RVC is now a fully operating independent 501(c)(3)!

As of today, March 1, 2016, Rainier Valley Corps (RVC) is now a fully operating independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization! Since it’s inception in June 2014, RVC has been fiscally sponsored* by the Vietnamese Friendship Association (VFA). This basically means we had a parent nonprofit organization (i.e. VFA) and had our 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status through them. For a fee, VFA managed RVC’s administration and legal compliance such as finance, accounting, and human resources. This is a common setup for small or starter nonprofits in particular, for whom it’s not cost effective to pay for their own organizational administrative infrastructure.

Now that we are an independent 501(c)(3), RVC has its own finance, accounting, and human resources policies. In addition, RVC can now directly accept tax-deductible donations from individuals and solicit more grants from foundations – many of which say they are more comfortable funding 501(c)(3)’s.

How does this affect our members or broader community?

Really, not much has changed that affects the broader community, organizational structure, or external operations. The biggest change is that a) your contributions will go 100% to cover RVC’s work instead of a portion going to our fiscal sponsor fees and b) whenever you have a financial transaction with RVC now, it will no longer be with “Vietnamese Friendship Association,” but instead with “Rainier Valley Corps”.

If you are giving to RVC through a donor advised fund or family foundation, be sure to update your records to reflect RVC’s new EIN number 47-4257834 and official organizational name of “Rainier Valley Corps.”

A million thanks to the Vietnamese Friendship Association for all the support they provided to RVC during the past 21 months and for all the hard work and effort to making this transition a smooth one!

*Fiscal sponsorship refers to the practice of non-profit organizations offering their legal and tax-exempt status to groups engaged in activities related to the organization’s mission. It typically involves a fee-based contractual arrangement between a startup project and an established nonprofit.