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One of the most telling of these comments was offered by UNWLA Archivist Olha Trytyak who noted that too many people look back at the history of the UNWLA membership as “better times.” Ms. Trytyak, referring to Marianna and Renata Zajac as an example, contended, “Not so. What I see is a mother and daughter on the Executive Committee. What I also see is an organization where it is possible to see three generations of women from the same family working together.” The next speaker was Parliamentarian Oksana Xenos. An attorney and tax law specialist, Dr. Xenos first focused on IRS requirements and regulations with respect to organizations with tax- exempt status. There are, she explained, various criteria the IRS uses before assigning this status to any organization. The organizations and institutions that qualify are generally public charities with a specific charitable focal point: religion, education, animal protection, hospitals, or social welfare. The UNWLA satisfies these requirements through its education endeavors—i.e., by preserving our culture and educating others about our heritage and history, through the scholarship program, and through the Ukrainian Museum. It also satisfies these criteria by its social welfare programs, by ties with the women’s movement, and with like minded organiza tions. Our committees and Our Life support these purposes, she continued, but any funds we disburse must support these purposes and not be used for purposes that do not satisfy IRS criteria. She cited the recent spate of media stories about abuses uncovered in other nonprofit organizations, even in such venerable organizations and institutions as the Red Cross, the United Way, and the Smithsonian. In light of these abuses, she noted, the IRS has heightened its scrutiny of all charitable organiza tions and “we’re not below the radar.” The con sequences for noncompliance, she cautioned, range from fines to prosecution and this means that the UNWLA must be vigilant against any activity that the IRS might perceive as questionable. So far, Dr. Xenos observed, we have been exemplary and have passed internal and external audits with flying colors. But we must continue this pattern and avoid the common pitfalls. What the IRS is looking for, she explained, is bad recordkeeping, lack of ac countability, too much spent on certain activities, funds spent on behalf of other organizations, fund raisers who take too high of a cut of funds donated, and duplication of effort (i.e., organizations that do the same thing). The IRS also examines large capital reserves—funds that the organization collects and sits on rather than using for its stated purposes. As an example she cited the problems encountered by the Red Cross and the funds the organization collected after 9/11—funds that were kept and used for purposes other than relief efforts related to the 9/11 tragedy. The final point of IRS scrutiny Dr. Xenos mentioned was overseas transfer of funds without adequate oversight and that all such transfers much be documented precisely to indicate where the funds are going, how they are being used, and by whom. All of these factors, she said, indicate a need for the UNWLA to maintain its unique position by strictly adhering to the purposes outlined in the UNWLA bylaws. Dr. Xenos also spoke about the Combined Federal Campaign through which the UNWLA acquires donations from federal employees. “We have been listed in the CFC catalog for the last four years, the only Ukrainian organization that can boast of this.” She also spoke briefly about the new e-filing require ments and addressed various related questions on this matter. The final speaker of the morning plenary session was WFUWO President Maria Szkambara who began with a brief account of the founding of the WFUWO in 1948. “Our purposes,” she stated, “are like yours. During the Soviet years, it was easy to work within the framework of these purposes. We could tell others about the repressions, russification, the plight of Ukrainian women. We demonstrated, talked with the press, etc. In Mexico, Copenhagen, Nairobi, we had the opportunity to represent Ukrainian women who could not represent themselves. How much we accomplished.” Since 1991, she continued, we find ourselves in a new situation. Ukraine became independent, and while we were joyful about this transformation, we soon recognized that the country had many problems. We could patch and fix here and there, but we could not do everything. We had to pick and choose, just as the UNWLA has done with its Milk and Roll Program and the scholarship program, by focusing on the next generation. Today, she added, WFUWO consists of 27 organizations from 17 countries, but faces the same membership problems as the UNWLA. But, she noted, this is not a new problem for either organization—leaders of both had the Видання C оюзу Українок A мерики - перевидано в електронному форматі в 2012 році . A рхів C У A - Ню Йорк , Н . Й . C Ш A.
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