Three reasons to complete your Annual Activity Report by May 15!
1) Avoid IRS paperwork! For most chapters, if you submit your Annual Activity Report, National TU can handle your required filings with the IRS rather than you having to prepare and submit it. If your average annual revenue over the past three years is $50K or less, then using your Annual Activity Report National will make the required filings on your behalf. (If your average annual revenue exceeds $50K over the past three years, you will need to file – find more information on IRS filing requirements in the NTU Tackle Box.)
2) Money! For every one of your chapter members, CTU will receive a $2.50 rebate from NTU but only if your report has been filed by May 15th. And for every new member you’ve recruited in the past year, your chapter will receive a $15 new member rebate – but only if your report has been filed by the deadline. To qualify for the rebates, you must also confirm on your report that you have an independent reviewer for your chapter bank statements – a common-sense financial control to protect your assets by having a separate set of eyes from your board looking over the bank statements in addition to your Treasurer.
3) Help us tell the TU story! One of the most powerful parts of TU’s story is the level of resources and volunteerism we contribute to conservation and education through all or our chapters and councils nationwide. The Annual Activity Reports helps us aggregate those local efforts and investments and demonstrate the collective impact we are having for trout and their watersheds.
The deadline for filing your chapter’s Annual Activity Report is May 15th. Chapter Presidents and Treasurers can access it through their logins with the Leaders Only section on the tu.org. After entering your information, remember not only to “save” the information but to “submit” it with the appropriate buttons. Please take the time to complete your report with a bit of time to spare, and if you need any assistance please reach out to David at the CTU office at dnickum@tu.org.
Charitable Solicitation Filing with Colorado’s Secretary of State
To help protect Coloradans against fraudulent fundraising from purported “charities”, the General Assembly passed the Colorado Charitable Solicitations Act in 2012. Under the act, charitable organizations are to register with the Secretary of State and file annual reports, while professional fundraisers (such as telemarketers) have separate filing requirements. Fortunately the reporting for charitable organizations is fairly simple, drawing largely from your IRS returns or similar financial statements.
Many TU chapters may be exempted from these requirements altogether based on their budgets. The annual filing requirement does not apply to organizations that do not raise gross revenues in excess of $25,000 during a fiscal year – and that total is not including grants from governmental entities or from tax-exempt private foundations – or that do not receive contributions from more than ten persons during a fiscal year.
Here are some examples:
· Your chapter raised $30,000 for the year - $15K from individual and business contributions and $15K from a state grant. You would be exempted from the filing requirement as your fundraising excluding governmental grants would be below the $25,000 threshold.
· Your chapter raised $35,000 in the year, $5000 from a raffle (raffle tickets are not charitable contributions) plus a $30,000 bequest. You would be exempted because while your gross revenues exceeded $25K, your charitable contributions came from fewer than ten persons for the year.
· Your chapter raised $30,000, half from member donations from 30 different members, and half from five different corporate sponsorships. You would be required to file with the Colorado Secretary of State under the Colorado Charitable Solicitations Act as your revenues came from more than ten donors and exceeded $25,000 for the year.
If your chapter is required to file under the Act, you can find the information required to register and submit your report on the Colorado Secretary of State’s charitable solicitations website. If you have questions that aren’t answered with the web pages FAQ or need assistance in registering, please contact David at dnickum@tu.org.
