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“In these tough economic times” everyone is getting hammered financially. Me, you, the organizations both we and our adversaries support. Organizations facing the most dire financial troubles are those that have outlived their usefulness, since past relevancy isn’t enough to make anybody dig deep for them. No surprise then to get a very pathetic email from Massachusetts Family Institute (EIN 04-3113783). They have failed utterly in preventing full LGBT equality in MA. Look at this pathetic fundraising plea, and you can understand why.
Dear Friends, I am writing to you to announce some exciting news. Massachusetts Family Institute, in an effort to enhance our ability to strengthen the family, is launching a special donor drive called sustainMFI to find a select group of friends to partner with us as sustaining members.
We want you commit to giving us more money to waste now that we have failed to prevent the equality ship from sailing, isn’t that exciting!!! * eye roll * But here’s the heart of the artichoke:
Now more than ever, we need a consistent level of donations to help meet our monthly budget requirements
Because MFI doesn’t run any ongoing programs that need funding, “monthly budget requirements” translates into “my salary”. Their stated goal is $360,000 annually. Am I the only one who is suspicious of a non-profit that hasn’t filed their IRS forms since 2005? Ooooops. Did Kris Mineau go to the Gary Randall School for Shady Dealers?
“Wait, there’s more” – after the flip.These guys apparently only have one communication mode: fear mongering. And so when they have to shift gears and speak enticingly to their donors, the results are a real howler.
Wait, there’s moreAs a special bonus for those that pledge $20 or more, you will be added to a special “Members-Only” eForce list that will give you exclusive details on Beacon Hill happenings, the latest on hot issues and special invitations and rates for MFI events.
Ooooh, an eeee-maiiil. I feel so special! I bet Cyrano Mineau courted his future sex partners by taking them to 2-for-1 nite at the bowling alley. Watch him weave his magic in the video below.
Bye bye, MFI.
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It Seems That MFI Has Tax Problems26 U.S.C. 6033(j) reads as follows:
MFI hasn’t filed a Form 990 since 2005 (for tax year 2004, mind you). As a result, under section 6033(j)(1), its tax-exempt status appears to have been revoked sometime in 2008 (for tax year 2007). Any donations made to MFI after that time presumably were not tax-deductible, and any representation that MFI makes to prospective donors regarding its current tax-exempt status is presumptively suspect.
Before filing any complaints with the IRS, please consider whether we as a community want to invite similar scrutiny of LGBT and LGBT-friendly exempt organizations from the other side, as well as any criticism of our motives (e.g., anti-family, anti-Christian). If you are comfortable with our ability to handle the inevitable blowback, then by all means, do with this information what you will.
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Caveat: This comment does not constitute legal advice, nor is it intended to create an attorney-client relationship between me and any person or entity. It is simply intended to inform readers of this blog of my perception of the facts and law that appear to be in issue with regard to the tax-exempt status of MFI.
interesting.i see no reason for legal action. mfi is facing the court of public opinion, and i think we can guess what the ruling will be.
Today’s “hot” issues on Beacon Hill have to do with how to keep the roads repaired in the face of the ongoing servicing of the Big Dig’s gargantuan debt, and whether the hacks on Beacon Hill who live for garden variety corruption to grease the wheels will have the nerve to make meaningful reforms forbidding those practices (prognosis: NO).
Mineau must know this, just as he must know nothing he cares about will get the slightest attention on Beacon Hill.
He is a dinosaur. He needs to get a real job.
Full LGBT equality in MA?Did they pass a trans inclusive nondiscrimination law while I was napping?
I applaud the efforts of MassEquality and the fair minded citizens of Massachusetts for the wonderful work they have done so far but I can’t honor a claim of full lgbT equality there.
I’m also pleased that the wingnuts in Massachusetts are going as fiscally bankrupt as they are morally. I hope this translates into impotence when the fight for trans inclusive nondiscrimination law reaches its climax.
Good lordThis guy has all the charisma of an undertaker. Looking at his nervous, darting eyes I couldn’t tell if he was reading off the teleprompter or watching tennis.
i could have worded that better.the trans rights bill (HB 1728) is still in the air (hearings will be in mid-july), and there are other imperfections in the state large and small. but the point i was making is that mineau and his crew have utterly failed and will not be able to stop full equality from happening.
“Now more than ever”Am I the only person who’s noticed that when most of the anti-gays are begging for money, they always include that “Now more than ever” part?
I’ve seen it in panhandling letters from “christians”, “ex-gays”, republicans, and all of these other worthless skeezers, over and over again.
Are these people so stupid that they can’t come up with something original?
“Now more than ever”…these people can suck it.
their model relies on fear and anticipationremember, salvation is just around the corner if you humblie yourself just enough. ”now more than ever” probably feeds the same adrenalin jones as the fear and tarnation stuff.