Keep Todd Stubbe's Dream Going!

Co-organized

Stephanie Leepard Taylor and Ashley Perry are organizing this fundraiser.

Donation protected

Todd Stubbe was known for his infectious smile, his artistic talents, and his passion for revitalizing Downtown Parkersburg.

His untimely death July 4 was shocking and sad to us. He had touched many lives with his passion for the arts, his ability to make friends wherever he traveled, and his non-stop energy for achieving goals.

And…Todd had a vision – to beautify, to revitalize, and to rebuild Downtown Parkersburg. He wanted our town to thrive – to bustle with activity, excitement, and live music.

We want to continue Todd's dream, but we need help.

That's where you come in.

This GoFundMe campaign has been created specifically to fund the fees that come along with starting a non-profit, 501c3.

We need your help to create...

· The Todd Stubbe Dream Foundation.

With your donation, it will be possible to not only cover the legal fees that go along with starting a non-profit, but also to continue the projects Todd had for the betterment and continued beautification of Downtown Parkersburg.

Every dollar received from this GoFundMe campaign will fund the formation of the Todd Stubbe Dream Foundation and ultimately keep his dream alive.

We want to do scholarships in Todd's name, help fund eager entrepreneurs that are bringing business to Downtown Parkersburg and so much more with the Todd Stubbe Dream Foundation.

We miss him. We want to honor him, and we're ready to do the heavy lifting it takes to keep his dream alive.

However, we can’t do it alone.

The faster we reach our goal of $3,000 - the faster we will be able to keep the dream going strong.

Every dollar counts.

Will you help us? Let's make Todd's one-of-a-kind dream happen together!

*ADDITIONAL INFORMATION*

We've got some great questions along the way and wanted to post the answers to them here so you all have the most detail about what's going on.

There have been a few people hesitant to share or get involved with a GoFundMe because of the nature of it. It's basically throwing your money into a hole and hoping that it gets used correctly. In all transparency, we are new at this whole thing. We wanted the quickest way to get the word out while starting to get the ball rolling while we are still figuring out what needs to be done legally.

We have consulted an attorney (a Harvard Law grad) who owns a 501c3 business where all he does is set up 501c3’s. A member of our committee has taken a webinar on 501c3’s from his company and is being guided by his firm on how to set up the necessary bi-laws, selecting the Board of Directors to govern the Todd Stubbe Dream Foundation, etc. That all takes time to do, and we wanted to get the ball rolling as soon as possible.

To answer some specific questions that have come up:
Are donations being collected to establish a fund at a local Foundation, or create a new Foundation?
We’re working with the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation to see what our options are – but for now, we are looking to create a new Foundation exclusively for the cause of supporting young entrepreneurs in Downtown Parkersburg in the name of Todd Stubbe.

What are the goals of setting up a new Foundation over an existing one?
By setting up a new Foundation, we will have our own Board of Directors and will be able to operate more freely for our specific cause.

Will this Foundation be governed by a Board of Directors?
Yes, legally…it has to be.

What are the costs for registering a 501c3? Do you have a fiscal sponsor to hold the funds until you become a 501c3?
It can vary but I was quoted $1,695 for the legal work/papers/filing/advising, $25 for two additional fees and then $275 for a onetime IRS fee. You may notice that our GoFundMe has set more than that “as a goal” – the reason why is, GoFundMe takes out a percentage and a piece of each donation that comes in. We wanted to be sure to fully cover our costs, and anything that remains will be placed in a bank account exclusively for the Todd Stubbe Dream Foundation (a legit one, with its own, non-profit EIN number) while we’re waiting on the IRS for our 501c3 status to be active. It will sit there and not be used until we have that status – which, our attorney has a 100% success rate with the IRS and has been doing this over 30 years.

Who has access to this bank account?
Todd Stubbe’s wife, Morgan Stubbe.

Have you looked into the legal aspects of awarding funds to for-profit businesses?
The scholarship money raised and awarded from the Todd Stubbe Dream Foundation is for students to pay their college expenses. We are looking into the legal aspects of awarding grant money to what will ultimately be for-profit business downtown (helping with start-up costs/etc.). Thus far, all conversations with our attorney hasn’t raised any red flags to us, but we will look into further.