which requires a $50.00 filing fee, and notification of at least four state and local public offices. There is the possibility of having to owe additional fees, if any one of these offices believes that we should have filed something with them (like an annual corporate tax return), but did not.

Our dissolution was filed ($50.00 fee, which I paid) without complications. The accountant waived all his fees, I am not charging for any of my time, and I am picking up the applicable postage. So, that means I have $705.13 to send somewhere.

Let me know who gets it!

Tom.

 

[Joe Gress]

Ask the original guys who donated the funds, or has this become an all TB type donation?

 

[Phil Smith]

Still waiting for someone to decide where the money should go, then I can send it out.

Tom.

Can anyone decide or are you referring to specific people or a concensus?

 

[Thor]

How about we do this?

Let's discuss potential charities then, and run a poll thread.
Top 3 qualified charities get something, assuming there is
something to send.

Any one have another suggestion?

 

[Joe Gress]

^ Sounds like a good idea.

 

[NJL]

i nominate thor as some sort of trustee with regard to this transaction.

 

[Thor]

We don't need one, we just need to figure out the final
target(s) for the transaction.

Personally. I would like to see the people who gave the money
decide where it goes.

All potential charities should have official non-profit status
imho.

No individuals, therefore.

Anyone have an issue with that groundrule?

 

[Horny Toad]

Anyone have an issue with that groundrule?

Not me.

 

[Thor]

Ok, let's get the charity nominations started. I respectfully
suggest that you nominate if you donated and defer if you
did not. I will limit my suggestions to 2 charities.


I am going to nominate the Mr Hollands Opus as suggested
by davetakis. I took the time to read it and it sounds like
a nice program worth supporting. They also report there not
for profit 2007 return on their site.

Also, I nominate the Jimmy Fund, a well established and known
fund that funds cancer research for children and adults
at Dana Farber Hospital. http://www.jimmyfund.org/abo/default.html

Bring them on and lets get the voting done.

 

[Joe Gress]

I nominate the VH1 save the music foundation.

 

[kobass]

I'll second Dana Farber. They do some amazing work there.

 

[Phil Smith]

I think you should pick a non-profit where the money is going to directly benefit people and so I would suggest no large non-profits but something like a soup kitchen or other non-profit that's doing direct outreach to people in need.

 

[Bob Lee (QSC)]

I was going to suggest the Mr Holland's Opus Foundation as well: http://www.mhopus.org/

While there are many worthy charities to support, I like the idea of helping kids get into music.

 

[Thor]

I think you should pick a non-profit where the money is going to directly benefit people and so I would suggest no large non-profits but something like a soup kitchen or other non-profit that's doing direct outreach to people in need.

I like the RI Food Bank which is part of Feeding America.
Having donated significant quantities of food to them,
I am aware that they charge their 'clients' aka soup
kitchens and so forth .10/lb for the food for administrative fees including
salaries, mortgage of the warehouse, fuel and upkeep of the
trucks, the electric bill for the freezer and cooler without
which none of this could happen.

Let's face it, all non profit charities have some kind of
administrative expenses. I just expect them to be as
reasonable as possible and still deliver the service.

If you donated, please suggest an appropriate charity in the
category you are interested in.