ALL ABOUT OUR NEW NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION
We’ve been working on the idea to preserve Rex Ranch since July of this year. It wasn’t until October 21 that we learned our proposal to the property owner had been accepted and that we would have an exclusive window-of-opportunity to attempt to raise the funds needed to buy and steward the Ranch.
Since then, we’ve leapt into action very quickly. Many people have asked about how our fundraising will work and we wanted to share as many details with you as possible. So here are the Frequently Asked Questions:
Is “Save Rex Ranch” a non-profit organization?
Yes, we applied for 501c3 status on 10.22.2013 in the state of Arizona
It is estimated to be filed and completed between 11.28 and 12.9.2013
Our legal entity is “Save Rex Ranch, Inc”
Our mailing address is P.O. Box 131, Tumacacori, AZ 85640
Our telephone is 520.477.8309
We have signed a sales contract on behalf of “Save Rex Ranch, Inc”
We have fulfilled our wire-transfer of a deposit to the property owner
We have a Founding Board of Directors
Joseph Beyer, Volunteer Project Director
Susannah Castro, Board President
Katie Munger, Board Secretary
Jeremy Topp, Board Treasurer
Calvin J. Case, Founding Member
We have also started an evolving Creative Advisory Board
We have the direct cooperation of the current legal owner of the property
What does “Save Rex Ranch” need?
We need to raise $725,000 by December 16 to buy the property
We need an additional $10,000 for closing costs and fees
We need volunteer legal and accounting expertise and representation
We need volunteer expertise in historical preservation and reuse
We need volunteer contractors and craftsmen of all types
We need assistance disposing of all the waste at the Ranch properly
We need to raise additional funds of $245,000 to repair and operate
Online donations through Rally.org/SaveRexRanch and any checks mailed to “Save Rex Ranch P.O. Box 131, Tumacacori, AZ 85640” will be deposited into a Bank of America Non-Profit Business Account set up for this project.
Our funding partner Rally.org processes credit card transactions instantly when pledges are made to “Save Rex Ranch” – Rally takes a flat 5.75% fee, which includes all credit card processing charges. Most crowdfunding sites take 7-9% in service fees.
Our real estate representative Calvin J. Case will take a standard fee for his services, paid by the seller during escrow.
If we don’t succeed in raising at least $734,480 by our deadline of December 16, 2013 – we will ask all funders to vote online by December 21, 2013 and tell the organization what they’d like us to do with the funds. Majority Rule will be applied to re-disperse the money raised. Possibilities are:
Instantly REFUND All Donations Made at Rally.org
Quickly REFUND All Donations Made by Check
RE-DONATE to similar Local Non-Profit(s)
SAVE donations to Fund a New Property for Same Idea
Are donations tax-deductible?
Not yet, but we’re working hard on this. Our 501c3 application needs to be completedbefore we can apply for Federal Tax Exemption status – once that is achieved, any donations to our organization will be tax deductible.
Because of the accelerated timeline on our project, we’re applying as fast as we can for all our needs but we remain at the mercy of the federal filing and we cannot guarantee your donation will be tax deductible in the calendar year of 2013.
We are hoping to find some volunteer CPA or Accounting expertise to help us manage this process, if you’re interested in our cause – please let us know.
If you have any questions about our organization that we haven’t answered here, please ask! We’ll respond and add the answers to this post, just email [email protected] - thank you for your support and interest!
