Schools Matter: Imagine and 501(c)(3) Status

Schools Matter: Imagine and 501(c)(3) Status

Imagine and 501(c)(3) Status

by Kenneth Libby

The commentary below comes from Dean Marc Millot. Dean's experience setting up a complicated nonprofit corporation may help shed some light on why Imagine is still waiting for 501(c)(3) status. I've added a brief comment at the end.

Imagine Schools is as a nonprofit corporation under Virginia state law. That only exempts the organization from the state's income tax. Five years ago the national charter school operator applied for exemption from federal income taxes under Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3). They have yet to receive a determination. Why?

In "Failure of Imagination", Pittsburgh City Paper reporter Chris Young passes on Imagine executive vice president Sam Howard's explanation: "The IRS takes forever to do anything."

This issue has been bugging me for a long while. As it happens, circa 1999, leveraging the