[quote= I can see some professionals being reluctant to have their names and addresses a public record... There are others who believe in violence... Good reason to keep an address secret! [/quote]

I think some people are getting just a bit confused here....

The names of BOD members are public information and that part of the 990 is public information, the names and amount of major donations (typically over $5,000) have to be reported to the IRS on an attachment to the 990, but do not have to be made public.

Many non profits and universities, typically in small towns, do publish a list of who's donated to them, but these lists are intended to say "look which of your friends and neighbors are supporting us", but a donor can be ask that his/her name be kept off such lists.

Bob H

Well, realistically, when we first found that site years ago, we've never thought that anything would come of that. What the heck - in the unlikely case anything did come our way via the site, file it under 'found money".

Our interest in the site - and what we see as its utility - is as a interchange of financial research. If I want to know what some organization is up to (or, in the case of some places, curl up with some good fiction for bedtime reading ;^), it's a place to find the financials.

Where it's been most useful to us is in researching private foundations. If you're looking at a list of foundations in your area and want to know what types of activities they've funded, how much they give typically, and whether you're a possible fit to their giving patterns, that access to the 990's is invaluable.

In regard to board members' privacy, for address all that needs to be listed on the 990 is a business address, i.e. the business address of the non-profit. So, unless a board member has a very unusual name, the name listing doesn't necessarily even reveal who really is on the board. Google my name, and you'll get about a million hits; none of which really refer to me. Of course if your name is Warren Buffett, that listing would give a pretty good idea of who the board member is, but not for sure. So, I really can't see privacy concerns as being a reason to not want to list board members' names.

I can understand an individual's desire as a museum board member to avoid public exposure. Liability, identity theft, and verbal harassment are legitimate reasons that come to mind.

On the other hand, one of the obligations of board membership is to be out front promoting the museum and providing leads to development staff/committee to generate funds. Hiding from public view will not help advance a museum's mission.

Good legal counsel can guide museum leadership to minimize some hassles board members may face.

Sloan

Thanks for your interpretation. I did read the FAQs and they did not satisfy me. On the other hand, we would be happy to add a donation button for your organization on our webpage and forward any amounts collected minus a 5% processing and handling fee.

Sorry, that's my bad. There was another URL that I thought I had pasted, but I hadn't. By the time I realized this, it was the next day and I couldn't find the URL again. It was from a nonprofit, which had a FAQ which candidly spoke about the whole "why let them take 5%" thing. They essentially said, sure we'd prefer you send us a cheque so we get $100, but we can't take Visa/MC. If that's how you want to donate, we'd rather have $95 than $0.



OK, I'll bite. Why do you have a problem with the 5%?

I'm trying to imagine a case where the possibility of either liability (absent outright malfeasance) or identity theft would exist. I just can't think of any.

Verbal harassment, yeah... what railway museum hasn't been through their political schisms? That's just part and parcel. Those people go away pretty quickly.

Suppose one of your directors worked for AIG. After hearing of the people who wanted the addresses of AIG bonus recipients so he could "wrap piano wire around their and their families' throats", would you want everyone's address published??

"Suppose one of your directors worked for AIG. After hearing of the people who wanted the addresses of AIG bonus recipients so he could "wrap piano wire around their and their families' throats", would you want everyone's address published??"

There's any easy work around, all that's required on the 990 is an address where the BOD member can be reached and that can be the organization's business address.

Look at some of the 990s on Guidestar and you'll find many groups do this.

Bob H

Pinch me, I think I'm dreaming. A railway museum PODCAST!