Lorraine CIVIL Rights Museum Foundation

“The Museum has collections comprised of objects, documents, textiles, photographs, and artwork which illustrate and highlight the key episodes of the Movement and its legacy to inspire participation in civil and human rights efforts on a global level. At its founding in 1991, the Museum was not a collecting institution but since then, through a steady process of acquiring gifts, bequests, and purchases, the Museum's collection now has approximately 16,000 items. While the primary scope of the collection is focused on the civil rights struggle during the 1950s and 1960s, the artifacts, oral histories, films, and interactive media, guide visitors through five centuries of American history spanning from slavery through the passing of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. The permanent collection also comprises the court documents in the criminal case against James Earl Ray, the alleged assassin of Dr. King. In addition the Museum has an education collection and an institutional history collection. The education collection contains artifacts used as teaching tools for hands-on learning in programs and workshops. Each of the items is cataloged, preserved, and cared for, and activities verifying their existence and assessing their condition are performed continuously. The collections are subject to a policy that requires proceeds from their sales to be used to acquire other items for collection. Collection items acquired either through purchase or donation are not capitalized. Purchases of collection items are recorded as decreases in unrestricted net assets if purchased with unrestricted assets and as decreases in temporary restricted net assets if purchased with donor-restricted assets. Contributions of collection items are not recognized in the statements of activities. Proceeds from insurance recoveries are reflected as increases in the appropriate net asset classes.”

“the endowment fund is set up to manage endowment gifts and to distribute the income to the museum for general operations and programs to promote the mission of the museum. THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND STAFF ADOPTED A SPENDING POLICY EFFECTIVE 7/1/2016 WITH RESPECT TO THE APPROPRIATION OF THE RETURNS FROM THESE ASSETS FOR EXPENDITURE.”

“The Internal Revenue Service has determined that the Foundation is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (the "Code") and is not a private foundation as defined in Section 509(a) of the Code. Accordingly, the individual donors are entitled to the maximum charitable deduction under Section 170(c) of the Code. As a tax-exempt organization, the Foundation is required to operate under the provisions of the Code in order to maintain such tax-exempt status. The Foundation is also exempt from State income tax.”