The recent news that Betty Cone of Grassroots Productions Llc, a 501 (3c) non profit failed to file Federal tax returns and possibly committed tax evasion has a lot of folks in Greensboro stirred up because the donations they thought were tax deductible are turning out to be not so tax deductible. I'm not sure how Ms Cone, the City of Greensboro and the IRS will work these things out but as one of the persons who broke this story over two months before the Greensboro News & Record ever got around to mentioning it I'm more than happy to tell you how I came across this information.
In the case of Grassroots Productions Llc. I used the search feature at a website called the Foundation Center to learn what the News & Record learned via Guidestar.com. Just type in as much information as you know and start from there.
In the case of TREBIC (Triad Real Estate and Building Industry Coalition) which the News & Record has yet to cover and will avoid for as long as they possibly can, I used the NC Secretary of State Corporation search to discover that TREBIC has been suspended by the NC Department of Revenue since 2006. A lot of Greensboro's "movers and shakers" are going to be shaking in their boots when they discover that their paid lobbying in Raleigh was illegal from the get go and that the overturning of RUCO will now have to be overturned. The Secretary of State also offers several other ways to check out the legal status of public and private corporations. Don't be surprised when you read that TREBIC's non profit status is also revoked.
While mostly it's dead ends, I've found some interesting things in my searches. For example: According to the State of North Carolina and the Federal government, The Greensboro Economic Development Alliance does not exist but the City of Greensboro says, "The Economic Development office works with our partner, the Greensboro Economic Development Alliance (GEDA) to promote Greensboro as a place to locate and grow your business. The services of Economic Development also assist to coordinate available properties or redevelopment or development and determine if any City incentives are available."
There's still lots of local non profits and foundations I've yet to do research on. Here's my list so far. Perhaps you know some that aren't on it.
