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53-524: The SFWA Nebula Conference is an annual event at which the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gathers to honor outstanding work in the fields of science fiction and fantasy . Conference activities include professional sessions, tours, and a formal awards banquet at which the Nebula Awards are presented. The Nebula Awards have been presented annually since 1966, and the event

106-545: A safe harbor for the "substantial part" test, the United States Congress enacted §501(h), called the Conable election after its author, Representative Barber Conable . The section establishes limits based on operating budget that a charity can use to determine if it meets the substantial test. This changes the prohibition against direct intervention in partisan contests only for lobbying. The organization

159-514: A "knock out", an article by C. J. Henderson praising Barbie for maintaining "quiet dignity the way a woman should", and the " exploitative " cover image of no. 200 of the Bulletin depicting a woman in a chain-mail bikini. Several authors used the occasion to speak out against sexism in science fiction genre circles more broadly. The controversy continued through Bulletin no. 202, which contained another column by Resnick and Malzberg, discussing

212-660: A California nonprofit 501(c)3 organization with new bylaws. In 2022, the organization filed to do future business as the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association to reflect the participation of their non-US members. SFWA participates in various trade shows and publishing industry events in the United States and abroad, including BookExpo America , the American Library Association Midwinter Conference,

265-599: A Communist country. As a result, in 1976 SFWA rescinded Lem's membership. Several members protested that decision, notably Ursula K. Le Guin , who resigned her membership and refused the Nebula Award for Best Novelette for The Diary of the Rose . In 1982, Lisa Tuttle withdrew her short story "The Bone Flute" from the final Nebula ballot, to protest what she saw as excessive campaigning for awards and that voters did not receive copies of nominated works. Her withdrawal

318-509: A candidate in some manner, or (c) favor a candidate or group of candidates, constitute prohibited participation or intervention. Since section 501(c)(3)'s political-activity prohibition was enacted, "commentators and litigants have challenged the provision on numerous constitutional grounds", such as freedom of speech , vagueness , and equal protection and selective prosecution. Historically, Supreme Court decisions, such as Regan v. Taxation with Representation of Washington , suggested that

371-595: A choice between two sets of rules establishing an upper bound for their lobbying activities. Section 501(c)(3) organizations risk loss of their tax-exempt status if these rules are violated. An organization that loses its 501(c)(3) status due to being engaged in political activities cannot subsequently qualify for 501(c)(3) status. Churches must meet specific requirements to obtain and maintain tax-exempt status; these are outlined in "IRS Publication 1828: Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations". This guide outlines activities allowed and not allowed by churches under

424-544: A church's principal means of accomplishing its religious purposes must be to assemble regularly a group of individuals related by common worship and faith." The United States Tax Court has stated that, while a church can certainly broadcast its religious services by radio, radio broadcasts themselves do not constitute a congregation unless there is a group of people physically attending those religious services. A church can conduct worship services in various specific locations rather than in one official location. A church may have

477-411: A foreign subsidiary to facilitate charitable work in a foreign country, then donors' contributions to the 501(c)(3) organization are tax-deductible even if intended to fund the foreign charitable activities. If a foreign organization sets up a 501(c)(3) organization for the sole purpose of raising funds for the foreign organization, and the 501(c)(3) organization sends substantially all contributions to

530-650: A forum for discussion. Writer Beware receives the support of the Mystery Writers of America and the Horror Writers Association . Writer Beware maintains an extensive database of complaints on questionable literary agents, publishers, independent editors, writers’ services, contests, publicity services, and others, and offers a free research and information service for writers. Writer Beware staff assist law enforcement agencies with investigations of literary fraud, and have been instrumental in

583-444: A limited amount of lobbying to influence legislation. Although the law states that "no substantial part" of a public charity's activities can go to lobbying, charities with large budgets may lawfully expend a million dollars (under the "expenditure" test) or more (under the "substantial part" test) per year on lobbying. The Internal Revenue Service has never defined the term "substantial part" with respect to lobbying. To establish

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636-783: A manner consistent with a particular religion's religious beliefs does not qualify as a tax-exempt church. Organizations described in section 501(c)(3) are prohibited from conducting political campaign activities to intervene in elections to public office. The Internal Revenue Service website elaborates on this prohibition: Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of

689-1052: A nominee, a member of SFWA, or even an author. Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America As of 2022, SFWA has about 2,500 members worldwide. Active SFWA members may vote for the Nebula Awards , one of the principal English-language science fiction awards . SFWA informs, supports, promotes, defends and advocates for its members. SFWA activities include informing science fiction and fantasy writers on professional matters, protecting their interests, and helping them deal effectively with agents, editors, anthologists, and producers in print and non-print media; encouraging public interest in and appreciation for science fiction and fantasy literature; sponsoring, editing, and disseminating writings, papers, books, pamphlets, and other publications which exemplify science fiction and fantasy literature of high quality; conducting conferences, public discussion groups, forums, lectures, and seminar programs; and furnishing services connected with this stated purpose. Science Fiction Writers of America, Inc.

742-467: A non-partisan manner do not constitute prohibited political campaign activity. In addition, other activities intended to encourage people to participate in the electoral process, such as voter registration and get-out-the-vote drives, would not be prohibited political campaign activity if conducted in a non-partisan manner. On the other hand, voter education or registration activities with evidence of bias that (a) favor one candidate over another, (b) oppose

795-464: A party to the class action suit, SFWA had recently explained its reservations about the settlement and declared its intention to file an objection. In 2013, the SFWA Bulletin was the subject of a controversy about sexism ( see below ). This led to a brief hiatus, followed by a reboot of the magazine. In 2014, the original Massachusetts corporation was dissolved and SFWA reincorporated as

848-442: A significant number of people associate themselves with the church on a regular basis, even if the church does not have a traditional established list of individual members. In order to qualify as a tax-exempt church, church activities must be a significant part of the organization's operations. An organization whose operations include a substantial nonexempt commercial purposes, such as operating restaurants and grocery stores in

901-423: A significant portion of a church school's curriculum is religious education. For a payment to be a tax-deductible charitable contribution, it must be a voluntary transfer of money or other property with no expectation of procuring financial benefit equal to the transfer amount. Before donating to a 501(c)(3) organization, a donor can consult the searchable online IRS list of charitable organizations to verify that

954-697: A subpage of the SFWA website, which provides the latest information on literary schemes, scams, and pitfalls; the Writer Beware blog, which provides the latest information on literary schemes, scams, and pitfalls; the Writer Beware blog, which provides up-to-the-minute information on specific scams and schemes, along with advice for writers and industry news and commentary; and the Writer Beware Facebook page, which posts links to articles, news items, and warnings of interest to writers, and provides

1007-432: A tax deduction on a charitable gift to a 501(c)(3) organization that is organized and operated exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary or educational purposes, or to foster national or international amateur sports competition (but only if no part of its activities involve the provision of athletic facilities or equipment), or for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals. An individual may not take

1060-440: A tax deduction on gifts made to a 501(c)(3) organization that is organized and operated exclusively for the testing for public safety. In the case of tuition fees paid to a private 501(c)(3) school or a church school, the payments are not tax-deductible charitable contributions because they are payments for services rendered to the payee or the payee's children. The payments are not tax-deductible charitable contributions even if

1113-670: Is a United States corporation, trust , unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code . It is one of the 29 types of 501(c) nonprofit organizations in the US. 501(c)(3) tax-exemptions apply to entities that are organized and operated exclusively for religious , charitable , scientific , literary or educational purposes, for testing for public safety , to foster national or international amateur sports competition, or for

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1166-557: Is a searchable database of information about organizations over time. WikiCharities, is a nonprofit database of nonprofits and charities by name, location, and topic, that allows each organization to report its financials, leadership, contacts, and other activities. Section 501(c)(3) organizations are prohibited from supporting political candidates, as a result of the Johnson Amendment enacted in 1954. Section 501(c)(3) organizations are subject to limits on lobbying , having

1219-434: Is allowed to award grants to foreign charitable organizations if the grants are intended for charitable purposes and the grant funds are subject to the 501(c)(3) organization's control. Additional procedures are required of 501(c)(3) organizations that are private foundations . Donors' contributions to a 501(c)(3) organization are tax-deductible only if the contribution is for the use of the 501(c)(3) organization, and that

1272-636: Is also available (by subscription) to non-members. The Bulletin carries nonfiction articles of general interest to writers, especially science fiction and fantasy writers. It accepts submissions, for which the pay rate is 8 cents a word. The current Bulletin editor is Neil Clarke . In 2013, a controversy about sexism in the Bulletin led to the resignation of editor Jean Rabe on June 5, 2013. More than 50 authors wrote blog posts in objection to comments by longtime contributors Mike Resnick and Barry N. Malzberg that included references to "lady editors" and "lady writers" who were "beauty pageant beautiful" or

1325-800: Is an actual controversy regarding a determination or the Internal Revenue Service has failed to make a determination. In these cases, the United States Tax Court , the United States District Court for the District of Columbia , and the United States Court of Federal Claims have concurrent jurisdiction to issue a declaratory judgment of the organization's qualification if the organization has exhausted administrative remedies with

1378-478: Is not required to be made available to the public, unless the organization is an independent foundation. Churches are generally exempt from this reporting requirement. Every 501(c)(2) organization must make available for public inspection its application for tax-exemption, including its Form 1023 or Form 1023-EZ and any attachments, supporting documents, and follow-up correspondence with the Internal Revenue Service. The same public inspection requirement applies to

1431-492: Is now presumed in compliance with the substantiality test if they work within the limits. The Conable election requires a charity to file a declaration with the IRS and file a functional distribution of funds spreadsheet with their Form 990. IRS form 5768 is required to make the Conable election. A 501(c)(3) organization is allowed to conduct some or all of its charitable activities outside the United States. A 501(c)(3) organization

1484-475: Is open to qualifying writers worldwide. Authors, regardless of nationality or residence, must be professionally published in a qualifying market as listed by SFWA in order to become SFWA members. At present, all listed qualifying markets publish only in the English language. Dues for most member categories are $ 100 annually. SFWA presidents have been: 501(c)3 organization A 501(c)(3) organization

1537-406: Is reduced to $ 400. There are some classes of organizations that automatically are treated as tax exempt under 501(c)(3), without the need to file Form 1023: The IRS released a software tool called Cyber Assistant in 2013, which was succeeded by Form 1023-EZ in 2014. There is an alternative way for an organization to obtain status if an organization has applied for a determination and either there

1590-467: Is that the organization is specifically limited in powers to purposes that the IRS classifies as tax-exempt purposes. Unlike for-profit corporations that benefit from broad and general purposes, non-profit organizations need to be limited in powers to function with tax-exempt status, but a non-profit corporation is by default not limited in powers until it specifically limits itself in the articles of incorporation or nonprofit corporate bylaws. This limiting of

1643-475: The Bulletin was put on hiatus for six months. It reappeared with the Winter 2014 Special Issue, #203, but has been on a reduced schedule, publishing an average of 2 issues per year. The special issue was edited by Tansy Rayner Roberts and Jaym Gates and "was specially created to be used as an outreach tool for conventions and other events." The issue's contents and cover were welcomed by some as an antidote to

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1696-434: The 14-point list is a guideline; it is not intended to be all-encompassing, and other facts and circumstances may be relevant factors. Although there is no definitive definition of a church for Internal Revenue Code purposes, in 1986 the United States Tax Court said that "A church is a coherent group of individuals and families that join together to accomplish the religious purposes of mutually held beliefs. In other words,

1749-502: The 501(c)(3) designation. In 1980, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia recognized a 14-part test in determining whether a religious organization is considered a church for the purposes of the Internal Revenue Code: Having an established congregation served by an organized ministry is of central importance. Points 4, 6, 8, 11, 12, and 13 are also especially important. Nevertheless,

1802-405: The 501(c)(3) organization is not merely serving as an agent or conduit of a foreign charitable organization. The 501(c)(3) organization's management should review the grant application from the foreign organization, decide whether to award the grant based on the intended use of the funds, and require continuous oversight based on the use of funds. If the donor imposes a restriction or earmark that

1855-548: The Court, if it were to squarely examine the political-activity prohibition of § 501(c)(3), would uphold it against a constitutional challenge. However, some have suggested that a successful challenge to the political activities prohibition of Section 501(c)(3) might be more plausible in light of Citizens United v. FEC . In contrast to the prohibition on political campaign interventions by all section 501(c)(3) organizations, public charities (but not private foundations) may conduct

1908-493: The Estate Project is now headed by Mishell Baker . It maintains a list of the estates of deceased SFWA member writers and coordinates with living member writers to make arrangements for their future estates. The Estate Project also accumulates information about authors' archives for member writers, living or dead.29. The SFWA Bulletin is a quarterly magazine that SFWA members receive as part of their membership, but it

1961-432: The Internal Revenue Service. Prior to October 9, 1969, nonprofit organizations could declare themselves to be tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) without first obtaining Internal Revenue Service recognition by filing Form 1023 and receiving a determination letter. A nonprofit organization that did so prior to that date could still be subject to challenge of its status by the Internal Revenue Service. Individuals may take

2014-767: The USA Science & Engineering Festival, and several major (and minor) science fiction, fantasy and media conventions. SFWA holds a semi-annual business meeting at the World Science Fiction Convention ( Worldcon ) when it is held in North America, and at the North American Science Fiction Convention (NASFiC) otherwise. SFWA also hosts its own events, which include: As an organization, SFWA acts as an advocate to effect important changes within

2067-405: The contribution must be used for foreign activities, then the contribution is deemed to be for the foreign organization rather than the 501(c)(3) organization, and the contribution is not tax-deductible. The purpose of the grant to the foreign organization cannot include endorsing or opposing political candidates for elected office in any country. If a 501(c)(3) organization sets up and controls

2120-604: The convictions of several literary scammers. Griefcom, or the Grievance Committee, is formed of member volunteers who undertake to mediate writer disputes and grievances between member writers and their publishers. SFWA's Emergency Medical Fund was established to assist eligible writers who have unexpected medical expenses. SFWA's Legal Fund was established to create loans for eligible member writers who have writing-related court costs and other related legal expenses. Founded by longtime SFWA member Bud Webster,

2173-470: The fact that the organization had always included writers working in multiple genres. After the name change, both SFWA and SFFWA were used as acronyms. The acronym SFWA was re-established officially in 1996. In 1973, SFWA awarded an honorary membership to Polish author Stanisław Lem . Some SFWA members, notably Philip José Farmer , were incensed by Lem's negative opinions of American science fiction, while others opposed Lem's membership because he lived in

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2226-515: The organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity. Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes. Certain activities or expenditures may not be prohibited depending on the facts and circumstances. For example, certain voter education activities (including presenting public forums and publishing voter education guides) conducted in

2279-435: The organization qualifies to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. Consumers may file IRS Form 13909, with documentation, to complain about inappropriate or fraudulent (i.e., fundraising, political campaigning, lobbying) activities by any 501(c)(3) organization. Most 501(c)(3) must disclose the names and addresses of certain large donors to the Internal Revenue Service on their annual returns, but this information

2332-840: The organization's annual return, namely its Form 990 , Form 990-EZ, Form 990-PF, Form 990-T, and Form 1065, including any attachments, supporting documents, and follow-up correspondence with the Internal Revenue Service, with the exception of the names and addresses of donors on Schedule B. Annual returns must be publicly available for a three-year period beginning with the due date of the return, including any extension of time for filing. The Internal Revenue Service provides information about specific 501(c)(3) organizations through its Tax Exempt Organization Search online. A private nonprofit organization, GuideStar , provides information on 501(c)(3) organizations. ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer provides copies of each organization's Form 990 and, for some organizations, audited financial statements. Open990

2385-488: The perceived sexism of past issues though Sue Granquist felt that something looked "suspiciously like a woman in a burka". The Forum Binary is a biannual publication that functions as SFWA's internal publication of record for members. As such, it is not available to non-members. SFWA also publishes short essays and other content relevant to writers on the SFWA Blog. Most members live in the United States but membership

2438-409: The powers is crucial to obtaining tax exempt status with the IRS and then on the state level. Organizations acquire 501(c)(3) tax exemption by filing IRS Form 1023 . As of 2006 , the form must be accompanied by an $ 850 filing fee if the yearly gross receipts for the organization are expected to average $ 10,000 or more. If yearly gross receipts are expected to average less than $ 10,000, the filing fee

2491-676: The prevention of cruelty to children or animals . 501(c)(3) exemption applies also for any non-incorporated community chest , fund, cooperating association or foundation organized and operated exclusively for those purposes. There are also supporting organizations—often referred to in shorthand form as "Friends of" organizations. 26 U.S.C.   § 170 provides a deduction for federal income tax purposes, for some donors who make charitable contributions to most types of 501(c)(3) organizations, among others. Regulations specify which such deductions must be verifiable to be allowed (e.g., receipts for donations of $ 250 or more). Due to

2544-404: The publishing industry, especially among publishers of science fiction and fantasy, by promoting author-friendly copyright legislation, equitable treatment of authors, and fair contract terms. SFWA sponsors Writer Beware, whose mission is to track, expose, and raise awareness of the prevalence of fraud and other questionable activities in and around the publishing industry. Writer Beware exists as

2597-481: The response to their earlier column. Their column framed that response as censorship, referring to their critics as "liberal fascists". In February 2014 a proposal to establish an advisory board to oversee content was met by a petition circulated by editor and critic Dave Truesdale supporting freedom of speech in the Bulletin. As a result of the controversy, SFWA president John Scalzi apologized to members, and

2650-503: The tax deductions associated with donations, loss of 501(c)(3) status can be highly challenging if not fatal to a charity's continued operation, as many foundations and corporate matching funds do not grant funds to a charity without such status, and individual donors often do not donate to such a charity due to the unavailability of tax deduction for contributions. The two exempt classifications of 501(c)(3) organizations are as follows: The basic requirement of obtaining tax-exempt status

2703-625: Was founded in 1965 by Damon Knight in association with a group of writers connected to the Milford Conference, which he also headed. According to Todd McCaffrey , the organization immediately "acquired great status in its efforts to help J.R.R. Tolkien get fair recompense in America for pirated sales of The Lord of the Rings ". In 1991, the name of the organization was changed to Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, to reflect

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2756-491: Was known as the Nebula Awards Weekend until 2014. The Nebula conference is held each spring in various locations within the United States. The weekend usually, but not always, consists of professional sessions to help writers improve their work, better manage their careers, and network with agents, editors, and fellow writers. Tickets to the weekend's events, are open to the public. Attendees do not have to be

2809-573: Was sent after voting had been completed. When informed she had won, she contacted SFWA and told them she refused to accept it. She was told that her reasons for doing so would be announced. Her publisher accepted the award in her place, apparently with no knowledge of her withdrawal, and there was no mention of her objection. In September 2009, SFWA joined the Open Book Alliance to oppose the Google Book Settlement . As

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