I've got people hungry and cold

[Sailariel]

Seventeen months ago, the Catholic Church, because of its lack of priests, merged three parishes into one.

One of the goals was to cut costs.

Prior to the merger, there were two Soup Kitchens--one in the Parish Hall of one of the three churches, and ours, which rented space in an old shoe factory. The new parish in effect, axed us because our overhead was $2000 a month. With donations coming in from our church members, and other donations, we were able to hold our own.

Exit the church. Now for us to continue, we have to become a 501(C)(3) non profit corporation. It takes at least six months to become such an entity.

Rather than boring you with details, let me show you how our overhead has gone from $2000 a month to $4500.

We needed a Board of Directors, by-laws, Mission Statement, and 150 pages of paperwork, plus $800 in registration fees to the feds and state. We also could not solicit funds because the contributions would not be tax exempt. We got around that by finding another non profit that served a similar group of people to become our "Fiscal Agent"--in effect we borrowed their tax number until we got ours. So where did all these extra expenses come from?

We had to have Director's Insurance--$1500 a year. Liability Insurance--$3000 a year. We created two jobs--manager and the assistant at not much over minimum wage--$800 a week. Workmens Compensation--$1300 a year. Membership in the various food banks--$120 a year--and it goes on.

Currently we have three volunteer chefs and other help. We feed between 50 to 60 people a day, run an emergency food pantry, and distribute bread and produce daily.

For doing all of this--particularly the creation of two jobs both filled by former welfare recipients, we get penalized with fees, taxes, health inspections (Oh yes, we had aluminum pots and pans. They have to be restaurant grade stainless) We had two regular electric stoves that could not handle the weight of the new pots and pans. Cost: Pots and pans $1250. Used Commercial stove $1900.

We have $15000 in reserve as our cushion donated by a Marine--you can always count on the Marines. With the economy in the shape it is in, donations are down to $3000 a month and under, even though I am doing at least two speaking engagements a week. This is rural Maine and this is reality.

If you want to get the whole story--Google Belfast Soup Kitchen. Also, freepressonline.com. They did two excellent articles--one, a year ago, and one recently. cparrish@freepressonline wrote the articles.

I guess I can't get too excited about all the political BS when we are in the trenches. When you are up to your ass in alligators, you don't talk about draining the swamp.

[Alex]

You're a good man, Alex. If there's a way for people here to donate electronically, please either let me know or feel free to post it up directly.

I hope that you and this organization are preparing for a much happier Thanksgiving than would ever be possible without your efforts.

[Sailariel]

Alex, Thank you very much. Every bit helps.

If people are interested in helping, donations can be sent to:
Belfast Soup Kitchen
P.O. Box 1153
Belfast, ME 04915

All donations are Tax Deductible since we are a Non Profit. All donations will be recognized with a Thank You Letter which will also serve as documentation for the donor to the IRS

[CynicalC]

Board of directors huh?

[Sailariel]

Cynical,
When you become a 501(C)(3) Non Profit Corporations, you have to have a Board of Directors who work without compensation. This includes the Board Chairman (CEO)

Non Profits are also strictly monitored by the IRS. Just getting your 501C takes six months minimum, volumes of paperwork, and a plethora of fees, both State and Federal amounting to around $1200.

The advantage is that the organization has access to more funding sources. The disadvantage is the enormous amount of paperwork (which we spread out among board members), and the increase in overhead. (Example: We are required to have an annual audit by an independent auditing firm. That is not cheap)
The Board of Directors should have Directors Insurance--especially important in our litigious society) The facility itself needs Liability Insurance should someone fall and get hurt. Invariably the lawyer will not only serve the manager with papers, but will also charge the board with negligence. That insurance--both board and liability goes for about the price of a new Ninjette. I wish it were simpler.

[CynicalC]

Who knew it cost so much to be a non-profit? Anyway you should set up a paypal account for electronic donations like Alex mentioned. Good luck!

[Sailariel]

Cynical,
That is a good suggestion. We ran that by our lawyer (Who is a Board Member) and he is checking into the legality of this with the IRS.

My recollection is that we can accept checks and in turn send out an acknowledgment that we received the check--the acknowledgement has our tax number on it and serves as documentation for a tax deductible contribution.

The IRS is still probably working with Atari Computers.

I have found that everything our governments-State and Fed do is unbelievably cumbersome and illogical.

It looks like that with Pay-Pal the IRS has no control. (Only my opinion)

I need to get someone aboard who is computer savvy and knows his/her way around Facebook, Pay-Pal, etc. My computer competence could be put on the head of a pin--with lots of room left over.

[Blackwidow]

Alex, you truely are a great man! I wish there were more of you out there. I'm so glad that even with all those obsticles you still haven't given up the fight to do what you believe in.

[Sailariel]

Paulette,
It is so good to be in touch with you again--you know that you are one of my favorite people.

I don't think that I am doing anything great--I just feel that where there are problems and where there is an opportunity to do something about it, I really should get involved. You understand that.

I am "Nuveau Poor"--meaning, that I belonged to a very wealthy family in what was called Yugoslavia, which lost everything after WW II. We enigrated to the US in 1955--a family of five, with $50 to our name. We lived in the slums of a city in New York State and with a lot of hard work managed to claw ourselves out of poverty. My father was an architect who had to go back to school for his degree to be legitimate in the US. My mother had a Doctorate in Structural Linguistics and had to do the same thing. We all worked hard and studied hard. My older sister became a Speech Pathologist. My younger sister became an M.D. I became a Clinical Social Worker, MSW,LCSW. My undergraduate degree was in English Literature and Philosophy/Theology. When I graduated from college I joined VISTA and worked as a community organizer for a year. I then joined the Army and was a Medic with an Airborne Unit and a Ranger Team. After that, I spent 25 years as an inner city social worker and Hostage Negotiator with the Sheriff's Department TAC Team. I moved to Maine to relax and to enjoy my retirement.

Well, you are what you are, and I really could not idly stand by and see a soup kitchen, as bad as it was, go down the tubes. I felt that I could turn it around by doing things that are quite unorthodox. So far we have been quite successful. Getting money to run this thing has been a problem--not a great revelation given the economy.

We are meeting a need and are feeding up to 60 people a day. We have also enlisted the help of a Public Health Nurse to do hypertension screening once a week. The plan now is to get a nutritionist to do some counseling on a weekly basis as well.

As I mentioned earlier in this thread, we are not like any Soup Kitchen in the US. We have the look and feel of a Bistro. We have changed the whole language of Soup Kitchens--for example, we don't have clients--lawyers and Hookers have clients. We have guests. We also have a dining room complete with tablecloths and a mellow atmosphere. We are all about dignity and we encourage people from the community to dine with us. Three retired Chefs volunteer their time and skills. Our meals compete favorably with any restaurant in town.

In keeping with the Bistro theme, I installed a reservation desk by our entrance with a sign that says, "Please Seat Yourselves"

We have a Coffee Club between ten and eleven-thirty during which time we serve coffee and pastries donated by a local super market.

We encourage the general public to dine with us and have a contribution box placed where it can be seen. The whole thing is an endeavor to change societal perceptions of the poor, and to set up an environment where the poor can mix with the not so poor so that they can break the cycle of always associating with people like themselves and maybe learn some strategies as to how to break out of the revolving door they are in. It is a lot of work, but well worth it. We are seeing some positive measurable results.

I am now no longer in charge of fund raising on the level of soliciting funds from commercial sources and individuals--although I still do some of that. My main concentration is to go after grants that will insure our sustainability. To that end, I am back in school at our local university taking a course in Grant Writing---a whole different language.

This is not as much fun as Motorcycle riding. I have only logged 4000 miles on my sort of new bike. I do feel that what I am doing has some merit. Once this enterprise can stand on its own, the plan is to go touring and meet many of the people I have met on this and the NT owners.org forum.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

If you want to find out more about what we are doing, Google, Belfast Soup Kitchen and follow some of the links like freepressonline.com

[Sailariel]

Paulette,
I am sorry for having been negligent. How is married life treating you?.Haven't heard from you in quite some time--figured you were on an extended honeymoon.

The SK is not taking up my whole life. I still have my bicycle shop and still ride and work out at the Y.

Just bought a 1976 Honda 550 Four that runs, along with a parts bike. My winter project is to build a Cafe Racer. A "Rocker" is alive and well in Belfast, Maine!