Haines City, FL
Any idea when the next campaign will start?
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Edmonton, AB
Quoted from wolv3:Looks like the tickets are sold out now. Will the draw be earlier or still April?
From the email this morning:
We're at 77% ! If we can sell out before Monday night, we'll have the drawing on Wednesday!
The last 33% sold today...wow!
RAFFLE DRAWING!
The February raffle drawing will be LIVE,
Wednesday, March 1st at 2:00pm EST!
Tune in and watch LIVE online at:
Nice, got me a ticket for the March Drawing. I'll get some more when I get paid in a week, if there are any left.
joesaid Will you please make a copy of your Form 1023 and your Form 990-T available?
https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/public-disclosure-and-availability-of-exempt-organizations-returns-and-applications-documents-subject-to-public-disclosure
Pinball EDU's financials are on its website at:
http://www.pinball-edu.org/financial-statements/
I'm checking with our non-profit association about the Form 1023.
As you know we are raising and saving money for the opening of the Pinball Education Center in Frederick Maryland. More info:
http://www.pinball-edu.org/the-pinball-education-center/
We're currently working with a large national non-profit and its local office to co-occupy a space in Frederick.
Some of you might know that I have been working on the concept for about 5 years. We incorporated a little over 2 years ago and have had 501(c)3 status for about 2 full years.
We hosted a 6 week event in Frederick in May/June of 2016 and were welcomed with open arms by the community. We've worked with a handfull of realtors to help find us a home and it has been very difficult. We're very hopeful that this new partnership will work out and we'll have a space open by time for summer camp!
We entend to make an announcement as soon as possible about our new home!
Cheers and much love,
--
Joe P. Said
Executive Director/Founder
Pinball EDU Charity, 501(c)3 #47-2840921
www.pinball4kids.org
www.winapin.org
Quoted from joesaid:Pinball EDU's financials are on its website at:
http://www.pinball-edu.org/financial-statements/
joesaid Your website does not have any financial information. It currently shows only that a 990-N was filed. As a charity that took in more than $50,000 gross in 2016 Pinball EDU does not meet the criteria for filing a 990-N.
https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/annual-electronic-filing-requirement-for-small-exempt-organizations-form-990-n-e-postcard
The disclosure requirements for a 501(c)3 organization are given at
https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/public-disclosure-and-availability-of-exempt-organizations-returns-and-applications-documents-subject-to-public-disclosure
I look forward to your compliance so interested parties can see exactly how much money Pinball EDU has collected, how it has been spent, and how much remains.
In 2015, we raised $39,128 dollars which included a $20,000 personal donation from myself.
In 2016, we raised about $37,000 from raffles (less $5000 for the machine, and ~$800 in fees). The pinball machine cost is directly transfered to our vendor and doesn't hit our accounts and therefore isn't considered gross receipts. Additionally, we had about $10,000 raised from our Roger Sharpe art sale. This netted us about $5000. We also raised $1500 from our Flippers charity tournament for the sensory room we plan to build. We haven't finished our end of year accounting for 2016 and expect that to be finished by the end of April. In summary, our gross receipts are under $50,000 and therefore have filed the 990N.
In 17 months we've raised a total of about $81,000 dollars and have $55,000 between our bank account and paypal. We've had $26,000 in expenses, including giclee reproductions, travel, and two pinball machine purchases.
Our expenses run about $1100 a month for insurance, facebook ads, internet, my cell phone, storage unit (for donated equipment the machines we will use in the PEC) and other miscelanous like graphic design and our association fees and permits.
We also run three events annually which involve livestreaming, Awesome Games Done Quick, Summer Games Done Quick and the Flippin' with the Greats events. These events involve minimum expense (~$1000 each) and have been very useful in my personal mentoring and partnerships for future fundraising events.
As I mentioned before, in May/June of 2016 we hosted a 6 week (Wednesday to Sunday) event where we put together an pinball installation to introduce the Frederick and surrounding areas to our unique concept.
We have kept our expenses very low as all of the donations have been reserved for the opening of the Pinball Education Center. I felt when I made my personal donation upfront we would have the ability to keep our marketing expenses within the customary 15% the best charities fall into.
Again, I hope this answers your questions and I expect that you hold other charities to the same standards.
$3500 is the cash that the winner would receive if they didn't want the pinball machine. This is customary in large prize raffles that include prizes such as trips, cars, and houses. The cash prize is not equal to the value of the pinball machine. The text clearly states "In the case where the winner does not want the pinball machine prize they may choose a cash prize of $3500 USD."
The IRS gross receipts question is more complicated as seemingly all IRS filings. As I've stated above Pinball EDU hasn't deducted anything from our "receipts". Pinball EDU has a raffle license. That license allows Pinball EDU to conduct raffles. These raffles are then managed by our raffle management company. They disburse the money to Pinball EDU and our pinball vendor. Money that does not come into Pinball EDU's bank account is not calculated in our gross receipts.
Further, gross receipts is actually not gross receipts. This is where it doesn't make sense to anyone thats not a tax person. See the 100 page document on the form 990:
"Instructions for Form 990 Return of Organization Exempt From Income Tax:"
https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i990.pdf
On page 75 you find "Appendix B. How to Determine Whether an Organization's Gross Receipts Are Normally $50,000 (or $5,000) or Less"
"To determine whether an organization's gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, apply the following test. An organization's gross receipts are considered normally to be $50,000 or less if the organization is:
1. Up to a year old and has received, or donors have pledged to give, $75,000 or less during its first tax year;
2. Between 1 and 3 years old and averaged $60,000 or less in gross receipts during each of its first 2 tax years; or
3. Three years old or more and averaged $50,000 or less in gross receipts for the immediately preceding 3 tax years (including the year for which the return would be filed)"
In the center of the page you will find "$50,000 Gross Receipts Test"
Additionally, note the line:
"If the organization's gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less, it must submit Form 990-N..."
In this case where the raffles were conducted through Paypal as they were in 2015, where Pinball EDU receives the whole amount it would have the following receipts:
2014 - $0
2015 - $39,128
2016 - about $94000 ($42000 plus the cost of the pinball machines and fees)
Pinball EDU incorporated in December of 2014 and regardless of which test you apply Pinball EDU must submit a 990N, and therefore it has.
Again, I hope this answers your questions and I expect that you hold other charities to the same standards.
Wow, why are you guys beating up on JoeSaid? If you don't trust the raffle, then don't buy a ticket. I don't care and I bought one and plan on more (as long as you don't run Joe off). Where else can I get a chance to win a pinball for one entry fee of $40?
Two reasons: 1) Look at the odds. Each drawing is up to $10k. Math in my head says that is 250 tickets max. You have a 1:250 chance of winning the pinball. That's pretty damn good odds. 2) The winners are legitimate, actual Pinside participants, no shady business dealings here.
If you have in-depth tax questions, instead of calling him out to put him on the defense, just PM him and keep it private. I'd say most people on this forum realize the risk and don't care.
Quoted from Darren_Sisco:Wow, why are you guys beating up on JoeSaid? If you don't trust the raffle, then don't buy a ticket.
If you have in-depth tax questions, instead of calling him out to put him on the defense, just PM him and keep it private. I'd say most people on this forum realize the risk and don't care.
Joe is answering questions about how the charity is run because providing records and being transparent with the accounting are part of the responsibilities a charity accepts as a 501(c)3 organization. Those answers are best given in a public forum. Most donors to a charity want to know how much of their money is actually being used for the charitable purpose. Joe's post above shows about 58% goes to buy prizes and another 12% or so for other expenses and 30% hasn't been accounted for yet. Interested parties can and should use the information available from a charity to decide if their donation is being used wisely. Generally a top rated charity uses 75% or more of donations for its charitable programs, 25% or less for fundraising costs.
Quoted from joesaid:Pinball EDU has a raffle license.
What is the license number?
Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:... Joe's post above shows about 58% goes to buy prizes...
Let's be honest here- how many of you who have bough raffle tickets would have made the same monetary donation to Pinball edu if the raffle didn't exist? I think what they take in from raffle proceeds far exceeds what they would otherwise get in donations from the pinball community and represent a realistic return. It's not like you can deduct purchasing raffle tickets as charitable donations on your tax returns.
Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:Joe is answering questions about how the charity is run because providing records and being transparent with the accounting are part of the responsibilities a charity accepts as a 501(c)3 organization. Those answers are best given in a public forum. Most donors to a charity want to know how much of their money is actually being used for the charitable purpose. Joe's post above shows about 58% goes to buy prizes and another 12% or so for other expenses and 30% hasn't been accounted for yet. Interested parties can and should use the information available from a charity to decide if their donation is being used wisely. Generally a top rated charity uses 75% or more of donations for its charitable programs, 25% or less for fundraising costs.
What is the license number?
all good points and any charity being as transparent as possible is a good thing. If anything the transparency drives more charity.
I dont think anyone is "calling out" but rather asking for more clarity.
Yes I was thinking about this last night. I would suggest to JoeSaid to update the website to reflect his current tax information as originally noted by adding form 1023 and 990-t on the website as a part of being a transparent organization. I would make this a navigation link with a dedicated page. This should help alleviate concerns from participants of the raffle current and in the future.
Also a mission statement dedicated page would be fantastic as one of the navigation links. It will drive home the reasoning behind the movement.
Quoted from Mike_M:It's not like you can deduct purchasing raffle tickets as charitable donations on your tax returns.
I think you can. That's one of the benefits of donating to a 501(c)3. Typically a portion of your donation can be deducted from your gross income.
Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:I think you can. That's one of the benefits of donating to a 501(c)3. Typically a portion of your donation can be deducted from your gross income.
...I don't think so. As I understand it, you can deduct the ticket price as gambling losses assuming you have gambling winnings to claim as well, but you cannot (or should not, I won't tell) deduct the value of the tickets directly. There is normally some gray area around deducting some amount above the "benefit" that might allow some contribution to count, but this is explicitly prohibited for raffles per link below. For me I don't want to play around with the IRS, so I will claim a 5k "win" and deduct a few hundred as losses...I'll gladly pay Uncle Sam a few hundred to keep playing TWD. 
http://info.legalzoom.com/nonprofit-raffle-ticket-donations-tax-deductible-24742.html
Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:I think you can. That's one of the benefits of donating to a 501(c)3. Typically a portion of your donation can be deducted from your gross income.
A donation yes, purchasing a raffle ticket, no. Check out IRS publication 526.
"Costs of raffles, bingo, lottery, etc. You
can't deduct as a charitable contribution
amounts you pay to buy raffle or lottery
tickets or to play bingo or other games of
chance. For information on how to report
gambling winnings and losses, see Deductions
Not Subject to the 2% Limit in Pub.
529."
Now if you win... you can report gambling losses on all those tickets that didn't win! 
Does anyone have any pictures of what the money has gone into so far? I see photos all the time for Project Pinball and what they do with their money.
2 weeks later
https://go.rallyup.com/pinballedu-mar17
75% sold, I missed out last month when 33% sold in the last day, not happening again, got my tickets!
Quoted from DrtyPnballWizard:Does anyone have any pictures of what the money has gone into so far? I see photos all the time for Project Pinball and what they do with their money.
You want to see a picture? Of what? Did you buy a ticket? Or does a photo of sick children justify the purchase of a charity raffle tickets? Your post makes ZERO sense there young man!
He wants evidence that the money is being used for its intended purpose. Same as I asked for a few weeks back and didn't get.
Pinball EDU will not get donations from me until they show how much they collect, what it's being spent on, and how much is left.
Quoted from YeOldPinPlayer:He wants evidence
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