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02 March 2005
Volume 2, Issue 3

In This Issue...

Welcome to Grassroots Client News!

As a client of Grassroots.org you are receiving this monthly newsletter
to keep you informed of the latest news with Grassroots Client
Services and other issues related to operating your nonprofit
organization.

We also publish a consumer-oriented newsletter called Grassroots News.
You can sign up for Grassroots News at
http://www.grassroots.org/do/SubscribeNewsletter)

Are you taxed?

Does your US organization need to file annual information form with the
IRS?

"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
(http://www.irs.gov).

Nonprofit organizations in the United States are required by law to
make certain financial records available to anyone who requests the
data.  Guidestar (http://www.guidestar.org) publishes the Form 990
returns of many organizations in their online database
(http://www.guidestar.org/index.jsp) 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
(http://www.grassroots.org/do/Legal) to receive more information on
the program.

How to Talk to your Constituents

Last month we told you about our new blog, News and Views,
(http://www.grassroots.org/blog).  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 
(http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/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
(http://blog.deborah.elizabeth.finn.com/blog/_archives/2005/2
/10/314428.html) for links to her information.

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 (http://www.x3o.com) can design a basic
professional site for you for only $200-250.  You can see examples of
some of their work at http://www.x3o.com/demo/gallery.

We are also now actively recruiting volunteers
(http://www.grassroots.org/do/Volunteer) on our web site to perform
various online tasks: http://www.grassroots.org/do/Volunteer.. 
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

Interested in helping Grassroots.org

We own many domains and don't have the resources to develop content for
all of them. If you are interested in assisting us by writing material
on a nonprofit subject, please let us know
(http://www.grassroots.org/do/Contact) the topic(s) you're interested
in.

Grassroots.org goes Blogging

Our new blog, News and Views (http://www.grassroots.org/blog), 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 (http://www.blogs.net).

Discussion Forums

Exercise your freedom of speech !!!

The 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.org discussion forums at
http://www.grassroots.org/forums.

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
(http://www.grassroots.org) near the top of your home page. If you
need another copy of the banner you can download it at
http://www.grassroots.org/images/grassroots_banner.jpg

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.

Administration

If others you know would like to view this newsletter, please forward
this copy and have them subscribe to the newsletter. 

To subscribe to this newsletter, use this form: 
http://www.grassroots.org/do/SubscribeClientNewsletter

To unsubscribe, use this form:
http://www.grassroots.org/do/UnsubscribeClientNews
To view previous newsletters, go to the Archives:
http://apps.grassroots.org/cgi-bin/news.cgi/ClientNewsFront

If you have questions about Grassroots.org complete this form:
http://www.grassroots.org/do/Contact.

About Grassroots.org

Grassroots.org is a nonprofit organization that is looking to change
the world slowly but surely via the Internet at local, national, and
international levels. This is done is through the development of sites
dedicated to specific issues and by offering free services to other
nonprofit organizations.

Grassroots Client News
Copyright, 2004
Grassroots.org - A Heart at the Center of the Internet
http://www.grassroots.org

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