Lake Country Medical Aid gets 501c3 status in record time

GREENSBORO, Ga. — Under the direction of co-founders Dr. Nic Chronos (Lake Country Medical Group) and Ralph Olson, Lake Country Medical Aid for Ukraine is spearheading efforts to supply desperately needed medical supplies to war-torn Ukraine. The foundation hosted a wildly successful fundraiser on June 26, at The Oconee Brewery, which included an auction and live entertainment. 

The success of this fundraiser would not have been possible without Lake Country Medical Aid receiving their 501c3 status, which proved to be a difficult yet worthwhile undertaking. 

Ralph Olson stated, “receiving the pending status in less than two months provided a high level of confidence to our donors, some of whom were becoming sponsors and paying $5,000 to $10,000. When I announced our pending status during my speech at the event, I was interrupted with applause. With this knowledge, some of the 305 in attendance opened their check books, and we raised over $30,000 during the live auction.”

Lake Country Medical Aid for Ukraine would not have been able to achieve this new status without the help of Kimberly Liebowitz of Connect and Grow. Prior to working directly with Kimberly, the foundation was becoming increasingly frustrated with the process of finding someone to file for the 501c3 status. They had already reached out to four separate law firms, who all stated that they had no one in-house with expertise in filing for a non-profit. The foundation then shifted its efforts and began seeking out CPA firms. 

“We contacted five firms,” Olson added. “Some had experience, but even those were reluctant to take on the task due to the complexity of the 43-page IRS form, coupled with manpower shortages that were preventing them from starting the process for three to six months. At that point, we were becoming very discouraged.” 

Thankfully, the foundation connected with Kimberly Liebowitz, who proved to be just what they needed. 

“Kimberly was a godsend,” stated Olson. “She adjusted her schedule to be available after hours and on weekends to help file as quickly as possible. She walked us through the process, and we zeroed in on taking responsibility to do the narrative, which is a huge undertaking. With the help of a few volunteers from Lake Country Medical Group, this narrative became a high priority. Liebowitz walked us through numerous narrative revisions based on her expertise of doing three similar 501c3 filings in the last two years.”

Liebowitz advised that full approval would take approximately six months after filing was completed, which would have meant achieving their status in January or February of 2023. With Kimberly driving the process, they were able to file in two months and gain approval in just 31 days. The whole process took a little over three months from contract signing to full approval.

“We were surprised when Kimberly called on July 19th with the exciting news that our 501c3 was approved,” Ralph concludes. “I firmly believe this fast approval was granted in large part to her expertise in navigating a complex 43-page IRS document that was so well prepared that the IRS was able to grant quick approval.”

For information on Lake Country Medical Aid for Ukraine, visit www.lakecountryaid.org and follow us for future micro-events.

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