October 8, 2013; WVNS-TV

 

WVNS-TV has reported that the United Way of the Virginias in Mercer County, West Virginia has lost its nonprofit status. According to the Secretary of State’s office:

“Corporate status revoked: December 1, 2008, for failure to pay annual report fee. The Charity status expired: December 8, 2008, (for failure to file final report or to renew) and they have not renewed since. This means that they should not have been soliciting donations or receiving donations from people in West Virginia.”

Executive director Michelle Carter said she was not aware of that status issue, but acknowledged that the IRS revoked the group’s nonprofit status at a federal level due to problems with its 990 report. Here, it was reported that the group has stopped taking donations since April, when it realized that it was non-exempt, but its website does not seem to clearly reflect that fact. It has a whole section of its website focused on financial accountability.

It is bad timing to have such a process pending at the IRS, which is understaffed in the best of times, because now it is shut down with the rest of the government and no doubt developing quite a backlog of work.—Ruth McCambridge