IRS Questionnaire Sent to Progress Texas

7/30/2019 IRS Questionnaire Sent to Progress Texas

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INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICEPacific Coast Area Manager

Laguna Niguel, CA 92677Date: February 22, 2012

E lise F. Green100 Congress Avenue, Suite 1100Austin, TX 78701

Department of the Treasury

Person to Contact:Telephone Numbet .

The enclosed material is furnished to you under r.he provisions of a power of attorney or orher authorization yo uhave on file with us. For your convenience, we have listed below the names of the taxpayers this material relates to.

If you have any questions, please contact the pe rson whose name and telephone number are shown above.

Enclosures:[XJ Lettersr I Reports[ I Otl1er

Organization's Name: PROGRESS TEXAS

Sincerely yours,LOIS G. LERNERDirector, Exempt Organizations

Letter 937 (DO)


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2Name: Progress Texas

If we don't hear from you by the response due date shown above, we will assume you no longer want us toconsider your application for exemption and will close your case. i\s a result, the Internal Revenue Service willtreat you as a taxable entity. If we receive the information after the response due elate, we may ask you to sendus a new application. 'We have sent a copy of this letter to your representative as indicated in Form 2848, Power of 1\ ttomey andDeclaration of Representative.If you have any questions, please contact the person whose name and telephone numbe r are shown in theheading of this letter.

Sincerely yours,

Exempt Organizations Specialist

Enclosure: Information Request

Letter 131 2 (Rev. 05-2011 )


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3Name: Progress Texas~RETURN THIS PAGE WITH YOUR RESPONSE

Please read the Penalties of Perjury statement on page 1 above. Then, please sign and date below, indicatingyou agree to the Declaration.

Name DateAdditional Information Requested:

PLEASE SE E ATTACHMENT

PLEASE DIRECT ALL CORRESPONDENCE REGARDING YOUR CASE TO:

..

US Mail:

24000 1\vila Road, Mail Stop 3000Laguna Niguel, Ci \ 92677

Street Address for Delivery Service:Internal Revenue s, ... ,;r,24000 Avila Ruad, Koom 4308Laguna Niguel, CA 92677

Letter 1312 (Rev. 05 -2011)


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T.,temal Revenue S e r v i . s : ~ >24000 Avi!a RoadLaguna Niguel, CA 92677Date: February 22, 2012

Progress TexasP. 0. Box 2114i\ustin, TX 78701

Dear Sir or Madam:

Department of the Treasury

Em lo er Identification Number:_ f'erson ~ "L.un rac t __.

Contact Telephone Numbers:

Response Due Date:March 15, 2012

We need more information before we can complete ou r consideration of your application for exemption.Please provide the information requested on the enclosed Information Request by the response due date shmvnabove. Your response must be signed by an authorized person or an officer whose name is listed on yourapplication. Also, the information you submit should be accompanied by the following declaration:

Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this information, includingaccompanying documents, and, to th e best of my knowledge an d belief, the informationcontains all the relevant facts relating to the request for the information, an d such facts aretrue, correct, an d complete.

If we approve your application for exemption, we will be required by law to make the application and theinformation that you submit in response to this letter available for public inspection. Please ensure that yourresponse doesn't include unnecessary personal identifying information, such as bank account numbers or SocialSecurity numbers, that could result in identity theft or other adverse consequences if publicly disclosed. If youhave any questions about the public inspection of your application or other documents, please call the personwhose name and telephone number are shown above.To facilitate processing of your application, please attach a copy of this letter to your response and allcorrespondence related to your application. This will enable us to quickly and accurately associate theadditional documents with your case file. Also, please note the following important response submissioninformation: Please do n' t fax and mail your response. Faxing and mailing your response will result in unnecessary

delays in processing your application. Each piece of correspondence submitted (whether fa..x or mail)must be processed, assigned, and reviewed by an EO Determinations specialist.

Please don't fax your response multiple times. Faxing your response multiple times will delay theprocessing of your application for the reasons noted above.

Please don't call to verify receipt of your response without allm.ving for adequate processing time. It takesa minimum of three workdays to process your faxed or mailed response from the day it is received.


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ORGANIZATION: Progress Texas

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

NOTE: Your response to this letter must be submitted over the signature of an authorizedperson or of an officer whose name is listed on the application. Also, the infonnation yousubmit should be accompanied by the following declaration:Under penalties of perjury, I declare that I have examined this information, includingaccompanying documents, and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, theinformation contains all the relevant facts relating to the request for the inf01mation.

1. Please submit statements regarding educational, work and philanthropic backgrounds ofthe organization's officers, directors, board members and trustees.

2. Please provide infonnation as follows pertaining to each of the organization's officers,directors or trustees:a. Please describe the duties that each individual perfom1s for the organization.b. Other than serving as an officer, director and/ or board member for theorganization, please provide the names and addresses of each individual'semployer/business, the nature of their employment/business, and the nwnber ofhours devoted to their employment/business.

3. Other than the CDst Sharing Agreement submitted with Form 1024, please submitco of .any other written leases, contracts or agreements entered into by theorgamzatlon.4. Wtll anyone use the organization's facility other than for the purpose of directly carryingout its work? Will any of the directors or employees reside and/ or work (e.g. not relatedto the organization's activities) at the facility? If so, explain fully. Please fully explain ifthe owner of the facility is related to the organization and/or its officers, directors, etc. inany way other than as landlord?5. Please submit complete copies of the organization's financial statements and balancesheets for the following periods:

a. Fiscal year ending December 31, 2011, andb. Period covering January 1, 2012 through Present.6. Please provide copies of board meeting minutes since the organization's inception.7. Please provide copies of agendas and/ or descriptions of topics covered at each of theorganization's general meetings and events since inception.


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DATE: February 22, 2012

8. Please provide copies of materials distributed at each of the organization's meetings. . .smce mceptton.9. Does the organization have a website? If so, please provide its website address and

complete copies of the organization's web pages and action alerts from its website.Please also ensure to include web pages that are accessible only to members.

10. Please provide copies of all of the organization's promotional material.11. Has the organization distributed or will it distribute materials or conduct other

communications that are prepared by another organization or person? If so, provide thefollowing:a. Please provide details of this activity.b. Please provide the names of the individual(s) and/or organization(s) that preparedthe materials.c. Please submit copies of materials and contents of the communications.d. 'When and where the distributions have been conducted or will be conducted?e. 'Who has distributed or -w-ill distribute the materials?

12. Is the organization a membership organization? If so, submit the following:a. Please indicate how many members the organization has currently.b. Please fully explain what the organization's memberships consist of (i.e. individuals,

businesses, organizations, etc.).c. Please provide a numerical breakdown of members in each membership class.d. Please provide a complete copy of the member application/registration fonn.e. Please provide the membership agreement and rules tha t govern members.f. Please provide a membership fee schedule.g. Please fully describe the requirements for membership.h. Please fully describe what services and benefits are available only to the

organization's membership.1. Please fully describe the members' roles and duties within the organization.

13. The anachment to Part II, Line 5 of Form 1024 indicates that the organization has aclose connection to Progress Texas Institute. Please submi t the following:a. Please fully describe the activities of Progress Texas Institute.b. Please fully describe how the activities of Progress Texas Institute differ from those

of the organization.c. Please provide the website address for Progress Texas Institute.d. Please provide promotional material relating to Progress Texas Institute.


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DATE: February22, 2012

e. Please provide the names of officers, directors and board members of ProgressTexas Institute.f. Please fully explain if Progress Texas Institute has been granted exemption from theInternal Revenue Service. If so, please provide complete evidence.

14. Please submit a breakdown list showing the percentage of time and resources that theorganization devotes to its activities (For example, this organization is spending 20% ofits activities conducting educational seminars and conferences, 35% of its activities onfund-raising activities, etc.).

15. We wish to call the organization's attention to section 4.03 of Rev. Proc. 2008-9, 2008-2I.R.B. 258 states:.03 Exempt status may be recognized in advance of the organization's operationsif the proposed activities are described in sufficient detail to permit a conclusionthat the organization will clearly meet the particular requirements for exemptionpursuant to the section of the Internal Revenue Code under which exemption isclaimed.(1) A mere restatement of exempt purposes ora statement that proposedactivities will be in furtherance of such purposes will not satisfy thisrequirement(2) The organization must fully describe all of the activities in which it expectsto engage, including the standards, criteria, procedures or other meansadopted or planned for carrying out the activities, the anticipated sources ofreceipts, and the nature of contemplated expenditures.(3) Where the organization cannot demonstrate to the satisfaction of the Service

that it qualifies for exemption pursuant to the section of the InternalRevenue Code under which exemption is claimed, the Service will generallyissue a proposed adverse determination letter or ruling.The attachment to Part II, Line 1 on Page 2 of Form 1024 indicates tha t theorganization's mission "is to build social, economic justice and grassroots democracythrough community organizing, education, advocacy and electoral politics in Texas."The infotmation submitted with the exemption application does not contain sufficientinformation in detail to fully describe the organization's past, current and proposedactivities. Therefore, please submit a much more detailed description of those activities.Please ensure to include the following:a. Please provide a detailed description of each activity.b. The date, location, and content schedule of each event.c. Copies of materials distributed to the audience at each event.


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DATE: February 22, 2012

d. Please fully describe what resources the organization uses to gather information forIts activities.e. Identify the educational materials that were used by presenters at each event.

f. The names and credentials of the instructors.g. If speeches or forums were conducted in the event, provide detailed contents of the

speeches or forums, names of the speakers or panels, and their credentials. If anyspeakers or panel members were paid, provide the amount paid for each person. Ifnot, please indicate that they volunteered to conduct the event.

h. The names of persons from the organization and the amount of time they spent foreach event. Indicate the name and amount of time they spent on the event. Indicatethe name and amount of compensation that was paid to each person.

16. Form 1024 indicates that the organization will conduct get out to vote activitiesincluding registering, recruiting, educating, mobilizing and turning out voters in criticalelections. Please provide the following:a. Please provide more details pertaining to each of these activities.b. Please provide a list to show locations, date and time for each of the events.c. Please fully explain who on the organization's behalf has conducted or will conduct

the voter registration or get out to vote drives.d. Provide copies of all materials published or distributed regarding the activities,

including copies of any voter guides.17. Form 1024 indicates that the organization will coordinate a voting rights project to

monitor and promote public policy as well as play a watchdog role in election oversightand protection.18. Please fully describe the activities that the organization conducts that influence

legislation. Please ensure to give detailed examples on how the organization educatesand! or v.ill educate the public concerning key legislation and the positions of politicalcandidates and elected officials on that legislation.

19. Please fully explain if the organization and/or its officers, directors and board membersengaged and!or will engage in business dealings with any political candidates and!orelected officials or an organization that is associated with the candidates and! or electedofficials (i.e. renting office space, providing access to a membership list, etc.). If so,describe the relationship in detail and copies of any contracts or other agreementsdocumenting the business relationship.

20. Has the organization conducted or will it conduct candidate forums or other events atwhich candidates running for public offices are invited to speak? If so, provide thefollowing details and nature of the forum including:a. The names of candidates invited to participate.


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ORGANIZATION: Progress TexasAi....:J _- - .-- '"'DATE: February 22, 2012

b. The names of the candidates who did participate.c. The issues that were discussed.d. The time and location of the event.e. Copies of all materials provided and distributed at the fonun, including any internetor advertising material discussed or used at the forum.

21. Describe in detail the organization's fundraising through mail solicitations, emailsolicitations, and personal solicitations . Please submit copies of all solicitation materialsthat the organization distributes.

IRS Questionnaire Sent to Progress Texas

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