We are excited to announce that effective May 10, 2019 - Team Brownsville has formed a corporation to support the efforts of volunteers and donors around the world who are committed to delivering humanitarian assistance to asylum seekers in and around Brownsville, Texas.
With the support of many of the original volunteers who formed Team Brownsville in the summer of 2018, three of us who were willing to sign all the paperwork - Ann Finch, Andrea Rudnik and Woodson Martin set up the corporation and are currently serving as the three volunteer board members.
The initial formation process has involved:
1. filing for incorporation with the State of Texas
2. obtaining an Employer Identification Number from the IRS
3. filing for tax exempt 501(c)3 status from the IRS
4. establishing a bank account
5. obtaining the URLs for teambrownsville.org and teambrownsville.com
6. setting up a PayPal account so we can accept donations online
7. setting up this website and blog
8. writing this blog post
Next steps in the process include:
a. holding an informational meeting for all interested parties (currently aiming for weekend of June 15)
b. recruiting 2 additional board members - our goal is a board of 5 directors
c. establishing committees made up of volunteers to lead the current programs
d. setting up economical supply arrangements with local vendors to provide supplies in bulk (paper plates, utensils, water, etc.)
Team Brownsville, since its inception, has always been lead by local volunteers in Brownsville and has constantly adjusted to the challenges of the day. The goal of the board of directors in setting up Team Brownsville is to sustain this amazing effort and support it through a better structure for fundraising and through some infrastructure that lessens the financial burden on volunteers.
If you would like to donate funds to support the mission of Team Brownsville, please give here: http://teambrownsville.org/donate
Stay tuned for more information concerning the upcoming informational meeting.