People who have given money to the Reno Karma Box Project since September might not be able to write off the donation on their taxes. The IRS has revoked Karma Box’s nonprofit status.
Executive Director Grant Denton says the situation was an oversight and will not impact any of the services that Karma Box offers. He’s working on getting his 501(c)(3) back.
“We’re combing through, and we haven’t found anybody yet that has donated that was expecting a write-off,” Denton told 2 News on Friday. “But we’re still looking into it. If we do find that, we’ll address it immediately.”
The Karma Box Project is a community-driven donation effort that Denton started in 2018. Local organizations are encouraged to place cabinets along their store fronts where people can drop nonperishable food or toiletries. The donations are free to pick up for those who need them.
Karma Box is also responsible for running the Safe Camp at the Nevada CARES Campus, a homeless shelter in downtown Reno.
According to the IRS, Karma Box has not filed its Form 990 for three consecutive years. That is the paperwork that allows the public to see how nonprofits are spending their money. Nonprofits who fail to file for three years in a row can have their 501(c)(3) automatically revoked.
“We are remedying that right now. We should have our nonprofit status back in less than three weeks,” Denton said.
Anyone who has given money to Karma Box since September – and wanted to write the donation off on their taxes – can reach out to Karma Box directly for a solution at https://www.karmaboxproject.org/contact.
