Certified Public Manager® Education Foundation Receives IRS Recognition

By Bill Herman, CPM
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The subject of considerable discussion among CPMers who gathered in Columbus, Ohio in September for the 20th Annual AACPM Professional Development Conference and the annual AACPM House of Delegates Meeting, the Certified Public Managers® Education Foundation is poised to close the year with its most significant progress to date. In September, three new individuals were elected to the Board of Directors of the Foundation, marking the first election for the new organization. And on November 14, 2008, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) approved the Foundation’s initial application for recognition as a 501 (c) (3) charitable entity.

The IRS determination has classified the Foundation as a public charity for which “contributions are deductible under Section 170 of the (Internal Revenue) Code. You are also qualified to receive tax deductible bequests, devises, transfers or gifts” under the federal tax code. The effective date of the Foundation’s exemption is October 3, 2007, when it filed as a non-profit corporation with the New Hampshire Secretary of State.

Following the by-laws of the Foundation, the sitting President and Treasurer of the American Academy of Certified Public Managers® will automatically serve as members of the Foundation Board of Directors. With the AACPM elections completed, Stephen Mastro of California will replace Greg Hyland of Arizona on the Foundation Board as of January 1st, while Reva Tisdale of Idaho will succeed Larry Gordon of Arizona. CPM Society Presidents, who served as electors for the first Foundation Board election for a director at large position, chose Tony Smith of Kentucky to succeed Ron Buchholz of Wisconsin. Tony was elected for a three-year term to begin on January 1, 2009.

These three individual will be joining current Directors Sharon Kelley of Wisconsin and Bill Herman of New Hampshire on the Foundation Board. The Board will also be appointing two alternate members to the Foundation Board next year.

It is worthy to note that two of the five Foundation Board members, in addition to being CPMs, are also Certified Public Accountants. With the IRS designation in hand, the Foundation Board will be looking to Sharon and Reva with their specific expertise as it begins the important work of establishing the accounting and reporting systems necessary to accept and account for all contributions the Foundation may receive. This will be particularly important in order to maintain the Foundation’s IRS designation.

The Certified Public Managers® Education Foundation is intended to provide a vehicle that could make it easier to solicit and receive financial donations or seek grants from individuals, businesses or other entities to help support various educational programs or professional development activities of the AACPM or its member societies. The AACPM and most of its member societies are established as business associations under IRS code 501 (c) (6). For some charitable or corporate entities, this does not provide the full tax-deductible advantage as making a contribution to a public charity recognized by the IRS under Section 501 (c) (3).

While the Foundation will be working with the Host Society for the 21st Annual AACPM Professional Development Conference to be held in Orlando, Florida in September 2009, the potential benefits the Foundation might secure won’t be realized until future years.

© Copyright 2008, American Association of Certified Public Managers®