Nonprofit status would allow additional grants and revenue streams for the DDA
By Joseph Goral
Staff Writer
jgoral@mihomepaper.com
OXFORD — The Oxford Downtown Development Authority Board of Directors approved the DDA to begin filing for 501c3 status at its April 15 meeting. The DDA will use a tech grant through Oakland County Main Street for the process.
Of the grant’s total $7,500, less than $3,500 will be used to start a 501c3, according to DDA Executive Director Kelly Westbrook, enabling the DDA to have additional revenue streams and apply for additional grants that require 501c3 status.
“Really, why we’re looking to do this, is to create another opportunity for us to fund some of the events that we would like to move forward with without being able to increase our budget,” DDA Project and Media Coordinator Kimberly Smith said.
Smith said the downsides to the 501c3 would be dealing with the administrative overhead each year and its cost – the cost no longer being an issue because most of it will be covered by the less-than-$3,500 portion of the tech grant.
Next steps include consulting with an attorney, appointing a board of at least three directors and creating a name, according to Smith.
“From there, they could start working on getting the documentation together. We would move forward with signing that on our end and providing whatever information that they need, and then they would submit all of that within six to eight weeks,” Smith said.
There is no intention for the board of directors to be paid, she added.