FW: Advice needed

Peggy Law

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Dec 19, 2013, 7:00:56 AM12/19/13

to sdv board, Kyle Bollmeier, Shannon Wilson

All,
Please see below from my colleague in Minnesota who is quite a bit larger than us, has been doing this work for 25 years and has a large budget.
P.
------ Forwarded Message
From: Alan Peters <ape...@can-do-canines.org>
Date: Thu, 19 Dec 2013 00:09:44 -0600
To: Peggy Law <peggy...@gmail.com>
Subject: Re: Advice needed

Peggy,
My comments below.

Al

Al,

I am hoping you can give me some advice. About 6 months ago, my board decided to require clients to fund raise with a goal of $8K. They parsed the language so that its really a fee and whether someone fund raises or pays out of pocket, its their choice so fundraising is not mandatory. I am on the fence because it does make me a little nuts that clients contribute so little and sometimes have less commitment than I would like to see. Follow ups are a struggle because they kind of take their dog and go after transfer. I thought if they paid a little they would be more likely to participate in follow ups.

After meeting with an accountant, we learned that donations clients receive from friends will not be tax deductible.

If they are donations to you, without restrictions, they are deductible. If they are tied to a specific client, they are "paying for" the dog, and are not deductible.

We are also having some clients leave because of the new policy. I am thinking we should scrap the plan and work harder to get clients to fund raise voluntarily. (We were still offering scholarships to people who couldn’t meet the goal). I find myself uncomfortable with the new plan, its implementation and in asking for so much money from clients. But I am also kind of sick of doing so much fundraising when they do nothing. I don’t want to resent my clients.

We have been wrestling with client participation for years. We have come to a partial conclusion: we are going to design a "pay it forward" model in which an applicant signs an agreement to do specific things to contribute to the organization in support of the people who are on the waiting list, essentially paying back what they have gotten for free. This can take the form of a personal gift, fundraising, volunteering time as presented or some other way, etc. We are thinking about a goal of $2500-$5000 each. We hope to get some cash and more personal commitment from clients.

Once designed, we will test the concept on our donors, as some are so committed to the idea of "free", which we have been selling for 25 years, that there may be some resistance. We'll see.

I know you don’t charge at all. We didn’t for 13 years. Can you advise me? I am willing to reverse the policy if I can convince the board to do that. I would have to have the embarrassment of contacting people and telling them we goofed and are changing the policy but I don’t mind eating a little crow if that’s what is needed.

I am sorry, I can't tell you what is right, only share my thinking. It is my observation that that requiring prepayment out front can cause all kinds of problems that I want to avoid: potential refunds, lawsuits, the tax-deductible issue, complaints. I don't want to go there. Hope this helps.

Al

Peggy

On Wed, Dec 18, 2013 at 5:42 AM, Peggy Law <peggy...@gmail.com> wrote:

Al,

I am hoping you can give me some advice. About 6 months ago, my board decided to require clients to fundraise with a goal of $8K. They parsed the language so that its really a fee and whether someone fundraises or pays out of pocket, its their choice so fundraising is not mandatory. I am on the fence because it does make me a little nuts that clients contribute so little and sometimes have less commitment than I would like to see. Follow ups are a struggle because they kind of take their dog and go after transfer. I thought if they paid a little they would be more likely to participate in follow ups.

After meeting with an accountant, we learned that donations clients receive from friends will not be tax deductible. We are also having some clients leave because of the new policy. I am thinking we should scrap the plan and work harder to get clients to fund raise voluntarily. (We were still offering scholarships to people who couldn’t meet the goal). I find myself uncomfortable with the new plan, its implementation and in asking for so much money from clients. But I am also kind of sick of doing so much fundraising when they do nothing. I don’t want to resent my clients.

I know you don’t charge at all. We didn’t for 13 years. Can you advise me? I am willing to reverse the policy if I can convince the board to do that. I would have to have the embarrassment of contacting people and telling them we goofed and are changing the policy but I don’t mind eating a little crow if that’s what is needed.

Peggy

--

Alan M. Peters
Executive Director
Can Do Canines
9440 Science Center Drive
New Hope, MN 55428
763-331-3000 x116
763-331-3009 fax
www.can-do-canines.org <http://www.can-do-canines.org/>

Please consider providing hope
to those we serve through your tax-deductible gift.

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Can Do Canines is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities by creating mutually beneficial partnerships with specially trained dogs. We envision a world where everyone who wants and needs an assistance dog can have one.

------ End of Forwarded Message

Shannon Wilson

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Dec 19, 2013, 8:20:57 AM12/19/13

to Peggy Law, sdv board, Kyle Bollmeier

I think the Pay It Forward model is intriguing. If I'm following Al, it's an agreement with the people who've already been placed with their dog (basically what Caroline Adams is doing with her online fundraising page).

I think having to rethink and revamp won't require eating a complete crow, maybe just a few feathers because the main goal is to get more engagement by clients (both those who've been placed and those on the waiting list) and to generate a much needed revenue stream. That foal remains the same. It's more in how the policy is presented. The policy we recently implemented was a requirement to CONTRIBUTE to the organization, not a requirement to fundraise. Paying it forward is basically the same thing. Making it "after the fact" - after they have their dog - clarifies the tax implications and deductibility, based on what we learned from the CPA.

Regardless of the fine print, the clearer the expectations are stated up front and reiterated (from the application process and initial interviews onward through transfer camp) the better. The focus on our end is dedicated follow up to help the clients with goal setting and achievement. That means we need to be crystal clear before presenting it to the world. In my opinion, we jumped the gun a bit on this last policy change, in my opinion. But "big" changes are often fraught with hiccups, mis-starts and some tossing and turning through refinement. We'll get through the refinement with a solid policy, I'm sure.

Shannon

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Peggy Law

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Dec 19, 2013, 9:09:38 AM12/19/13

to Shannon Wilson, Peggy Law, sdv board, Kyle Bollmeier

Well stated Shannon. This makes me feel a bit less anxious and I think we do need a slight mid-course correction to get it all right. We did jump the gun in retrospect.
P.

on 12/19/13 8:20 AM, Shannon Wilson at sha...@servicedogsva.org wrote:

I think the Pay It Forward model is intriguing. If I'm following Al, it's an agreement with the people who've already been placed with their dog (basically what Caroline Adams is doing with her online fundraising page).

I think having to rethink and revamp won't require eating a complete crow, maybe just a few feathers because the main goal is to get more engagement by clients (both those who've been placed and those on the waiting list) and to generate a much needed revenue stream. That foal remains the same. It's more in how the policy is presented. The policy we recently implemented was a requirement to CONTRIBUTE to the organization, not a requirement to fundraise. Paying it forward is basically the same thing. Making it "after the fact" - after they have their dog - clarifies the tax implications and deductibility, based on what we learned from the CPA.

Regardless of the fine print, the clearer the expectations are stated up front and reiterated (from the application process and initial interviews onward through transfer camp) the better. The focus on our end is dedicated follow up to help the clients with goal setting and achievement. That means we need to be crystal clear before presenting it to the world. In my opinion, we jumped the gun a bit on this last policy change, in my opinion. But "big" changes are often fraught with hiccups, mis-starts and some tossing and turning through refinement. We'll get through the refinement with a solid policy, I'm sure.

Shannon

Sent from my iPhone

On Dec 19, 2013, at 7:00 AM, Peggy Law <peggy...@gmail.com> wrote:

FW: Advice needed All,

Rachel Potter

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Dec 19, 2013, 9:19:44 AM12/19/13

to Peggy Law, Shannon Wilson, Peggy Law, sdv board, Kyle Bollmeier

Not ignoring these emails, just processing and pondering. We will find a solution that is good for all.

Rachel

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