The Friends of the Coolidge Community Park has received non-profit 501 C-3 status. Having non-profit status provides:
Tax Exemption from federal income tax as a charitable organization
Grant eligibility to receive private and public grants
Donors can make tax-deductible donations
Application for special postage rates at a reduced cost
Checks must be made out to: Crossroads/CoolidgePark
Send Checks to: Suzanne Selig, Coolidge Park, 29 Elmwood Street, Maynard, MA 01754
We unfortunately were not able to receive CPA money because of legal issues. The renovation can not be applied to pre-existing property that was not purchased with CPA funds. There is an organization that is trying to change this. It is called the Conservation Preservation Coalition; their web site is: http://www.communitypreservation.org/SpringElections.cfm
October 1, 2007- Court ruling issued on uses of CPA funds for recreation projects
A court ruling was issued late last week on a lawsuit brought by a group of citizens in Newton. The suit questioned the city of Newton's approval of CPA funds for a recreation project at a local park. The judge's ruling in the case reaffirmed guidance offered previously by the Massachusetts Department of Revenue (DOR), which stated that CPA funds can not be used to rehabilitate or restore recreational assets unless those assets have been acquired or created with CPA funds. For a copy of the ruling and the DOR's opinion on the issue, click on the links below.
Also, in July we waited to hear from the Boundless Playgrounds. We applied for a $125,000 grant that an anonymous donor made available to a town in the Metro West area. The people from Boundless Playgrounds were very excited about our project; however the donor chose the Town of Sudbury, MA.
Now that we have 501 C-3 status we can apply for more grants.
We will have a table at MaynardFest. We will be selling t-shirts and hats, have games for kids!
See you there! We need your support! Tell your friends and ask your companies to donate!
Thank you for your patience.
Suzanne Selig
I heard that the town could not grant the park funds out of the CPA funds because, if i understood properly, its not new and its fixing a pre-existing play ground. I'd like to learn more about that since my understanding is that the other projects funded by the CPA are not new. Sorry to post this as a comment but i couldn't find anyone to email.
