Dear Readers,

When asked to explain what East Sac Give Back is I often say it a non-profit corporation in formation.  This may be a bit overly technical but what this means is that at this point East Sac Give Back is formally recognized by the Secretary of State of California as a Corporation.  The corporation filled its Article of Incorporation as a Non-Profit with the purpose of providing the neighborhood of East Sacramento a singular philanthopic entity which will reinvest resources back into East Sacramento proper, AND outside of the neighborhood boundaries.  

As far as mission or goal, East Sac Give Back aims to use grassroots approaches to transcend traditional community "boundaries" in order to better engage communities and solve social problems.  The organization hopes to model this as a new alternative to giving and hopes that the model will be implemented in orher localities.  My article two weeks ago in the Sacramento Press, East Sac Give Back: Bringing Communities Together, spoke a bit about why I think there is a need for this new approach.  In this article I also promised to keep readers up to date as far as progress goes.  Check it out here at the Sacramento Press site if you get a chance.

East Sac Give Back has an FEIN and as such East Sac Give Back is recognized by the Federal government too. These are steps forward for sure. But, for contributions to be tax deductible, and for East Sac Give Back to receive tformal ax exemt status two things must occur. The FTB and the IRS must approve seperate applications for tax exempt status. The appilcations are lengthy and include information regarding by laws, the formation of a Board of Directors, cost/revenue estimates, and specific information about where money will be coming in from, as well as where it will be going to. I am about 3/4 of a way through these applications, and I am sure there will be a month or two of wait time after Ithey are submitted. Only after non-profit status is acheived will East Sac Give Back accept contributions.

Support and endorsements are critical to the success of any non-profti and East Sac Give Back is making tons of progress on this level. I have spoken to many people regarding the idea behind East Sac Give Back and received almost univeral support.  Many of those I have spoken to are small business owners.  They too are very enthusiastic and have even agreed to allow me to publically share that they endorse East Sac Give Back. I extend my heartfelt thank you to everyone, particularly for your ideas and input regarding how to help.  The businesses thus far are (and the list is quicly growing):  

Compton’s Market

Napolitos Southwest Cafe 

Bell Family Chiropractic

The Red Rabbit Kitchen & Bar

McKinley Park Hair Company

Edmund Gatejen of Gatejen Real Estate

The Queen of Tarts Coffee Shop

Pietro Talini’s Nursery & Garden Shop

Left Cursor

East Sacramento Computer Repair

ihearsac.org

The Law Offices of Jerry L. Chong and Alice W. Wong

Lean On Me Integrated Fitness

DFX Pilates

The Salon on J

The Electric Bike Company

NewCharms.com

Katia’s Collection’s Fashion Boutique

Michael Heede of ReMaxx Realty

If you are an owner of a business either inside or outside the East Sacramento neighborood please feel free to contact East Sac Give Back at mikeatesgb@gmail.com.  Most of these businesses are posted on the East Sac Give Back Facebook Group timeline, and many are receiving kudo's from loyal customers.  

Also, East Sac Give Back is a popular open Group on Facebook with nearly 200 members.  Because the group is open you can simply request to be added and you will be.  Specifics about the organization and planned operation are there in the About section, as are other Supporters, ideas, Events, and Conversations so it can be a valuable resource.  Just type East Sac Give Back into Facebook's search bar to connect.

Of course, I love even more the opportunity of meeting people face to face, so please feel free to contact me at the email provided or any other way to schedule a time for coffee, beer, or whatever.  Summer is here and there are so many venues to meet at.  

A few weeks ago the East Sacramento Preservation invited East Sac Give Back to a meeting to discuss the projecct.  It was a wonderful meeting where active citizens got to meet, ask questions and propose ideas.  East Sacramento Preservation has a great website and Facebook page.  For those interested details and even some pictures are posted online there.

Speaking of which, East Sac Back will have it's own website up and running very soon thanks to the wonderful talent of Amanda Lynn-Sanders and Matt kennedy of Left Cursor.  Amanda and Matt have been supporters who continue to promote the cause and do whatever they can to help out East Sac Give Back.  The site will be located at eastsacgiveback.org.  

That's about it for now.  Once agian, thank you so much for the support.