“And now, a word from our sponsor…”

The Young Clergy Women Project is an
organization by, for and about young clergy women. 

The Young Clergy Women Project began in November 2006 and in the spring of
2007 we received a grant from The
Louisville Institute that supported our preaching conference, board
meeting, and our web page. The Holy
Spirit has continued to move throughout this project, and we hope to maintain
our current ventures and to expand our ministries to meet the needs of more and
more young clergy women. One of the
avenues we hope will aid us in our expansion is our becoming a non-profit
organization.

Why is the Young Clergy Women Project working to
become a non-profit (501c3) organization?

Tax exemption: Once we qualify as a public charity under Internal
Revenue Code 501c3, our organization will be eligible for federal exemption
from payment of corporate income tax.

Eligibility for public and private grants: We will be allowed to
solicit donations from the public. Contributions made to the YCW Project will
be counted as tax-deductible, once we have filed for 501c3 status. We will also
be eligible to apply for foundation grants which restrict their applications to
non-profit organizations. This will aid
us in our long-term viability; we hope to expand our programming and our
scholarship through grants and donations.

Formal structure: Incorporation puts the mission and structure of the
non-profit above the personal interests of individuals associated with it.

How can you help the Young Clergy Women Project reach their goal of
becoming a non-profit?

Creating a nonprofit organization takes time, effort, and money. Because a
nonprofit organization is a legal entity under federal, state, and local laws,
the use of an attorney is necessary to file the correct paperwork. We have an attorney who will do this work for
our organization for no change. However,
we will still have a number of costs, including the application for federal tax
exemption, and our expenses will be around $500.

If you are interested in helping the Young Clergy Women
Project in our quest to become a viable organization committed to the issues
that face young women in ministry, you can mail a contribution to:

The Young Clergywomen Project
P.O. Box 131
Keedysville, MD 21756
please write “Susan Olson” in the memo line of the check

Remember, your donation will NOT be tax-deductible at this
time. Our goal is to raise this money
and begin the incorporation process before our grant from the Louisville
Institute expires at the end of December 2008. If you have professional expenses from your congregation or place of
employment, you might be able to make a case for using some of those monies to
support this professional organization for young clergy women. If you would even consider skipping just one latte and muffin break some week and sending us five or ten dollars,
you would be assisting us in promoting the spiritual, emotional and
professional development of your fellow sisters in Christ.

We are very proud of this organization and feel we are
helping to fill a much-needed hole in the lives of many young clergy women. Thank you for supporting the Young Clergy
Women Project.