December 2003

Outstanding Issues

• Need to update address & fax number on all PSF forms
• All Directors and Officers should verify their address is correct in the PSF CVS repository: psf/bod-addresses.txt This information is required for our yearly corporate filings.
• Vote on BizRate.com becoming pending sponsor as of Jan 1 (or Oct 1)
• Vote on ILM becoming pending sponsor as of Jan 1 (or Oct 1)

Since the email vote for a resolution did not receive enough votes, I ask that two separate resolutions be voted on at the board meeting. One resolution for BizRate.com and one for ILM.

Treasurer Actions Completed Since Last Report:

• Received sponsor membership application for BizRate.com and ILM
• Started process to get Merchant Rate at PayPal
• Supported implementation of PyCon registration which is up and running (8 paid registrations through paypal - 2 are students)
• Sent invoices to Sponsors and Pending Sponsors invoice #s: 205-215, excluding #208 (BizRate) and #210 (ILM)

TODO:

• Finish getting Merchant Rate at PayPal - this will reduce transaction costs by 0.7%
• Send letter to STSI requesting they convert to an Emeritus Member
• Find an accountant familiar with the public support test
• DC sales tax exemption/becoming foreign corp in dc

I have found out the following about receiving a sales tax exemption in DC. I haven't been able to verify the information. Once I get more information I will report back.

I received a response from my original application. In order to receive the exemption, we must register as a foreign corporation in DC. (see http://www.dcra.dc.gov) We may also need to have an actual office in DC (not just a registered agent). I will need to clarify this with DC.

In order to register as a foreign corp, we must have an address. CT Corp (our resident agent in Delaware) can also act as in DC. I have asked CT Corp for more information, but I don't expect much. Also in order to register, we must provide a certified copy of our articles of incorp.

To fill out the DC forms, requires signatures from the Pres or a VP and the Secretary or Asst. Secretary. The form apparently also requires our corporate seal.

Here is the cost breakdown from the current info I have:

    Initial Costs:
        DC              Foreign Corp            $ 70
        DC              Business Licenses       $???
        Delaware        Cerfiticate             $109? (required to apply)

    Recurring:
        CT Corp         Resident Agent          $219
        DC              Foreign Corp            $ 25
        DC              Business Licenses       $???
						----
			Minimum Yearly Expense	$244

It is unclear to me if we require a business license or not.

Here are some references in case anybody wants to do some research. :-) http://www.state.de.us/corp/ (info about cert for Art. of Incorp) The expected savings for PyCon is over $1,000.

Financial position of the PSF as of 30-Nov-2003

    Current Assets:             $ 44,418.11
    Current Liabilities:               0.00

Balance sheet and expense report for last month are attached.

Note: Bank Service Charges are the PayPal credit card processing fees.

Public Support Information as of 30-Nov-2003

In future reports, I will no longer include this section unless there is a substantial change. The PSF now meets the one-third test for public support. To calculate the public support ratio, run public_support_test.py.

    Initial test period ends: Dec 31, 2005 (over 2 years from now)
    Current projected* ratio:   35.84%

• Projections include 12 sponsors paying $2,000.00 per year,
• Sponsors include 5 pending memberships: OSAF, Array BioPharma, Google, ILM, BizRate.com
• OSAF and Array BioPharma starting membership Oct 1, 2003 (received applications and checks from both)
• Google, ILM, and BizRate.com starting membership Jan 1, 2004 (received applications from ILM and BizRate.com)
• I was told by the IRS that STSI is a public charity. STSI is actually AURA (http://aura-astronomy.org/) EIN: 86-0138043 based in Tucson, AZ This information still must be confirmed, but it seems to be correct based on this information: http://www.guidestar.org/controller/searchResults.gs?action_gsReport=1&npoId=289616 http://www.guidestar.org/networkforgood/controller/searchResults.gs?action_gsReport=1&npoId=289616
• We exceed the one-third ration regardless of whether STSI is exempt from the 2% limit.

The public support test calculation is based on my understanding of the rules which may not be correct. For example, the cookbook donations are included in total support, but are limited to 2%.

More sponsors will increase the percentage because each donor is limited to 2% of the gross income.

Neal Norwitz,
Treasurer