Workplace Campaigns Require SIGNED Copies of the IRS Form 990

The majority of workplace fund drives that screen for eligibility requirements require a paper copy of the most recently filed IRS Form 990 return signed by the certifying officer of the nonprofit.  Copies that do not include this signature are never accepted.

At least one state employee fund drive – Texas – has decided that if a third party, such as a CPA, prepared the return then the copy submitted for eligibility review must also have the preparer’s signature.  The certifying official’s signature by itself is deemed to be insufficient.

The state’s theory is that its rules call for an identical copy of the return as submitted by the nonprofit to the IRS.  Since the IRS requires the third party preparer, if there is one, to sign the return, then, the campaign reasons, if it gets a 990 to review without this signature how does it know that this is the same return that was submitted to the IRS?

Don’t count on other states not following Texas’s example.

Unfortunately, preparers generally do not sign multiple copies of the returns they prepare.  They sign the original return only.  When they send file copies of the return to the nonprofit client the preparer’s signature box is simply stamped “copy.”

What to do:

If you are responsible for workplace campaign applications for your organization, make sure you have a copy of the organization’s 990 that includes both the certifying official’s signature and the preparer’s signature (if there was in fact a preparer).  Make sure your finance people understand that providing you with a 990 stamped “copy” will not be sufficient.  They should have a photocopy of the original return, with signatures, on file.  No preparer’s signature can put your eligibility at risk.  Both signatures make you bulletproof.

What about electronically filed 990s? 

The IRS now requires larger nonprofits to file their 990 returns electronically.  Thus, the “original returns” don’t contain signatures.  What to do?  Make sure you have a signed copy of IRS Form 8453 EO – Exempt Organizations Declaration and Signature for Electronic Filing.  This form provides the paper trail that certifies the 990 return copy to which it is attached is identical to the one that was filed electronically.  It is accepted by all workplace campaigns.