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REGISTRATION FORM FOR GARDEN CLUBS
OF ILLINOIS 2008 CONVENTION
>>
Click here for Registration Form
APPLICATION FOR GARDEN CLUB AWARDS
Including 2006 GCI Award Guide
>>
Click here for Garden Club Award information.
NOTES FROM THE TREASURER:
LIABILITY INSURANCE
The Garden Clubs of Illinois, Inc. has
liability insurance. Your club may be covered during
special events for $1,000,000 in liability insurance
by requesting a certificate of insurance on the policy
held by The Garden Clubs of Illinois, Inc. The REQUEST
FOR CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE must be filled
out completely. The insurance company needs this information
for their files and protection against fraudulent claims.
COST: If only your Garden Club is
insured: $50.
1. If your Garden Club is the only organization
being insured the charge is $50.00.
COST: If there is an additional insured:
$150.
2. If the Park District, church, mall
or any venue where you are holding your event asks to
be insured there is a charge of $150.00
per event regardless of the number of days.
To be covered by this insurance you
must send the following:
- The Request for Certificate of Insurance
form, completely filled out.
- A check for $50.00 or $150.00 made
out to the "The Garden Clubs of Illinois, Inc."
Mail it to The Garden Clubs of Illinois,
Inc. - see mailing address above.
Don't delay in sending in your request.
A month in advance is cutting it pretty close because
of the time involved in mailing the request from you
to GCI to ITT Hartford, their processing time and back
to you. Make your request as soon as you set your date
and avoid the last-minute scramble.
Click
here for Request for Certificate of Insurance form (Word
.doc format)
TAXES
Income Tax
As a not-for-profit club you are not required to pay
Income Tax. The Garden Clubs of Illinois is exempt from
paying Federal income tax under section 501 ( c ) (3)
of the Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to GCI are
deductible as charitable contributions on the donor's
federal income tax return.
Individual member clubs of The Garden
Clubs of Illinois, Inc. are not automatically exempt
from paying Federal income taxes under a group exemption
letter.
If your club normally has annual gross
receipts of not more than $5,000 and if it meets the
requirement of section 501 ( c ) (3), it is exempt automatically.
However if your club wants to establish its exemption
with the internal Revenue Service and receive a ruling
or determination letter recognizing its exempt status,
it should file Form 1023 with the key IRS District Director.
By establishing its exemption, potential contributors
are assured by the Service that contributions will be
deductible.
A club normally having annual gross
receipts more than $5,000 is required to file Form 1023
to be exempt from Federal income taxes. If your club
normally has annual gross receipts of more than $25,000,
it is required to file a 990 EZ form with the IRS. It
might be a good idea to seek the assistance of a CPA.
No payment is required with this form, but it must be
filed.
Charitable Contributions
Contribution of $250 or more cannot be substantiated
with canceled checks. A written acknowledgment from
the charity is needed to allow a tax deduction. If your
club receives large donations, please be informed of
the law on charitable contributions. Also be aware of
"quid pro quo" contributions of more than $75. You must
inform the donor the amount of the contribution that
is tax deductible after the value of any goods or services
provided by the charity.
State Sales Tax
The not-for-profit status does not mean that you do
not have to pay Illinois State Sales Tax. Even GCI pays
sales tax on every product that we sell - books, sweatshirts,
plants, containers, pins, food at hotels for meetings,
etc. We tried to get a tax-exempt number from the State
of Illinois, but could not.
You must be 100% charitable which garden
clubs are not or prove that you provide more benefit
to the State of Illinois by not paying tax than the
amount of tax you would pay. Even as an educational
body we do not qualify as we do not provide enough of
this service to be of great benefit to the State of
Illinois. The law was tightened in 1992 so that most
restaurants and other businesses do not accept our EIN
number (not-for-profit ID number from the IRS) to waive
sales tax as they previously had. Since the state's
financial condition is so precarious it is not likely
that this status will ever be changed back.
If you have questions please feel free
to call the GCI office or the Treasurer.
Forms for various events, such as school
registrations, conventions, and the-like are currently
available from Headquarters at 117 Adell Place, Elmhurst.
They will be made available on this website at a later
date. Many also are printed in GARDENGlories in the
issue immediately prior to a scheduled event and/or
are included in the regular President's Package mailed
from Headquarters. If you have any questions or need
a special form, please call GCI at 630-617-9269, or
e-mail gardenclubsill@aol.com.
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