Greetings,
I'm seeking examples of face-to-face interview surveys of county fair attendees. If you are aware of any county fair surveys of county fair goers in your county, I would very much appreciate you sending me a copy of the survey.
Thanks,
Tim Kane, Community Development Educator
Bayfield County UW-Extension Office
Courthouse, PO Box 218
Washburn, WI 54891
(715) 373-6104 ext 254
timothy.kane@ces.uwex.edu
Thursday, August 06, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Community Area Networks/Broadband
As some of you aware, the federal government will be spending about $7.2 billion shortly to provide grants and loans to areas that are unserved or underserved by broadband. $3.75 billion in grants is currently available via the National Telecom & Information Agency. Many groups and individuals in Wisconsin are scurrying to meet the very short deadlines. One initiative titled "Go Gig" here in Wisconsin will be focusing on constructing the "middle mile" fiber in the first wave of funding. However, phase 2 grant proposals (later this year), and phase 3 (2010) will focus on the building of some pilot Community Area Networks (CAN). CAN's could best be described as coordinated regional communication infrastructure which promotes innovation, competition and economic viability. A community could be defined as a city, County, region, or some other geographic region.
I am interested in hearing from our County CNRED faculty and staff about your knowledge of local discussions regarding CAN's or simply the provision of broadband services. If you have been involved in these efforts, I would also like to learn more about how you have been involved. Some CAN discussions have already taken place in Platteville, Kenosha, Eau Claire, River Falls, Superior, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Wausau, Stevens Point, La Crosse, Madison, Janesville, Whitewater, and Milwaukee. Obviously, many of these communities would be viewed as being served by broadband, but one doesn't have to venture far outside of these cities to reach underserved areas. But, I am also interested in hearing about communities that are far more remote than these that have had serious discussion about how they might pool resources to create CAN's. These are the kind of communities that would be well positioned to be written in to these grants.
So here is your chance to inform me of your local initiatives. For more information on "Go Gig", see: http://wire.wiscnet.net/go-gig-broadband-stimulus-information/
Andy
I am interested in hearing from our County CNRED faculty and staff about your knowledge of local discussions regarding CAN's or simply the provision of broadband services. If you have been involved in these efforts, I would also like to learn more about how you have been involved. Some CAN discussions have already taken place in Platteville, Kenosha, Eau Claire, River Falls, Superior, Oshkosh, Green Bay, Wausau, Stevens Point, La Crosse, Madison, Janesville, Whitewater, and Milwaukee. Obviously, many of these communities would be viewed as being served by broadband, but one doesn't have to venture far outside of these cities to reach underserved areas. But, I am also interested in hearing about communities that are far more remote than these that have had serious discussion about how they might pool resources to create CAN's. These are the kind of communities that would be well positioned to be written in to these grants.
So here is your chance to inform me of your local initiatives. For more information on "Go Gig", see: http://wire.wiscnet.net/go-gig-broadband-stimulus-information/
Andy
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Municipal Utility Service Rates (Karl Green)
Good Morning CNRED,
I received a request from a local City planner asking if there is any sort of data base that displays municipal utility services and payment amounts for activities such as stormwater, refuse & recycling, fire, transportation, streets, etc.
This community in particular will see a 14% decrease in shared revenue from the State, and is considering the idea of segregating some of its services as a utility/enterprise fund, as opposed to keeping it on the general ledger.
Any suggestions to illustrate what various municipalities have done would be most helpful. Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Karl Green
Assistant Professor, Department of Community Resource Development
La Crosse County UW-Extension
400 4th Street North
La Crosse, WI 54601
Telephone: 608-785-9763
Fax: 608-789-4808
I received a request from a local City planner asking if there is any sort of data base that displays municipal utility services and payment amounts for activities such as stormwater, refuse & recycling, fire, transportation, streets, etc.
This community in particular will see a 14% decrease in shared revenue from the State, and is considering the idea of segregating some of its services as a utility/enterprise fund, as opposed to keeping it on the general ledger.
Any suggestions to illustrate what various municipalities have done would be most helpful. Thanks in advance for your assistance.
Karl Green
Assistant Professor, Department of Community Resource Development
La Crosse County UW-Extension
400 4th Street North
La Crosse, WI 54601
Telephone: 608-785-9763
Fax: 608-789-4808
Friday, June 12, 2009
Riverfront Development & Intercept Surveys
5/12
Hello,
Has anyone worked with a riverfront community on using their waterfront for tourism, business, and/or economic development? If so, I would be interested in talking with you. Particularly, I’m looking at smaller communities on smaller bodies of water.
Also, if you know of a community that has used an intercept survey for visitors to a big event (eg July 4th weekend/parade etc) to help with tourism development, let me know so I can follow up with you. I’ve found resources for surveys that look at expenditures of visitors, but this community is interested in looking at reasons/perceptions/distance traveled etc (in addition to expenditures). I’m looking specifically for example questions.
Andy Lewis – could you post this to your blog to facilitate and log responses? Anyone can go there once its posted with responses: http://ablewis.blogspot.com/.Thanks everyone!Catherine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Catherine Neiswender
Associate Professor
Community Development Educator
UW-Extension, Winnebago County
James P. Coughlin Center
625 E County Rd Y, Suite 600
Oshkosh, WI 54901-8131
Telephone: (920) 232-1972
Fax: (920) 424-1277
Email: catherine.neiswender@ces.uwex.edu
Website: http://winnebago.uwex.edu
Hello,
Has anyone worked with a riverfront community on using their waterfront for tourism, business, and/or economic development? If so, I would be interested in talking with you. Particularly, I’m looking at smaller communities on smaller bodies of water.
Also, if you know of a community that has used an intercept survey for visitors to a big event (eg July 4th weekend/parade etc) to help with tourism development, let me know so I can follow up with you. I’ve found resources for surveys that look at expenditures of visitors, but this community is interested in looking at reasons/perceptions/distance traveled etc (in addition to expenditures). I’m looking specifically for example questions.
Andy Lewis – could you post this to your blog to facilitate and log responses? Anyone can go there once its posted with responses: http://ablewis.blogspot.com/.Thanks everyone!Catherine
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Catherine Neiswender
Associate Professor
Community Development Educator
UW-Extension, Winnebago County
James P. Coughlin Center
625 E County Rd Y, Suite 600
Oshkosh, WI 54901-8131
Telephone: (920) 232-1972
Fax: (920) 424-1277
Email: catherine.neiswender@ces.uwex.edu
Website: http://winnebago.uwex.edu
Friday, June 05, 2009
All Nonprofits must file form 990: Post from Patrick Nehring
This issue may have already come up because of UW-Extension’s association with 4-H and HCE Clubs, so you maybe aware of it.
But just to make sure you are aware, if a nonprofit organization does not file a 990, 990-EZ, 990-N form by at the latest May 15, 2010, they will lose their nonprofit designation from the IRS and need to reapply for nonprofit status. Attached is a press release that you can modify if you’re interested to let people know in you county.
In response to shady activities of a few nonprofit organizations, Congress in 2006/2007 changed the filing requirements for nonprofit organizations.
There is a new 990 and new 990-EZ form, but more significantly there is now a requirement that ALL nonprofit organizations must file a 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N report at the end of each fiscal year starting with fiscal year 2007. (For some organizations the 2007 fiscal year may end in a month other than January, so this applies whenever their fiscal year ends, which could be March or June for example.)
Previously, if a nonprofit organization had gross receipts less then $25,000, they did not need to file any paper work with the IRS. Now if an organization makes less than $25,000, the organization must electronically file a form 990-N. It is not a difficult form to fill out; basically it asks the organizations EIN number, current address, principle officer, and a yes/no statement saying your organization had less than $25,000 in gross receipts. The form is at Organizations with gross receipts more that $25,000 are required to file a 990EZ or 990 form.
Why should you care?
After May 15, 2010 (The deadline for fiscal year 2009 filing, assuming the fiscal year is January to December.), any nonprofit organization that has never filed a 990, 990EZ, or 990N form will lose their IRS designated nonprofit status. All nonprofit organizations must file a 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N form by the 15th day of the 5th month following the end of their fiscal year. This includes ALL nonprofit organizations, including 501(c)3 Charitable organizations; 501(c)5 labor organizations, like unions; 501(c)6 membership organizations, like Chambers of Commerce; and 501(c)7 social and recreation clubs, like a possibly a bowling league or quilt guild. The required filing is more likely to affect small local nonprofits, like the local snowmobile club or lakes association, because previously they were not required to file any forms with the IRS.
So what if an organization loses its nonprofit status with the IRS?
The organization will need to pay income tax on its profits at the end of the year. The profit is the money the revenue the organization has left after expenses. Failure to file a 990 form can amount to thousands of dollars in taxes and penalties, if the organization is caught. In addition, charitable contributions to the organization, particularly a 501(c)3 organization, will no longer be deductible from individual donor’s personal income taxes. Also, the organization is unlikely to receive a grant from a private foundation or government entity, who usually prefer 501(c)3 organizations. To reinstate its exempt status, an organization will need to go through the entire application process as if they were applying for the first time, including paying the application fee and filing out the 30 page application form for nonprofit status. There is also no guarantee that nonprofit status will be reinstated.
What is the IRS doing to let organizations know they need to file a 990 form?
The IRS may have sent out a letter or postcard informing nonprofits of the filing requirements. If they did send out a notice to all of the nonprofits it the country, they would have sent it to the address of chief officer or the person who originally filed the paperwork for nonprofit status, which may have been done ten, twenty, thirty, or more years ago. This especially is the case with the small local nonprofits that have not corresponded with the IRS since their nonprofit status was granted. I asked a few of the small local nonprofits in the county if they received any notice from the IRS and they had not. The IRS also has the notice of the filing requirement on their website. Of course, no one would know that unless they went looking for it. It is doubtful that the small local nonprofit that until now has not been required to file any paperwork with the IRS will just happen to go to the IRS’s website and read through the website to see that they are required to file a 990N. This process will help the IRS clear their books of defunct nonprofits. And, with the hundreds of thousands or millions of nonprofits in the US, maybe they unconsciously even want some of the smaller budget nonprofits to just go away, because they are so hard to keep track of. For example from a national perspective, the Friends of the Hancock Public Library with an annual budget of well under $25,0000 is fairly insignificant, but locally it is important to keep the local library.
Basically, the IRS is doing very little or nothing to let small local nonprofits know of the filing requirement.
Patrick Nehring, AICP
Community Agent
UW-Extension Waushara County
PO Box 487
209 S Ste Marie Street
Wautoma, WI 54982
(920) 787-0416
www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/waushara
But just to make sure you are aware, if a nonprofit organization does not file a 990, 990-EZ, 990-N form by at the latest May 15, 2010, they will lose their nonprofit designation from the IRS and need to reapply for nonprofit status. Attached is a press release that you can modify if you’re interested to let people know in you county.
In response to shady activities of a few nonprofit organizations, Congress in 2006/2007 changed the filing requirements for nonprofit organizations.
There is a new 990 and new 990-EZ form, but more significantly there is now a requirement that ALL nonprofit organizations must file a 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N report at the end of each fiscal year starting with fiscal year 2007. (For some organizations the 2007 fiscal year may end in a month other than January, so this applies whenever their fiscal year ends, which could be March or June for example.)
Previously, if a nonprofit organization had gross receipts less then $25,000, they did not need to file any paper work with the IRS. Now if an organization makes less than $25,000, the organization must electronically file a form 990-N. It is not a difficult form to fill out; basically it asks the organizations EIN number, current address, principle officer, and a yes/no statement saying your organization had less than $25,000 in gross receipts. The form is at Organizations with gross receipts more that $25,000 are required to file a 990EZ or 990 form.
Why should you care?
After May 15, 2010 (The deadline for fiscal year 2009 filing, assuming the fiscal year is January to December.), any nonprofit organization that has never filed a 990, 990EZ, or 990N form will lose their IRS designated nonprofit status. All nonprofit organizations must file a 990, 990-EZ, or 990-N form by the 15th day of the 5th month following the end of their fiscal year. This includes ALL nonprofit organizations, including 501(c)3 Charitable organizations; 501(c)5 labor organizations, like unions; 501(c)6 membership organizations, like Chambers of Commerce; and 501(c)7 social and recreation clubs, like a possibly a bowling league or quilt guild. The required filing is more likely to affect small local nonprofits, like the local snowmobile club or lakes association, because previously they were not required to file any forms with the IRS.
So what if an organization loses its nonprofit status with the IRS?
The organization will need to pay income tax on its profits at the end of the year. The profit is the money the revenue the organization has left after expenses. Failure to file a 990 form can amount to thousands of dollars in taxes and penalties, if the organization is caught. In addition, charitable contributions to the organization, particularly a 501(c)3 organization, will no longer be deductible from individual donor’s personal income taxes. Also, the organization is unlikely to receive a grant from a private foundation or government entity, who usually prefer 501(c)3 organizations. To reinstate its exempt status, an organization will need to go through the entire application process as if they were applying for the first time, including paying the application fee and filing out the 30 page application form for nonprofit status. There is also no guarantee that nonprofit status will be reinstated.
What is the IRS doing to let organizations know they need to file a 990 form?
The IRS may have sent out a letter or postcard informing nonprofits of the filing requirements. If they did send out a notice to all of the nonprofits it the country, they would have sent it to the address of chief officer or the person who originally filed the paperwork for nonprofit status, which may have been done ten, twenty, thirty, or more years ago. This especially is the case with the small local nonprofits that have not corresponded with the IRS since their nonprofit status was granted. I asked a few of the small local nonprofits in the county if they received any notice from the IRS and they had not. The IRS also has the notice of the filing requirement on their website. Of course, no one would know that unless they went looking for it. It is doubtful that the small local nonprofit that until now has not been required to file any paperwork with the IRS will just happen to go to the IRS’s website and read through the website to see that they are required to file a 990N. This process will help the IRS clear their books of defunct nonprofits. And, with the hundreds of thousands or millions of nonprofits in the US, maybe they unconsciously even want some of the smaller budget nonprofits to just go away, because they are so hard to keep track of. For example from a national perspective, the Friends of the Hancock Public Library with an annual budget of well under $25,0000 is fairly insignificant, but locally it is important to keep the local library.
Basically, the IRS is doing very little or nothing to let small local nonprofits know of the filing requirement.
Patrick Nehring, AICP
Community Agent
UW-Extension Waushara County
PO Box 487
209 S Ste Marie Street
Wautoma, WI 54982
(920) 787-0416
www.uwex.edu/ces/cty/waushara
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Absentee downtown building owners
Hi,
Has anyone run across any successful programs that engage absentee owners of downtown buildings in building improvements? Has anyone experienced a community that got people on board with a municipal design standards ordinance that could share some best practices that ease backlash to this type of proposal?
Andy Lewis – could you post this to your blog to facilitate and log responses? Anyone can go there once its posted with responses: http://ablewis.blogspot.com/.
Thanks everyone!
Amy
Amy R. Schanhofer
Community Resource Development Educator
UW-Extension, Monroe County
Phone: 608-269-8722/608-372-8722
TDD 800-947-3529
FAX 608-269-8767/608-372-8767
14345 CTH B, Room 1
Sparta, WI 54656
http://monroe.uwex.edu/cnred
Has anyone run across any successful programs that engage absentee owners of downtown buildings in building improvements? Has anyone experienced a community that got people on board with a municipal design standards ordinance that could share some best practices that ease backlash to this type of proposal?
Andy Lewis – could you post this to your blog to facilitate and log responses? Anyone can go there once its posted with responses: http://ablewis.blogspot.com/.
Thanks everyone!
Amy
Amy R. Schanhofer
Community Resource Development Educator
UW-Extension, Monroe County
Phone: 608-269-8722/608-372-8722
TDD 800-947-3529
FAX 608-269-8767/608-372-8767
14345 CTH B, Room 1
Sparta, WI 54656
http://monroe.uwex.edu/cnred
Friday, May 15, 2009
Inventory skills/Interests from potential volunteers
Hello Colleagues:
Does anyone have an example of a one page inventory skills sheet that can be completed by potential community volunteers? We are conducting a volunteer "job fair" type event and would like to help match potential volunteers with the opportunities that interest them the most. Thanks in advance for any information you provide.
Regards,
Art
Art Lersch Associate Professor CNRED Educator UW-Extension, Lincoln County Phone: 715-539-1072 Fax: 715-539-8323 Hearing impaired relay: 711
Does anyone have an example of a one page inventory skills sheet that can be completed by potential community volunteers? We are conducting a volunteer "job fair" type event and would like to help match potential volunteers with the opportunities that interest them the most. Thanks in advance for any information you provide.
Regards,
Art
Art Lersch Associate Professor CNRED Educator UW-Extension, Lincoln County Phone: 715-539-1072 Fax: 715-539-8323 Hearing impaired relay: 711
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