Spring 2022 News: After 35 years, we decide to file for 501(c)3 status.
Dear Friend,
We have news! After careful discernment, the Catholic Workers have decided that our community and our mission are best served by filing for 501(c)3 tax exempt status.
Becoming a tax exempt organization will not change the low-income and transitional housing we provide, our community building mission, our consensus decision making, or our community structure. In the process of making this decision, we consulted with experts and gathered our elders and supporters with differing perspectives. Working our way through this question has helped us strengthen and clarify our vision as a community.
In the future, we will be able to apply directly for foundation funds, especially for capital improvements, which are a bigger and bigger part of our budget. It also means that once our application is accepted, your gifts to the Tacoma Catholic Worker will be tax deductible.
As a board we have always counted on the input of the extended community in an informal way. This process has made it clear to us that seeking out the advice and perspective of our elders and supporters is indispensable, and that inviting all our complex perspectives to the table is part of our strength as a community. We are giving this a more official structure by forming an advisory committee that supports the board in complex decisions, and helps us stay focused on our core work and values.
In this process we also had a chance to talk about the parts of our Catholic Worker tradition that are essential to us. We are committed to the daily practice of the works of mercy. A gentle personalism is at the heart of our house of hospitality and our work with guests. Our primary identity is as community, rather than as an organization. We make consensus decisions together as peers. We practice compassion and forgiveness, with the story of the Gospels as our guide.
While considering this change over the course of two years, we have brought up many questions about what it might or might not mean for us. If you are interested in the questions we worked through in greater detail, like what it means for our board or Dorothy Day’s views on tax exemption, we have more information available on our website in the blog. (www.tacomacatholicworker.com)
We invite you to check out the website if you are interested in learning more, and we welcome questions and conversation.
The work of radical hospitality carries on, day in and day out. We look forward to seeing more of you in person this spring and summer.
Peace,
Peter, Gary, Nora, Melissa, Liz, Michael, and Harlan.
Save the Date: We are planning a fun spring fundraiser on May 1st in the garden!
We are always grateful for your gifts. We could not provide transitional and low-income housing without the extended community’s support. You can continue to donate to the Tacoma Catholic Worker directly while our application is being processed, just the same as always. These gifts will be tax deductible once the application is accepted, though we don’t know how long that will take, and there are no guarantees of its acceptance. If the tax deduction is important to you this year, you can send your gift to Servant’s Way, which will serve as fiscal sponsor in the interim, with Tacoma Catholic Worker on the memo line. The address is the same: 1417 South G Street, Tacoma WA 98405.
