Non-profit tax exemption proposal

To:	Burnis Morris
From:	Courtney Sealey
Re:	Pi Kappa Psi Investigation
Date:	March 6, 2014

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Subject:	Psi Kappa Psi (ZETA PI) breaking West Virginia laws.
Need:	Marshall University students and regional citizens need to know that donating money to this organization will not be tax-deductible even though they are told otherwise. If these donors are claiming these donations as tax-exemptions they are committing tax fraud and they might not even know it.
Scope:	I will inform the public of the West Virginia laws of what is required to operate as a non-profit in the state. I have already found that to operate as a non-profit in W.Va. you must obtain a 501(c) tax exempt status from the IRS. Upon investigation I found that ZETA PI lost the tax exempt status in Nov. of 2010, but according to their Facebook group, they are operating as a Non-profit.  ZETA PI often asks for donations and I would like to know if they are offering tax write-offs to their donors, which is not legal.   I would also like to investigate on whether Greek organizations on campus find it necessary to be non-profit organizations. Maybe more importantly, do Greek organizations even know what laws require they do to advertise as a non-profit organization.
Methods:	I will investigate through researching online and through interviews with ZETA PI members.
Sources:	IRS.gov, Guidestar.com, SOS.wv.gov, local newspaper and television publications. I will also conduct interviews with the ZETA PI members, tax experts and, if needed, other fraternities on the Marshall University campus which have 501(c) tax exemption.
Presentation:	I will compare and contrast my work with Brittanee Barton who is investigating other Greek organizations on campus. This will be an article written in a hard news style for the Parthenon.
Follow-up:	I expect to get major feedback from this story. Follow-up hard news, reaction stories and editorials are expected as a follow-up to the story. I will use social media as a way to promote my article before and after, as well.