Tax Status on the Agenda Thursday for Community Association

The Chestnut Hill Community Association continues to discuss seeking 501(c)(3) status has it looks to become a non-profit organization sometime in 2014.

Gumming up the works is the Chestnut Hill Local, the for-profit newspaper owned and operated by the Community Association. 

The Community Association wants non-profit status while still maintaining its oversight of the Chestnut Hill Local.

“We want the transition to be as seamless as possible,” said Chestnut Hill Community Association Board of Directors President Brien Tilley.  “We want a structure that allows us to maintain the current relationship we have with the Local.”

There are several ways the association can achieve that goal, and that will be the main focus of Thursday's discussion.

The most popular structure proposed at Thursday’s meeting was turning the Chestnut Hill Community Association into a 501(c)(3) non-profit that was also a limited liability corporation. 

The Local would then operate as a for-profit subsidiary under the non-profit Community Association’ s corporate umbrella.

“We need to find a structure that won’t drive us crazy,” said association member Richard Snowden.

Regardless of what structure the Community Association will take, they will take it.

Community Manager Celeste Hardester laid out a timeline that would have the Association voting to apply for non-profit status as earlier as November.

“We would need to hold a special election in Novemeber,” Hardester said.  “Any change in our corporate structure would necessitate changes in our bi-laws.”

The Chestnut Hill Community Association meets Thursday at 7 p.m. at the Chestnut Hill Branch of The Free Library of Philadelphia.