Founder of The Job Foundation Prepares to go Head-to-Head with the IRS

The IRS is trying to make a determination if a charitable organization qualifies for non-profit status due to the way the funds are distributed to the recipients.

Waterloo, IA (PRWEB) August 24, 2006 -- Christian author and philanthropist Jennifer Brost is waiting for the results of her application for a 501 c 3 tax-exempt status for her charitable organization, The Job Foundation. More than 50 percent of the profits from Brost’s first self-published book goes to various charitable organizations, including her own.

The Job Foundation exists to provide resources for the overcoming of adversity to persons in Waterloo, Iowa. The resources offered by the Foundation include two programs: They provide monetary rewards and financial education to at-risk students who get good grades and behave well in school (At-Risk Student Program), and they make homeopathic remedies and treatment available by paying for visits to a Classical Homeopath with a four-year degree.

The IRS seems to have some issues with the way the foundation uses its funds within the At-Risk Student Program.

Here is how that program works:

For some at-risk children, a barely passing-grade is cause for celebration. The foundation offers rewards for passing grades and increases participants’ potential for earning by offering greater financial rewards for even better grades. As a separate opportunity, students will be rewarded for good behavior. They start out each month with a set amount of money and lose it if they are held in for recess or sent to the principal’s office. The dual factors of being rewarded for good grades and positive behavior, and being penalized for inappropriate or negative behavior, motivate these children to achieve.

The selected students will meet every month with their mentor; they will also receive money at the end of each month if they have not been in trouble at school. At the end of each semester, when grades are given, money will be awarded for academic success. The students will be required to save 60 percent of this money in a savings account that will be held jointly by the students and The Job Foundation. The remaining 40 percent is at the disposal of the youngster for movies, name brand shoes, gift-giving, etc. This money is not to be passed along to the heads of households, nor is to be contributed to household income. This is money for the students to use however they wish, while learning about wise spending. The 60 percent that is saved is kept in the bank and cannot be withdrawn for any reason until the child’s graduation date from high school. In the event that the youngster does not complete high school, the funds will return to The Job Foundation.

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