[Fredslist] Gotham Charitable Group Debut

[Michael Millis]

GOTHAM CHARITABLE GROUP DEBUT AN IMPRESSIVE SUCCESSKudos To Group Creator Christopher Lamal


New York Friars Club, June 10th - The debut this past Tuesday afternoon of the Gotham Charitable Group brought out
22 Gotham members and guests who dedicate time and energy to bettering the community through involvement with
non-profit organizations. The turnout and subsequent discussion prompted Gotham co-founder Fred Klein to dub the
meeting as the best kick-off for a new Gotham group so far.

Group creator and chair Christopher Lamal, of the Lamal Law Office, was inspired to start the group when he took note of
the large number of fellow Gotham members who posted requests on Fredslist to assist charities and philanthropic projects.
His first e-mail to asses member interest in forming the special interest group went out over Fredslist on April 22nd.

After introductions around the table, Chris presented an overview of the new corporate governance guidelines the IRS will
require tax-exempt organizations to file with Form 990 as of next year. Among practices organizations will be required to
disclose are whether or not there is a "Whistle-Blower Policy" in place, if whistle blowing is encouraged, and if there is a
non-retaliation policy in place to protect those who report illegal activities taking place at an organization. Chris explained
that much of the new IRS disclosure requirements are a response to recent scandals within non-profits.

Tuesday's special guest at the Gotham Charitable Group meeting was Claire Haaga Altman, executive director for ReServe,
a human resource organization for non-profits. ReServe places experienced professionals with charities and other non-profit institutions in need of their skills in public relations, marketing, fundraising, accounting, grant writing, law, social work, and
a number of other disciplines. Participating professionals are paid a stipend. ReServe is itself a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt
organization.

Claire commented that some non-profits have actually been a bit of a hard-sell when it comes to assistance from her
organization, because they are very mission-focused, but not very well versed in creative approaches to their personnel
challenges.

For more information about ReServe, log on to www.ReServeInc.org or contact Claire Haaga Altman at (718) 923-1400,
extension 248, chaltman at ReServeInc.org. Be sure to mention that you are a Gotham member.

The Gotham Charitable Group is not a membership group. Instead, it exists as a periodic forum to discuss issues and
challenges faced by non-profit organizations. It is open to all. At present, it is planned that the group will meet once a
quarter. But the meeting schedule could be expanded, depending on interest. To maintain the group's integrity, no
fundraising appeals will be allowed to take place during the meetings and no organizations represented at the meetings
will be allowed to use Gotham's mailing list for fundraising campaigns.

Stay tuned for more from this very sociable exercise in social responsibility.


Mike Millis
Gotham Hispanic Group

Black Public Relations Society-New York Board of Directors
Vice President Special Events, Diversity Officer

MX2 MEDIA Special Events Design, Production, and Coordination "Making Exciting Things Happen."
 
(718) 434-7879
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