SLA 501c3 Approval: Square Lake Conservation Fund
On behalf of Square Lake Association’s Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce that our 501c3 Form 1023 application has been successfully approved by the IRS.
Our Form 1023 application was filed on February 14, 2023. We received IRS approval on March 3, confirming that Square Lake Association (SLA) was approved for its 501c3 tax exemption status, effective as of February 14, 2023. Please click here to read The IRS Exempt Determination letter dated March 3, 2023.
Many of you have been awaiting SLA 501c3 application approval, before submitting your planned 2023 Square Lake Conservation Fund donation. Thanks for your patience. The filing required much more time to complete than expected, due to the complexity of the 40+ page application, and related processing steps.
Thankfully, the stage is now successfully set for others of you interested in supporting the following two mission-critical SLA funding priorities:
1) Fundraising to increase our SLA Treasury reserves by $10,000.
2) Fundraising to secure the remaining $25,000 - of the recommended $50,000 legal expense goal - for SLA’s Phase-Two Preserve & Protect Wilder Forest, Square Lake, and River Grove School, conservation and natural resource preservation initiatives.
Our special thanks - with deep bows of gratitude - to Beth & Stan Hollen; Jill & Justin Kaufenberg; and Donna & Jim Pohlad - for leading the way with their kind, caring, generous, inspirational, and uplifting gifts.
In anticipation of questions from those of you considering a new tax-exempt donation:
1) Since receiving the IRS Letter of Determination, SLA Board Secretary Alicia Blanchard has transitioned our SLA GoFundMe site to a 501c3 nonprofit charity site. Thanks Alicia!
2) If you decide to submit your gift online, here’s the link: https://gofund.me/f83395d5. GoFundMe (GFM) donations are simple and secure. As a GFM Charity we will now pay 2.2% per transaction - previously it was 2.9%.
3) If you decide to issue a check, please mail your check to:
Lynn Mecum
Treasurer
Square Lake Association
14099 Paris Avenue North
Stillwater, Minnesota, 55082
4) If you submit your gift via check - or online via GoFundMe - you may either permit attribution, or choose to be listed as Anonymous. Either option is entirely up to you. If you’re willing, attribution is encouraged, as it will incent others in the River Grove School and Square Lake community to donate.
5) For tax accounting, our Square Lake Association EIN is 46-3677088.
6) If you submit your gift via a Donor Advised Fund (DAF), I’ll be your DAF contact, and can be reached at 651.439.7116 (home); 612.325.8995 (cell/text); or jim.seidl@legalresearch.com, if questions arise.
7) As part of the 501c3 application process, we also prepared and successfully filed the following new Association documents – please click, to link and read:
a) SLA’s Amended and Restated Articles of Incorporation, dated February 3, 2023.
b) SLA’s Amended and Restated Bylaws, dated February 3, 2023.
A number of you have also asked:
1) Why do we need $10,000 in Treasury reserves? In the same way, most of us have a reserve line-of-credit on our checking accounts, SLA will benefit from a Treasury reserve of $10,000, based on prior annual spending patterns - for cash-flow emergencies; unexpected or unplanned Association member benefits and opportunities; new AIS control projects; and improved financial management. For example, this past December, we incurred an unexpected year-end invoice that Board Officers agreed should be paid as requested by year-end for relationship-building reasons. Competing Q4 cash-flow priorities prompted me to loan SLA $2600 to cover the payment. The service provider was grateful for year-end payment, my loan was subsequently repaid, and goodwill elicited will strategically benefit SLA in the future.
2) How will the recommended $50,000 budget for Phase-Two legal services be managed? The legal strategies SLA is advancing to protect and preserve Square Lake and Wilder Forest natural resources, and the surrounding watershed, include:
Environmental Impact. Development and presentation of legal and scientific arguments describing the negative impact of the potential MCYP sale to the environment.
Before & After Usage. Compilation and presentation of comparative facts and metrics that define the difference between proposed MCYP CUP use, and prior River Grove School use, including traffic, infrastructure, building plans, operations, recreational versus educational use; commercial versus non-profit enterprise issues; retreat use; etc.
1992 and 2017 Wilder CUP Assessment. How large, and under what sizing and activity specifications, could an overnight residential camp operation in a May Township Conservancy District be permitted, under the existing Wilder CUP?”
Property Valuation Impact. Research, analysis, and presentation of real estate-based assessments and arguments underscoring the impact of the sale on Square Lake property valuations.
3) What strategic conservation outcomes are we seeking? The optimal community outcomes that your SLA Board of Directors is pursuing on your behalf, include:
For Wilder Foundation. A community-supported, conservation-centric, Conservation District compliant, River Grove School-supporting, purchaser.
For River Grove School. Relocation of the elementary school to the adjacent Warner Nature Center, within the next two years after planned building construction is completed; and coverage of construction costs for the new River Grove facility at the new site, as well as a new $500K septic system at Wilder, as needed on an interim basis.
For Square Lake Association. Permanent Conservation Easement for the 55 acres of Wilder Forest adjacent to Square Lake – a key desired outcome for SLA.
For May Township. Unanimous community support. An end to the controversy. Conservation - instead of a youth entertainment camp that could be sited elsewhere – taking community priority and precedence.
For the Forest, Lakes, and Wildlife. Permanent protection and preservation of Wilder Forest, in its current pristine state - including optimal natural resource protection for Square Lake, East Boot Lake, Mays Lake, Clear Lake, Terrapin Lake, Wilder Forest, its surrounding watershed and agricultural land.
4) How can you help increase SLA Treasury reserves by $10,000, and help raise the remaining $25,000 of our targeted $50,000 Phase-Two protect & preserve conservation funding mission?
Your investment today in the future of Square Lake, will help ensure for future generations the pristine beauty and water clarity that we’ve enjoyed for decades as Square Lake homeowners, while preserving the value of property holdings. Your donation, large or small, via GoFundMe or check, will help achieve our Board-led strategic priorities in 2023-24. And your referral of prospective donors and benefactors for fundraising outreach (individuals, supportive foundations, environmental organizations), will help us spread targeted costs among a larger universe of contributors.
As former Town Board Chairman, Bill Voedisch recently stated, “I consider the MYCP/Damascus-operated Camp the biggest threat to the Township in our 34 years of living here.
In closing, please be reminded that Square Lake’s future depends on you. So please contribute today at https://gofund.me/f83395d5. If you have questions or suggestions, please email Board Officers Alicia Blanchard, Mark Diessner, Lynn Mecum, or me.
On behalf of Wilder Forest lakes and woodland, River Grove School, and Square Lake, our commendations, cheers, and thanks to all donors for supporting SLA’s volunteer-based protect & preserve conservation and natural resource stewardship initiatives. Your caring spirits, volunteer time, and generous gifts, are greatly needed, highly valued and deeply appreciated.
Respectfully,
Jim Seidl
President, Square Lake Association
651.439.7116 and 612.325.8995