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We also publish a consumer-oriented newsletter called Grassroots News. You can sign up for Grassroots News here.

How to Talk to your Constituents
Last month we told you about our new blog, News and Views. A blog is one way of communicating with members, clients and partners. A newsletter (like the one you're reading now) is another. Direct e-mail and a web site are yet other ways.

Deborah Elizabeth Finn who manages the Information Systems Forum, as well as several other valuable nonprofit technology resources, has presented an outline of the various methods of communicating with your constituents and some of the advantages and disadvantage of each method.

See her blog posting for links to her information.

Grassroots.org goes Blogging
Our new blog, News and Views, which is updated several times a month, delivers information from Grassroots.org to you in between our newsletters. If you are interested in getting a free blog for your own organization, visit Blogs.net.

IN THIS ISSUE:

The Grassroots.org Legal Consulting Program

How to Talk to Your Constituents

Grassroots.org goes Blogging

Are You Taxed?

"To file or not to file", that is the question on a lot of our minds at tax time. How do you know and what are the ramifications for being wrong? Tax-exempt organizations are usually required to file an annual information return (Form 990 or 990-EZ). However, if your organization does not have annual gross receipts in excess of $25,000, you are not required to file. Other types of organizations such as churches and certain religious organizations, certain state and local instrumentalities never need to file a return. If your organization has gross receipts in excess of $25,000 but less than $100,000 you may file what is known as the Form 990-EZ. Private foundations exempt under section 501c3 must file Form 990-PF instead of Form 990.

A tax-exempt organization that fails to file the return on time is subject to a $20.00 per day penalty until the return is filed. The same penalty is assessed if the information provided in the return is not true or accurate. For more information about filing requirements or to download online forms from the IRS, visit their web site.

Nonprofit organizations in the United States are required by law to make certain financial records available to anyone who requests the data. Guidestar publishes the Form 990 returns of many organizations in their online database which is available to the general public.

The Grassroots.org Legal Consulting Program
Receive free legal information and document review from qualified professionals and get on with your business!

Grassroots.org has successfully implemented a legal consulting program which has already provided many qualified organizations with personalized legal information and attention. Our program seeks to help organizations overcome various legal issues and create better legal documents. We currently offer the following services, among others, free of charge to qualified members:

• Review of Incorporation Documents (bylaws, articles of incorporation, etc.)
• Review of 501(c)(3) Applications and Form 990/990EZ/990PF
• Employment Issues and more!

In order to qualify for our legal consulting program your organization must meet several requirements. Please complete our application to receive more information on the program.

Web Design Options
If you have not yet designed your web site, we have good news for you. Grassroots.org now has several options available to you:

Our partner, X3O.com can design a basic professional site for you for only $200-250. You can see examples of some of their work here.

We are also now actively recruiting volunteers on our web site to perform various online tasks. Occasionally we receive applications from volunteers with web design skills. If you are interested in using a volunteer to design (or redesign) your site, let us know.

We also are now making WYSIWYG web templates available to our hosting clients. Using the templates, anyone can create web pages and design a web site without needing to know HTML or any other language.

If you are interested in any of these options, send an e-mail to hosting@grassroots.org.

Discussion Forums
Exercise your freedom of speech !!!

Our forums are a great way for you to help and encourage others, to allow others to learn more about you and your organization, and to build relationships with others in the same field of interest.

You can access all of the Grassroots discussion forums by clicking here

We encourage you to visit the forums, register, and participate. Let your voice be heard!

Grassroots.org Banner
As part of your service agreement with Grassroots it is necessary to place a full-size, Grassroots banner linked to Grassroots.org near the top of your home page.

If you need another copy of the banner you can download it here.

Your Feedback
Drop us a line and let us know what you want to see in future issues. E-mail your comments to newsletter@grassroots.org

To get a text version of this newsletter to be sent to you in the future, send an email to address@grassroots.org

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News and Views
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