© Mark W. Pettigrew
When I first moved to Bellingham, WA, I was made aware of Allied Arts of Whatcom County (http://www.alliedarts.org/). Some of the good things about the organization became quickly apparent to me when I visited their very nice art gallery, and their very nice seasonal art exhibit during the Christmas season.
However, I later learned even more about Allied Arts, and what I learned caused me to think that it might be very helpful for me to associate my own art-related organization with theirs, in the early stages of development at any rate.
I learned that they offered the option of becoming an "umbrella organization", operating under their supervision, in order to receive the benefits of becoming a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization, even prior to going through all of the hassles which are usually necessary in order to get 501(c)3 status for one's own organization. (Apparently, Allied Arts isn't the only organization which offers this option to other organizations, but it was the first time I'd been made aware of that option.)
Certainly, I met all their criteria, as far as I could tell on the basis of the paperwork I picked up at their gallery. My project strongly pertained to the arts. In addition, my project involved a strong component of community service. It was not a project created solely for the purpose of making money, and the money it did make would be used to help many people in need, including the needs of the artists who contributed products and/or services to be used for fundraising purposes.
Therefore, one of the items on my current "to do" list is to apply to operate the Artistic Rescue Project under the "umbrella" of Allied Arts of Whatcom County. I believe that I will benefit greatly from that association, and as immodest as it might seem for me to say so, I believe that their organization (and also the many artists who belong to Allied Arts) will also benefit from that association.
The approval of my application to Allied Arts is not yet a "done deal", so I would ask you to pray that they will be receptive to my ideas.
The primary benefit for this project will be that folks can donate funds, supplies and other necessary things (such as office space) to the Artistic Rescue Project, while getting the same types of tax deductions they'd get whenever donating the same things to more established nonprofit organizations.
