While it was in early February 2021 that the idea of the Global Glacier Initiative was formed, it was roughly one year ago that I printed out the 119-page Wyoming Non Profit Corporation Act and made it my bedtime reading. Later in March 2021, the corporation was formed, though that was the easy part.
In order to have the corporation not owe income tax, and most importantly, for American and Canadian donors to potentially receive an income tax deduction for donations, approval from the Internal Revenue Service for 501(c)(3) exemption must be obtained. While one would like to believe it is easy…Form 1023 is 40 pages long, filled with questions, calculations, and essays answering many questions. A Board of Directors had to be formed, bylaws written, and a variety of policies adopted, as auxiliary matters to the process. By early June 2021, the form was submitted, along with the IRS’ $600 user fee.
At this point, I must specify that a client of mine at roughly the same time chose to form a foundation and go through the same tax exemption process. A national law firm was used, with legal fees that approached $50,000 for a similar task….
Hours of entertainment reading legal briefs and tax law coupled with my inherent self-willed frugality won out, and the IRS approved the application in late January 2022, with no questions from an examiner! This means that the Global Glacier Initiative can begin accepting donations.
When it comes to glacier flying, it has to date been 100% self-funded. Everything to do with licensure, maintenance, ownership of aircraft, skill acquisition, and the recent purchase of the Super Cub has been without any outside support. The efforts in shopping for that airplane are specifically for the coming glaciers of Norway, Sweden, and eventually Iceland. Much has been going on this winter to prepare for significant equipment and training upgrades for the coming crossing of part of the North Atlantic in 2023.
If one wishes to make a donation of any kind, a link to PayPal’s donation page is here. Any amount is appreciated. If anyone wishes to inquire about detailed budgets, use of funds, or discussions around larger donations, feel free to contact me directly. Funds are of course dedicated to the charity’s stated purpose, which is for costs related to photographing the glaciers.
As I have said to many all along… I am doing the glacier flights no matter what happens. The question is how long it will take.