Adamantine Arts

Mid last week I was met with a little surprise. Sandwiched between junkmail and bills, was a letter bearing the IRS logo addressed to The Art Attack (Adamantine Art's official business name right now). I knew it had to be something to do with our tax exempt status. As I read the first few words "Congratulations...", my spirits rose - WE'RE OFFICIALLY A 501C3 TAX EXEMPT NON-PROFIT. Heck, I don't think I could have been more happy had it said "Congratulations. You have won one million dollars"! Four years of research, close to one thousand dollars, over fifty hours of filling out forms, and nearly 9 months of pure waiting later - the end goal was achieved!

I would like to take a quick second to thank Steven Love who graciously donated a large portion of the application fee. I would also like to thank Marty Bjerke (our accountant) who helped with the filings. Finally, I would like to thank everyone who kept the faith to see this thing through. Thank all of you sooooo much.

Being awarded 501c3 status helps establish us as an official not-for-profit organization. Non-Profits are technically corporations and governed by the state and local government they reside in. To some extent, anyone can set up a business, fill out the proper paperwork, and call it "non-profit". However, tax exempt status is only awarded by the federal government. To a lot of people (including me prior to this whole process) "tax exempt status" means churches and schools not having to pay tax on stuff they buy at the store. That is a part of it. There are also some benefits as far as donations, expenses, etc go. To a greater extent, it establishes legitimacy. Many organizations will not work with non-tax exempt organizations. Many grant givers will not give to non-profits that have not taken the steps to get tax-exempt status. The point here is that it is a great milestone for the organization in terms of working with others as well as financially.

So what is next? Some of our program planning was put on hold while we wrapped up our Spring programming as well as we prudently awaited the IRS notice that determined our future. As such, our plate is mostly clear for the summer to allow us to really start planning our next programming and figure out our long term goals more concretely. We will be tightening our mission statement, organizing our human resources, figuring out our financial resources, and getting all our ducks in a row.

As an aside, this makes me really excited about this organization. I feel like all the hard work we have put in to this organization is paying off. I randomly ran into someone from another local Minneapolis arts non-profit that we greatly admired. I told her a bit about the work we have been doing and she was greatly impressed. She said we were "the ones in the trenches making things happen". I like that. Well, back to the trenches... I'll keep you posted.