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The following memorandum was submitted to the IRS (in 1996) in support of the Not Good old Boys Association application for legal status.
Memorandum for internal revenue service ref case# 526151065
The explanations requested by your office are explained in detail as follows:
Item #1
(describe in much more detail the financial aid you intend to provide for the families of active and discharged armed forces recruiters and counselors)
Recruiters and counselors are an entity within the armed forces that are spread all over the world. These soldiers serve away from military installations and receive little support to defray costs associated with relocation, house hunting, or reemployment of spouses. Their incidences of suicide, divorce and domestic problems are the highest in the armed forces. Our organization, consisting of military members and veterans who have primarily served in the same capacity would provide charitable support to those who are in dire need of short-term assistance. The need must be documented and would be relatively small. More than monetary assistance, which would be minimal (less than $100.00 per incident), our charitable support would be in a network of veterans that are linked and committed to provide relief in the form of lending closets, spousal relocation assistance and family advocacy counseling if needed. These needs are currently not addressed for this group since these servicemembers are not in proximity to military facilities. We plan to network with other charities whenever possible, if our organization’s assets are not adequate. Our organization depends solely on volunteers and charity from sympathetic sources to serve this community of veterans. The major goal of our organization is to come to the rescue in the most dire circumstances, prior to obtaining long term help through other means. This may be a bag of groceries, because a soldiers pay is fouled up in the absence of a finance office, it may be some money for school books for a child, because a parent is deployed, or may simply be a loan of utensils to a family new to a community. Simply put, it is charity at the grassroots level.
Item #2
(describe in full detail the specific criteria and monetary amounts for education awards (scholarships) to children or siblings of members)
The term “members” is misleading and was not meant to imply an exclusive eligible population. The correct terminology is “ children or siblings of eligible veterans”. They do not have to be a member of the association, but nominations will be solicited from association members. The specific criteria will be placement of eligibility announcements with local high school guidance counseling offices. We plan a need based scholarhip grant which would be based on the following:
- Submission of formal application (available at guidance office)
- Son, daughter or sibling of any veteran of the armed forces that
served during wartime.
- Written recommendation from guidance counselor grade point average of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) during junior and senior year.
- Written essay of at least 1000 words in length
We plan to “fence” 30 percent of the organization’s assets to defray the cost of these scholarships. The monetary award to each recipient will not exceed 500 dollars to any individual. We will award as many scholarships as our assets will support. Demonstrated need is also a factor in the final selection process, but merit will be the deciding factor. Applications will be submitted to our education committee which will decide final winners. Awardees will be notified prior to the school year and a list of recipients will be published in our quarterly newsletter.
Item #3
(you referenced a “national headquarters.” Who are the national headquarters ?
Is your organization a subordinate to the national entity ? Explain.)
Our organization would be “the national headquarters” of the ngob association. Our members based in various locations throughout the military and in civilian life will need a central point of contact to accomplish the above mentioned charities and other activities. Since the association was formed in Virginia (outside Washington DC) it is ideally located to major headquarters that impact on our members. It may have been a misnomer to use the name “national headquarters”, but it is important that any fledgling organization have a clear chain of command to conduct routine business. We are a subordinate of no other activity or entity. We all share a common bond as fellow “veterans” of recruiting and counseling in our respective military services, however. As such we will yearly elect a national commander and other officers that will serve in an unpaid capacity as a spokesperson for the entire organization.
Item#4
(describe your social and recreational activities in much further detail)
Our recreational activities consist of volunteerism in youth sports. Currently, we fund a youth soccer league (to the extent of available funds) in northern Virginia. We would like to expand in the future, involving our dispersed membership in local communities. We plan to “fence” 30 percent of our assets to youth activities in the form of charitable contributions that will enable needy children to participate in activities that may otherwise be closed to them because of the cost of equipment etc. Whenever possible, to save scarce assets, we would solicit church groups and other veteran’s groups to also participate in this endeavor.
Social activities consist of local gatherings operated exclusively for veteran members of our organization IAW 501(c)19. In local areas, this may be a meeting at someone's home to discuss situations that may develop. If our organization eventually becomes financially able, we would like to rent or sublet a regular meeting space so our members, like those of organizations such as the American Legion, VFW , AMVETS etc. may relax and associate with one another. Ultimately, we strive to have a place to share time with fellow veterans who have a common bond rooted in recruiting or counseling. A meeting place will enable our organization to stock snacks and beverages for members and their guests that would be sold at a slight profit. All proceeds will go into the general treasury of the organization to defray the charitable causes that our organization stands for.
We are a well intentioned group of military members and veterans that share a common commitment to charity. We not only believe in charity among ourselves, but also in the community. Although many veteran’s organizations share our principles (such as the VFW, American Legion, Amvets, etc. The truth is that none of them share the common sense of purpose that we have experienced as a result of affiliation with one of the military’s more thankless tasks--recruiting and counseling. This is a segment of the veteran and military population that endures hardship during wartime and peacetime. We have always relied on each other to help out in bad times. Our aim is to gain recognition for our group and to grow into a helping, charitable organization. We have some flaws, particularly in understanding proposed financial reports and estimating our future expenditures and outlays. We have a solid knowledge, however of duty to our country and fellow veterans in time of need. We expect no profit...only charity to our fellow veterans and a show of patriotism to America and her veterans.
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