The board of trustees of a public school district library owns the library building. A private club occupies the entire second floor. The private club has traditionally not paid any rent or utilities, nor has it contributed to the upkeep of the building in any way.
What an interesting set-up! If I started a private club,[1] I would totally want it over a library. Or a museum. Either way, very cool.
A community member hosts a “free with donation” yoga class at our library, and attendees are encouraged to make a donation each class. These donations are collected by the yoga instructor who hands them to the circulation assistant and identifies it as a donation to the Friends of the Library organization.
This sounds like a lovely service to both the library and community, so I am going to make this answer as positive as possible.
First, it is clear from the question that the instructor (a “community member”) is not a library employee. So, they are either doing this as a volunteer or as an independent contractor.
[This question about Friends of the Library and $$$ is from a municipal public library]
We have a newly re-organized Friends group that does not have 501(c)(3) status but would like to accept donations. I know that the library can act as a pass-through for grants but I was wondering if this also applies to undesignated monetary donations?
This issue—the question of a public library acting as a pass-through on an ongoing and open-ended basis for its Friends—is like a mouse seeking cheddar[1] cheese in a maze.
I work at a special district public library, and we are not currently a 501(c)(3). Everyone I've asked from co-workers to administration to board members says no, we aren't eligible, but no one can answer *why* we wouldn't be eligible. First, we pretty explicitly meet the exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3).
In Greek mythology, the "chimera" is an intact, functioning animal boasting the features of other animals: the head of a lion, the body of a goat, and the tail of a serpent (or a dragon, depending on your source).
Libraries are legal chimeras.
Our museum has an item on long-term loan that is potentially pretty valuable--a 200-yr old document.
We no longer wish to have this item in our custody unless it is gifted to us outright, and no longer on loan.
This question had me on the edge of my seat until the very end.
WHAT is this 200-year-old document?
WHO is this mysterious lender?
WHAT does the original loan agreement look like?
WHO took the 20-year-old photos?
Are incorporated "Friends", who do not receive over $50 thousand, do not have paid staff, and are only able to provide the funds to the library, required to register [with the New York Attorney General] and submit the CHAR500 form?
When one considers becoming a "Friend" of a library, several activities spring to mind:
I need clarification about the IRS regulations on 501c3 organizations.
This answer comes with many disclaimers, because the legal parameters of room access and rental at chartered libraries in New York is variable territory. In other words: the answer can depend on the library’s “type” (set by its charter), its fundamental rules (found in the bylaws), its IRS status (the “501 (c)(3) mentioned by the member”), its day-to-day rules (controlled by policies), its lea
