The Echo

Disclaimer - I am not an attorney or tax expert and this is not legal or tax advice. It's just informational for interested parties.  All information below is public information and can be found through either a thorough search of the internet or following the links provided.

As last Thursday's Public Board Meeting, the Pencader School Leader mentioned to the board of directors that the school's tax exempt status had been revoked because the school had not filed its 990 since 2007.  What wasn't mentioned was the impact of such a designation for donors to the school. Actually, it was made to sound as if this were a pretty minor matter.  Only - it's been an ongoing matter for a year, at least - the revocation occurred May 15, 2011.

Time to Check Guidestart.org - "GuideStar was founded to promote nonprofit transparency and to provide a central repository of nonprofit information that donors could use to guide their giving decisions. Although both our audience and the ways in which we deliver nonprofit information have expanded over the years, our belief in the importance of transparency has never wavered."

A Guidestar.org search for Pencader states:

This organization's exempt status was automatically revoked by the IRS for failure to file a Form 990, 990-EZ, 990-N, or 990-PF for 3 consecutive years. Further investigation and due diligence is warranted.

Learn more

A more detailed report is available from Guidestar at http://www.guidestar.org/organizations/20-0388633/pencader-education-association.aspx. Be sure to note that the EIN Number on this report matches the EIN Number on the Pencader Annual Giving Media on the schools website, http://pencadercharter.net/busfin/sites/default/files/page/ajax/documents/Annual%20Fund%20at%20Pencader%20with%20Border%20%282%29.jpg

The February 2012 Board of Directors' Public Meeting Minutes address this discovery:













I do not believe that this was the first the school had learned of the failure to file taxes.  During a meeting I attended as a volunteer (the unpaid kind) back in August/September 2011, it was shared then that the taxes had not been filed - a revelation of the finance audit completed during the Spring/Summer of 2011- yet the Annual Fund Campaign was given the go ahead as the matter was soon to be resolved.

Pencader officially kicked off its Annual Campaign at the Titan Award Ceremony in September 2011.  The school accepted donations and sent thank you notes to the donors.  The media created for the campaign states that "Pencader is a 501c3 and donations are tax-deductible."  The School's EIN number is printed on "The Description of the Annual Fund" document located beneath the school's Giving tab on the website. 

In the very least, the campaign should have been suspended as soon as it was learned that school had lost its tax exempt designation and the campaign materials should have been edited accordingly or simply removed from the website.  Yet, today, July 30, 2012, the campaign materials advertising donations as tax-deductible persist on the school's website.  These documents have been archived by a third party and screen shots have been saved.

There was in February and there is still an obligation that Pencader has yet to fulfill - notification of the revocation status to donors. Guidestar states:

Donor FAQ

Do I need to be aware of the revocations?
You do if you take the charitable gift deduction on your income taxes. Before making a contribution, you will need to confirm that the nonprofit receiving it is still tax exempt. Otherwise, the IRS may disallow the deduction, and you may be required to pay a penalty. You should check on GuideStar or the Automatic Revocation of Exemption List on the IRS site to confirm the nonprofit's status.

Visit the Automatic Revocation of Exemption List - http://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/pub78Search.do?searchChoice=revoked&dispatchMethod=selectSearch
Type 20-0388633 in the EIN Field, Hit Search. It will take you here:
http://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/revokeSearch.do?ein1=20-0388633&names=&city=&state=All...&zipCode=&country=US&exemptTypeCode=al&postDateFrom=&postDateTo=&dispatchMethod=searchRevocation&submitName=Search
Click on Pencader Education Association to see the Revocation Date - May 15, 2011, Posting Date - February 22, 2012

If you made a donation to Pencader after May 15, 2011 - you will need to call IRS Customer Account Services at (877) 829-5500 (toll-free number), have the date of your donation and the EIN ready.  Customer Account Services will help you determine whether or not your donation was deductible.  Chances are, especially if you donated after February 22, 2012 that your donation was not deductible.  The IRS will advise you on how to proceed.  (I know b/c I called and spoke with Ms. Duttley, ID# 1000739047)

The following donors are listed on the schools website - http://pencadercharter.net/busfin/node/98

Foreaker Construction, owned by Josh Foreaker, built the PCHS Guidance Center. Please visit his company’s website. Thank you Josh!

• http://www.forakerconstruction.com/
• Aetna Foundation, Inc. has pledged to match donations given by employees. To date they have donated $1,100!

Silver Circle -Donors of $1,000 or more
Robert and Ann Lewis
Robert and Harrie Ellen Minnehan
Rodolfo and Alma Tanjuakio

Friends of Pencader Donors
Ray Arzinger
Jenny Aunet
John and Laura Baker
Karen and Alan Beatty
Jenna Beatty
Terry Blanch
Alicia Blevin
Emily Burnham
Ronald and Mary Carbine
John and Donna Chandler
Tom Colpo
Karen Dickens
Amanda Fraser
Dr. Daniel Freeman
Kate Frysinger
Good Deals, Inc.
The Gregor Family
Keith Harris
Beth Heck
Alan and Leslie Hodesblatt
Larry Isakoff
Dr. Abraham Jones
Shawn Klapinsky
Jeanette and Theodore Lawson
Rita Malhotra
Roy and Nancy Muller
James and Elizabeth Nolan
Kelly Quinn
Scott Rafetto
Catherine Scott Riggs
John and Debbie Reed
Robert Schumacher
Anika Smith
John and Diane Stott
Ken and Tammie Sylvia
Mary Szczuka
Ann Terranova
Brett Townsend
Elizabeth and George Walker
Victor Yu


 So, I am left with just one question - Where are the donated funds and how was the money tracked and accounted for?