The economy is on the downturn, jobless rates are raising, and major non profits are concerned that planned fundraising may fall short leaving a gap in the raising request for aid. In these tough times charitable organizations are looking for eager partners to help create new resources to support their mission. Except one, The National Coalition for the Homeless based in Washington, D.C contacted the public relations firm which handles Street-people.com asking that they remove information which encouraged support of the Coalition.
“It was a shocking phone call,” expressed the media coordinator for Street-people.com “because not only where they calling asking that we remove information linking our desire to donate to their cause but that the call for the support was part of a project that had started and ended two year prior and no longer existed. It seemed a little late to be worried about the problem now.” A representative from the National Coalition for the Homeless called quoting a press release from 2006 concerning the “Bum Finds” campaign implying that Street-people.com’
The “Bum Finds” project purchased items scavenged by street people then resold them online. This retail campaign offered buyer’s insight into the life of street people while allowing them to support programs that addressed the issue by purchasing something that might have a level of value. Street-
Street-people.com would like to support the efforts of the National Coalition for the Homeless but is afraid that any mention of assistance might trigger this mystery IRS issue. In an effort to prevent this organization from being impacted by IRS rules Street-people.com adopted a strict policy of encouraging people not to send money to the Coalition. The media coordinator summarized the policy as “Keep your check but read Street-people.com.”
