Unfortunately, it has become very clear to the CFHF Executive Committee
that we, as volunteers, are unable to fulfill this mission. Along with
the Federal IRS guidelines, applications and filings, there are also many
states who want their finger in the pie and a hand on the reins. These
mountains of red tape and hoops to jump through were only magnified
because the primary venue of our fund raising was to be online.

So, the CFHF Board of Directors voted, and it was decided that we would
not proceed with our application to become a 501(c)3 charity, and we would
disband the corporation known as Cat Friends Helping Friends.

CFHF is comprised of many enthusiastic and talented volunteers, and I want
to take this opportunity to thank them for all their hard work and time
dedicated to CFHF. There have been many hours spent in meetings, doing
research, and reading mind-numbing documents that the word “thanks”
really cannot sum up. Please know that your time was appreciated!

I would also like to thank everyone who donated to us. Either by
purchasing a raffle ticket, bidding on an auction, or raising funds on
your own blogs, every donation is so very much appreciated. We
understand, however, if you feel that since we were unable to attain
tax-deductible organization status, you want to request a refund of your
donation.
If you would like to receive a refund of your donation, minus PayPal fees
incurred, please e-mail your request to President @
Catfriendshelpingfriends dot com by 5pm Eastern on Saturday, June 7, 2008.

Where do we go from here?
Well, first, to wrap up some details of CFHF before we officially disband:
During our existence, we raised $2,580.69
Out of that, PayPal expenses were $121.45
Admin expenses were $90.00
$710.21 was donated to Laura (Mu Shue, Lilly Lu, and Iris)
Of the $2,580.69, we have set aside $520 to cover taxes, for filing with
the IRS. After we file taxes, if there are funds remaining from the $520,
that will be disbursed to a cat in need.
That leaves us with approximately $1,140. If we do not have any refund
requests, then this is the amount we will disburse to cats currently in
need.
The Board has elected to split this sum into four equal shares.
The following 4 cats will each receive 25% (currently $285): Moki, MuShue,
Panther, and Dancer.
These funds will be distributed on Monday, June 9, 2008 via PayPal.

Our goal was always to help cats in need, and we did all we could to live
up to that goal. Unfortunately, the corporate way just is not going to
work for us. But, like a cat with nine lives, don’t count us out yet. As
I said, CFHF is comprised of enthusiastic, talented individuals. In some
way or another, many of us will be back - in some form or another - to
help raise money for cats in need!

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to e-mail me (president
@ catfriendshelpingfriends dot com) or add your thoughts in a comment
here.
Thank you all, from the bottom of my heart.
Sincerely,
Mo

Morgen Pittman
President, Cat Friends Helping Friends

This post will remain up @ Cat Friends Helping Friends for 30 days.

One question that’s been asked is “What’s up with the Board?” We’ve had some Board changes, as you may have noticed from our About or Contact pages. This is quite common with start-up charities, according to several sources specializing on the matter, and is just a learning and growing process. All growth processes take time and some effort to work out. ML Sherwood had to resign her position as Vice President and Board director, because of time issues where she didn’t have the time to continue at CFHF and assist her disabled husband and everything else. We certainly understood that, as much as we hated to see her go. Morgen Pittman then became Vice President. Then Trisha was forced to resign her position as President because she got a job promotion that was simply too good for anyone to resist, but that requires a great deal more of her time. Again, we understand that, and in fact are happy for her. We’re also glad she’s still able to sit on the Board, and help us out in that capacity. When Trisha had to step down, Morgen Pittman became President, and I, Robyn Harton, became Vice President. Fortunately in all these changes, we’ve gotten good as a group as dealing with any changes that come up.

Another question that’s been asked is “What is it going to take for CFHF to start helping cats?” The answer to that is complex, but it boils down to 3 things: 1) We have to be sure we’re compliant with all federal, state, and local regulations, and 2) We have to have money to help cats, and 3) we have to have a process to help cats.

Compliance is important because it enables us to function as a charity. There are vertitable books of regulations concerning charities because of unethical people who have defrauded people in the past. Though we’re not defrauding anyone, and won’t, we still have to comply with all of those regulations. In addition, we have to comply with all regulations that have to do with corporations and businesses in general. That’s a whole lot of stuff to deal with, which is why we haven’t been moving as fast as we’d like. Since we’re an all volunteer charity, we don’t have any full-time people to just assign to deal with something, and so everything has to be done on a part-time basis, or split between several people. It’s a challenge, but one we knew when we started that we’d have.

One challenge is that we recently got some new information, and decided that rather than just assume it didn’t apply to us, we’d halt fundraising and take the time to be sure, just in case we needed to do something else to be wholly compliant. Once we’re sure we’re not affected by the new information, and can ensure we’re in compliance, we’ll be in action. We are as frustrated with all this red tape and paperwork as anyone, and very much want to be up and running and helping kitties. But we have to be sure we do it right, or the consequences could be very bad indeed.

And that bring us to number 2, we have to have money so we have something to give to cats in need. To date, the bulk of the gifts received have been to help us get up and running. Sadly, that’s an expensive proposition. Of course, the special donations to Mu Shue, Lilly Lu and Iris have been passed on to her, but otherwise we’ve spent as little as humanly possible along the way, and that’s extraordinarily little since we are all volunteers, are getting free web hosting from the Cat Blogosphere, and so on. The rest is being held to help cats and cover registration fees and the like. When possible, we even plan to reimburse what vet expenses we are able to cats in need who have already had large vet expenses, so that even though we’re stopped at the moment, we hope to be able to help retroactively as much as we can. As soon as we possibly can, we’ll be getting help out to cats in need, and raising funds for them as needed.

Number 3 is the process for getting help out to cats. We can’t just randomly do it. It wouldn’t be fair to cats, not to mention that the IRS frowns on that type of thing. So we’re working on an application process and guidelines for the Board to use to determine who we can help the most and when.

That’s the whys and wherefores of why things are moving slower than we like. But we are moving as fast as we can with everything. Thanks for being patient with us.

Robyn Harton
Vice President, Cat Friends Helping Friends, Inc.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our Six Signs raffle - we will have the winner of this package announced here on Wednesday.

As the new President of Cat Friends Helping Friends, all I want to do is help cats and their families in need. However, as a fledgling charity organization, CFHF is still going through some growing pains. The intent of setting up CFHF was to be a legally recognized 501(c)3 charity by the IRS, and we need to make sure that we’re on the right track.

For the time being, I have postponed official fund raising here, to make sure that we are in total compliance with all government rules and regulations regarding tax-deductible charitable donations on the internet. Everyone involved with CFHF, especially me, wants to focus on fund-raising and helping kitties, not with red tape, but a certain amount of red tape has to be dealt with.

I ask you for your patience, and to continue to support each other through The Cat Blogosphere.

Sincerely,
Morgen

Morgen Pittman
President, Cat Friends Helping Friends

Intrepid shop kitty Little Isis helped out at The Wren’s Nest this morning - selecting the winner of our Sign Raffle! We had 24 tickets, and the entries made a nice little pile on top of her aquarium watch tower.

Little Isis selected one, then dropped it back in the pile. Fortunately, kitty saliva made the ink on the paper slip run, so I could pick it out.

Of course, as soon as it was in my hand - she snatched it and took off with it! Clearly, she determined that one entry was the clear winner!
And the winner is = Maw from Forty Paws!

Congrats to Maw and the gang from Forty Paws!
Your signs will ship out ASAP from The Wren’s Nest.

Thanks to everyone who entered this raffle, we appreciate it very much!
~Mo

The signs include

• I Don’t Skinny Dip, I Chunky Dunk (5″ x 8″ metal)
• Normal Is Just A Setting On The Washing Machine (5″ x 10″ metal)
• Housework Never Killed Anyone, But Why Take A Chance (5″x 9″ metal)
• Chocolate, How Sweet It Is (5″ x 22″ wood)
• Small Blessings Make Life A Joy (4″ x 25″ wood)
• Good Friends Are Hard To Find, Harder To Leave… Impossible To Forget (7″ x 17″ wood)

The retail

value is

$87.00

for the

package of

6 (six)

signs.

The Wren’s Nest will pay shipping and handling within the United States. International shipping rates will be split by the winner and The Wren’s Nest.

Tickets cost $5.00 for a chance to win! You can purchase as many as you like.

You don’t need a paypal account to enter. Just a credit or Visa/MC debit card!

The raffle has ended! Thank you for participating.

The winner will be announced Wednesday, May 21st.

Rules: The raffle will end at 11:59pm Monday, May 19, 2008. The winner will be announced on Wednesday, May 21, 2008. This fund raiser is for the general cat help fund with a portion used to cover payment processing fees and other CFHF operating expenses. CFHF Board Members, Fund Raising Committee members, and those living with them or having the same permanent address as them, are not eligible to participate and win, but may donate if they wish. Any taxes, duties or customs are responsibility of the winner. Judging will be done by CFHF Board member(s) or committee members assigned for judging. Judges have the final word on winners. Rules are subject to change as required to perform this fund raiser and are as posted on this fund raiser page.

This fund raiser will run from the 12th to the 19th of May.

We expect to have new and exciting items for auction or raffle every week, so don’t forget to stop by every week.

Do you use Fresh Step ®litter?

Do you save the Paw Points® on the package?

Would you like to donate those points to CFHF?

CFHF would then redeem those points for items offered by Fresh Step litter, which we would use as an auction or raffle item.

Interested? Please e-mail Treasurer [at] catfriendshelpingfriends [dot] com for the address where you can send your Paw Points.

Thanks!!

See pictures of the dramatic raffle action here!

Miss Lenda Paw

Parker, please email us with your contact information so we can send you your prize.

Thank you to everyone who participated.

Sony Cybershot DSC-H2 Point & Shoot 6MP Digital Camera Raffle

ML Sherwood (aka Mommie ML) has donated a GREAT digital camera for us to raffle for Cat Friends Helping Friends. We’re very excited because this is our first general fund raiser so we can start helping more kitties in need! This camera was purchased new and is in great working condition. It was used with both Windows XP and Vista Business operating systems with no problems. Shipping costs (insured) within contiguous US states included. Sony website states camera can only be shipped within US.

Raffle ends April 28, 2008 midnight EST.
Raffles Tickets are $5 each and you can get as many as you want!
You don’t have to have a Paypal account to get raffle tickets, just a credit card will do.

Sony Cybershot DSC-H2 Point & Shoot 6MP Digital Camera
with 12x Optical Image Stabilization Zoom

Comes in the original box with supplied accessories:

• Battery Charger
• Size AA nickel metal hydride batteries (x2)
• A/V Connecting cable
• USB Cable
• CD-ROM
• Shoulder Strap
• Adaptor Ring
• Lens Hood
• Lens Cap

SUPPORT AND REVIEWS

• Sony Style - $299.99
• Amazon.com - $469.99
• Digital Camera Review
• Digital Photography Review
• Sony Electronics Support and Registration
  • Tutorials
  • Manuals (Adobe Acrobat Reader required, download available on page)
  • Drivers and Software (download)
  • Sony Support: Purchase accessories, parts

PRODUCT FEATURES

• 6-megapixel CCD captures enough detail for photo-quality 14 x 19-inch prints
• 12x image-stabilized optical zoom; 2.0-inch LCD display
• High Sensitivity Mode (ISO 1000) for shooting without flash in low-light conditions
• VGA (640 x 480) audio-video clips at up to 30 frames per second, with optional Optical Zoom for Movie feature
• Powered by 2 AA-size batteries
• Stores images on Memory Stick Duo or Memory Stick PRO Duo media
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 3.2 x 3.7 inches ; 14.4 ounces
• Shipping: Item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000ENN9BK
• Item model number: DSCH2

TECHNICAL DETAILS - Model DSCH2

• Optical Sensor Resolution: 6 MP
• optical_sensor_technology: Super HAD CCD Unknown modifier
• Optical zoom: 12 x
• maximum_aperture_range: F/2.8-3.7 Unknown modifier
• Minimum focal length: 6 millimeters
• Maximum focal length: 72 millimeters
• Lens Type: Zoom lens
• optical_sensor_size: 1/2.5″ Unknown modifier
• Included Flash Type: Pop-up flash
• Red-eye reduction: Y
• form_factor: Integrated Unknown modifier, Built-in Unknown modifier
• Display: LCD display
• Display Technology: TFT active matrix
• Display Size: 2 inches
• light_sensitivity: ISO 100 Unknown modifier, ISO 800 Unknown modifier, ISO 400 Unknown modifier, ISO 200 Unknown modifier, ISO 80 Unknown modifier, ISO auto Unknown modifier, ISO 1000 Unknown modifier
• video_input_format: MPEG VX Unknown modifier
• Image types: JPEG
• Shooting Modes: Frame movie mode
• video_input_special_effects: Black & White Unknown modifier, Sepia Unknown modifier, Vivid Unknown modifier
• Exposure Control Type: Beach, High sensitivity, Landscape, Portrait mode, Hi-speed shutter, Twilight portrait, Twilight mode
• Viewfinder Type: LCD
• Audio Input: Microphone
• Width: 4.43 inches
• Depth: 3.7 inches
• Height: 3.25 inches
• Weight: 0.88 pounds

Rules: Raffle ends on Monday, April 28, 2008 at midnight EST and Winner will will be announced on Wednesday, April 30, 2008. For this fund raiser, after payment processing fees, the net goes to the CFHF for the administrative fund to get our 501(c)(3) status. CFHF Board members and Fund Raising committee members, and people outside the US are not eligible to participate to win, but may donate if they wish. Sony states that digital cameras cannot be shipped outside the US, and that is why people outside the US cannot participate. Any taxes, duties or customs are responsibilities of winners. If the winner is in the contiguous US, there will be no shipping fee. Sony states that digital cameras cannot be shipped outside the US, and that is why people outside the US cannot participate. Rules are subject to change and are posted on this fund raiser page.

The winner of the Gizzy Quilt Raffle is
Russ of Emersons.net

Thank you to everyone who donated for the raffle! We were able to raise over $600 for Laura and the kitties, as well as some for CFHF administrative costs like getting the IRS to approve us as a 501(c)(3) charity!

Raffle ends Friday, April 18th, midnight EST.

The Raffle has ended. Winners will be announced Sunday, April 20th.

Rules: Raffle ends Friday, April 18th at midnight EST and Winner will will be announced on Sunday, April 20th. For this fund raiser 80% goes to Laura and 20% to administrative costs. CFHF Board members are not eligible to participate. Any taxes, duties or customs are responsibilities of winners. If the winner is in the US, there will be no shipping fee, however, if the winner is not in the US, there will be a shipping fee. Rules are subject to change and are posted on this fund raiser page.