Woodridge Non-Profits Lose Tax-Exempt Status

More than a dozen Woodridge non-profits were included in an Internal Revenue Service list of Illinois organizations whose tax-exempt status was automatically revoked due to failure to file an annual return.

Here is the list of Woodridge organizations whose tax-exempt statuses were revoked: 

• Easy Pathway Foundation Corporation, P.O. Box 5378, Woodridge
• Institute for World Resource, One Heritage Plaza, St. 335, Woodridge
• International Association of Lions, 6702 Pershing Ct., Woodridge
• Knights of Columbus, 8124 Greenwood Ln., Woodridge
• Lisle Woodridge Jaycees, P.O. Box 352, Lisle 
• Michael David Samel Spirit of Music Fund, 2653 Luzern Ct. Ste. 316, Woodridge
• Midwest Western Wear & Equipment, 2208 Dalewood Ct.,Woodridge
• National Computer Society for the Deaf, P.O. Box 5386, Woodridge 
• Peer Culture Development, Inc., 3 Wren Ct., Woodidge
• Robert Brandt Foundation, P.O Box 5284, Woodridge 
• SBS Foundation, 5 Cherry Tree Courts, Ste. 200, Woodridge 
• St. Josemaria Institute, 1420 Davey Rd., Woodridge 
• Woodridge Running Rebels, 6329 Greene Rd., Woodridge

The full list, released June 8, includes 275,000 agencies nationally that lost their tax status after failing to file a return for three consecutive years.

The loss of tax-exempt status means that anyone who makes a donation cannot claim it on the following year’s tax return. According to the IRS list, each of the agencies had its tax-exempt status automatically revoked, effective May 15, 2010. 

Dean Patterson, who works in media relations for the IRS, attributes the large number of organizations on the list to the suspicion that many groups on the list are now defunct.

Those groups that are still active can apply to be re-instated to tax-exempt status by filing an application and paying the appropriate user fee. If the IRS accepts the application, the organization will receive a new determination letter.

Names you might recognize on Woodridge's list include the Lisle Woodridge Jaycees, a Woodridge Lions Club and the Michael David Samel Spirit of Music Fund. 

Woodridge Jaycees 

The Lisle Woodridge Jaycees is separate from the Woodridge Jaycees, said Woodridge Jaycees Member Debbie White. The Woodridge Jaycees' tax-exempt status remains. 

Michael David Samel Spirit of Music Fund 

The Michael David Samel Spirit of Music Fund was awarded the 2010 Outstanding Association of the Year award from the Village of Woodridge through the village's annual Community Recognition Program. 

The fund has donated more than $60,000 to the music programs District 99 and Jefferson Jr. High School, including a $3,000 check to assist the Downers Grove South Jazz Ensemble in its trip to the "Essentially Ellington" High School Jazz Band Competition & Festival. 

Mark Samel said he filed the paperwork several times for the Michael David Samel Spirit of Music Fund. The IRS wanted several years of tax returns previously not required of the organization, he said. 

He then received a letter June 1 saying its 501c3 status had been revoked. Samel is working with an accountant to have that status re-instated. 

Woodridge Lions Club 

A common name on Illinois' list was Lions Club International. the About 100 different Lions Clubs from around the state, including one in Woodridge, are on the list. But here's where it gets tricky: some of the clubs on the list are inactive, and some aren't.

Melitta Cutright, public relations manager for Lions Club International, said office headquarters has started to go through the list to determine active clubs from inactive ones. It's tricky because some clubs may have multiple ID numbers from the IRS, she said, due to leadership turnover. 

Whether the Woodridge Lions Club on the list is the same as the active Woodridge Lions Club is not clear. A representative from the Woodridge Lions Club did not respond to comment on the list. 

The office will talk with those clubs who are active to help them apply for re-instatement as a tax-exempt organization, Cutright said. 

Patterson said the list was created by the IRS following the Pension Protection Act of 2006. The IRS sent notices to the 650,000 organizations required to file an annual return under the new law and sent delinquency notices for those who did not from 2007 to 2009, he said. 

The IRS also posted an at-risk list on its website that included organizations who had failed to file three years running and extended the deadline for smaller organizations to file returns, Patterson said.