1 minute read
friends of the grand
The Friends of the Grand (FOG) was created as a not-for-profit Michigan Corporation in support of the Grand Theatre with a Board of Directors in 2005. Its bylaws were modeled on those of the Stratford Festival of America group to be compliant with Michigan, American, Ontario and Canadian statutes governing such not-for-profit organizations that reach across international borders.
Among the goals of the organization were to foster interest in the Grand Theatre in the Michigan community and seek charitable support from Americans by making contributions to the Grand tax deductible. Robert J Sokol MD was the founding Chair of the Board. After an initial Board was appointed, some events were planned and held with the Canadian Consul in Detroit. Donations have been modest, but ongoing.
The regulations are complex and require reporting to the Michigan and US tax authorities; the latter dropped though the cracks about 5-6 years ago and the Internal Revenue Service no longer recognized the not-for-profit status of FOG. When this was discovered, the Board Chair and theatre undertook to reestablish FOG status with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) with competent legal counsel. Such status was successfully reestablished in 2021.
Current issues are expansion of board membership, meeting ongoing reporting requirements consistently and if necessary transferring from public to private philanthropy status.
Dr. Robert Sokol President, Friends of the Grand (FOG)
