To conjecture further...

RICK stated above: "...all donations coming to ORCA are going to be passed along to the Salvation Army" and "In the way of actual cash donations... ORCA has never gotten many, if any at all."

Now, the last time I was in a Salvation Army store (admittedly, long ago), they weren't giving anything away. One made a charitable donation of used items (clothes, furniture, etc.) and the S.A. sold these articles at an affordable price to the less fortunate of us to support their own (S.A.'s) endeavors. If one donated comics to the Salvation Army, one could assume they would be resold at a discounted price in their stores, which kinda contradicts and negates ORCA's stated purpose of giving away funnybooks at no charge, doesn't it?

Unless there is some form of a special Salvation Army holiday giveaway program (to which RICK sort of obliquely and ambiguously refers, but doesn't elaborate upon), I fail to see the advantage of association.

I'm sure RICK will perceive this as another unwarranted attack from a subversive source, but unless he answers the questions put to him in this forum, this all seems a little disingenuous to me, and (as Donovan states above) possibly illegal. I sincerely hope that's not the case.

Really.

I think RICK means he's going to put the comics in the drop box at his local Salvation Army mission, or maybe cram them into the little Santa-bucket, come Christmas.

------------------
"Foxy Boxer Gal Fights Giant Monster King!" in
THE CHICK IS IN THE MAIL (Esther Friesner, Ed.) -- Baen Books, Oct. 2000

Anyone that has visited this site for any length of time can see the real issue here - To tear off a little piece of Rick Olney, walking away with an over inflated ego for yourself. Good for you!

I've stated numerous times that I have nothing to hide - And I don't!

I'm not explaining anything, nor am I going to continue this conversation past this point. View my response as you will ... for none of you seem the type to involve yourselves in any such effort regarding ORCA's efforts to assist the Salvation Army as indicated above.

Simply put - You're vile little people with nothing save the support of your own words to warm you. Try joining ORCA, or making a donation to see how we handle such efforts.

Or, put all your effort into being the MAIN reason MORE people, not accustomed to reading comic books, stay away from this hobby!

Does ANYONE here have anything but ANIMOSITY in their heart!?




------------------
Rick Olney
Organized Readers of Comics Associated http://www.ORCAfresh.net
orca@eGroups.com

[This message has been edited by RICK (edited 08-16-2000).]

Actually, aside from jack's side shots, no ne really flamed you RICK. There were perfectly reasonable questions to your direct claim of association with a known charitable organization, followed by evasion on your part and some helpful information which seems to have established a truth contrary to your version. Even jack's request for evidence of your tax status was a sound one and perfectly within his rights as a prospective donor. My own posts were 100% truth and meant to caution, not ridicule. I think I said that clearly enough.


Claiming to hide nothing and then refusing to discuss facts is an oxymoron since "hiding" is exactly what you are doing.

Quote:

Simply put - You're vile little people with nothing save the support of your own words to warm you. Try joining ORCA, or making a donation to see how we handle such efforts.

Simply put: a decision to put one's efforts and assets into a given charitable cause requires a certain amount of good faith on the part of the donor and recipient. By failing to answer even the most basic questions regarding your tax status despite claims made, and by prefacing a plea for assistance with a comment like "vile little people", you are destroying your own efforts.


RICK, I have tried very hard to keep this post insult and flame-free, though I doubt it will be received as such. In my opinion, you have done as much or more on your own to destroy ORCA's credibility as anything jack or one of the hellmannequins could ever try. The free legal advice was simply my attempt to keep you from climbing into a hole you couldn't get out of.



------------------
Boards...don't hit back.- Bruce Lee

Come see my new board at:
http://pub19.ezboard.com/bwordsandpictures

Well, I'm sure those donations will be rolling in by the truckload now...

Yeesh.

Rick, I have never tried to tear you off a strip on a message-board, and in fact as you know, Sequential Tart has supported ORCA with a features aricle and favourable reviews of FRESH magazine in the past. If ORCA puts comics into the hands of just one underprivileged child, then in my view it's done something worthwhile. Therefore, I hope that you will take my following comments in the spirit which they are intended, read them carefully, and not try to sideline this into some kind of attack on the aims of your organisation.



Personally, I view your response as highly cavalier and not in ORCA's best interests, given that soliciting membership fees and donations on the basis of being a registered Non-Profit orgainisation is possibly both fraudulent and actionable by the IRS if found to be untrue.

I would suggest to you that if the IRS website is incorrect, or if ORCA is in fact operating as an accredited affiliate of the Salvation Army, then your best course would be to state this clearly and unequivocally as a reassurance to people on this public forum, before rumours to the contrary start circulating. It might also benefit you to provide them with an address at the IRS or the SA where they can verify this themselves.

And I say that in all seriousness - this is not a joking issue, Rick, nor an issue that will just go away and be forgotten or be easily sidelined into "everyone is attacking ORCA!" as I am sure you are aware. It's serious, and you need to address it either here or on your website.



Rick, people are perfectly entitled to enquire about the tax status of a charitable organisation prior to either joining it, or donating to it. It does not make them 'vile' - merely 'normal'. That is why the government provides the information and why most charities are very keen to provide this information voluntarily and in full. Certainly in the UK charities encourage the public to check before becoming involved in such organisations.

And even more especially when they are *paying* to join the organisation.

It's part of your (collective) job at ORCA as a public organisation to answer questions like this, I'm afraid. I answer questions about Sequential Tart's status/whether we pay writers/have financial backers etc. from writers, readers or journalists - and of course as EIC it is my responsibility to provide a full, clear reply to the best of my ability.



Speaking personally, if you intend to try and sideline me into feeling bad about myself and my contributions towards supporting the comics industry with this remark, you're barking up the wrong tree. I have plenty of confidence in what I do and achieve in terms of promoting the medium of comics both within and without the current market, cheers.



Rick, as I said up top - the aims of ORCA seem to me to be perfectly sound, and I'm pretty sure that on the face of it, many people here would be happy to support it - what's *not* to support, for heavens sake???

However, I know people have said this before, but I think it bears repeating - you must bear in mind that when posting here and calling people 'vile' or abusing them, or refusing to supply them with information about your organisation, your posts reflect badly on ORCA.

You may bluster and tell people that what you say is personal, and not related to ORCA but you know what? You're wrong. Welcome to the real world.

You're (rightly) proud to take responsibility for being the founder of ORCA, and remind readers of that all the time in your posts or in your sig. However, you seem to be unable to accept the responsibility that goes along with that and realise that whenever you sign your sig to a post or mention your involvement with ORCA within it, you are acting as an ambassador of the organisation and in many cases are the first contact that anyone has with it.

I'm surprised at this non-acceptance on your part, because you were in the military, where as you know, soldiers are advised all the time that when in uniform in public they should remember that they are representatives of the armed forces and should behave accordingly when dealing with civilans.

The way you behave when in 'uniform' (ie. using ORCA's name in your sig or advertising it along with your involvement in the body post) *is* important, just as my use of the ST link in my sig means that my behaviour on message boards can colour the way that people view the 'zine.

This is especially true when you are the *founder* of the organisation and thus could be interpreted as being 'the boss', and when your comments are regarding something as fundamental as the charitable status of the organisation.

I don't think that anyone here has been attacking you, as it happens. I'm certainly not - I am trying to offer my view on things in light of the previous confusion of ORCA's status upthread, and what I view as the dangers of you failing to address that.

Regards,

------------------
Marcia Allass
(Editor In Chief, Sequential Tart Webzine - http://www.sequentialtart.com)

Generally speaking, I don't think anyone here relishes the idea of being audited by the IRS. If someone took the original statement of all donations to ORCA being tax-deductable to heart, donated some stuff, and then got blasted by the IRS for claiming something that couldn't be claim, you'd see some real venom then, Rick.

I don't see venom or even anger here--I see people wanting to figure out just what ORCA's status is. That way, their generosity doesn't come around to hit them later on.

------------------
Greg McElhatton: http://www.gregmce.com
The EXPO/SPX 2000 * iComics Daily Reviews

Hi.

Just thought I'd shove this thread back toward the top of the page to see if RICK was over his temper tantrum yet and felt like being forthcoming about all this.

I'm not holding my breath, though.

A scarier thought (and this is just a thought, mind you--don't confuse it with an accusation, because it is not.

BUT...

When I donate to the Salvation Army, they give me a blank receipt. I'm supposed to list the items donated, and place a value on them myself. Since this has largely been yard sale clothing and old furniture, I have endeavored to place a fair value on the items.

But what if I had a stack of FAIR-GOOD comics that I wanted to donate to the SA? I could list them out singly, give them to the SA, get a blank receipt, and then put down the MINT price for each. I'd even have the Overstreet, an industry recognized guide, to back me up to my CPA!

Now, if those comics were GIVEN to me, and I gave the person a receipt for the FAIR-GOOD value... am I making a tax profit here? Comic laundering?

ANYWAY-----

Here's hoping that by the end of 2000, ORCA will be able to operate independently of the SA. Not that it's not a worthy organization, but it will make things less confusing.


------------------
Howard Price
Staff Writer
TheComicStore.com

Each year I donate comics to the Goodwill and the Salvation Army for the write-off. I enquired of RICK sometime around last November about ORCA's tax exempt bonafides. I never received an answer.

I encourage anybody who doesn't have the time or inclination to sell their unwanted (or difficult to sell) comics on E-Bay to donate them to libraries, schools, or other licensed charitable organizations. You'll be doing some good without needing to put out a hell of a lot of effort, you'll be helping a worthwhile organization and you'll be easing you're own tax burdens as well.

If RICK and ORCA ever get around to actually listing their bonafides, I'd encourage donations in that direction as well.