One thing Frank Trew did for the community was to create a non profit called ‘Hip Donelson, Inc.’ – many people may be more familiar with the facebook group of the same name, from which the non profit organization evolved. After Frank’s recent suicide, some things came to light – specifically that the 2016 IRS forms were extremely past due, and the organization’s license to solicit charitable contributions (i.e. donations) was not renewed, despite the fact they are still soliciting donations via social media and their website. We sent an email to board members shortly after Frank’s suicide, to let them know about the irregularities, and while they didn’t respond directly to us, they have recently started the process of at least renewing the state license.
Here is the yearly license to solicit charitable donations, from the Secretary of State of Tennessee – that expired before Frank’s death, on June 30th, 2017.
We reminded some Hip Donelson board members of the expired status 10 days ago:
Here is the response from the state on Monday, confirming the license is expired, but is in the process of renewing, which includes having their IRS forms completed, which are also not yet done.
Here is Hip Donelson Inc’s filing with the Secretary of State in Tennessee, which declares their financial year ends on 12/31 of each year. Per IRS regulations, the “Annual exempt organization return: Due date. Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF must be filed by the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of your organization’s accounting period”. So with the 2016 financial year ending on 12/31/16, the IRS filing was due by 05/15/2017 – As of Monday (08/28) the IRS has yet to receive this annual filing requirement. This was due well before Frank’s death, so that had no role in the filing being late (and still 3.5 months past due). The annual filing with the state was completed on 04/05, but not with the IRS.
Below is the 2015 Tax Return for Hip Donelson, Inc.
