St. Pauls Willimantic



Our intention is - and always has been - to place the construction and subsequent operation of the United Faith Center for Children under an independent 501(c)(3) corporation.  Since obtaining 501(c)(3) status is not a quick and easy task an interim solution was required.  St. Paul's, together with the Stewarts, founded the project, and St. Paul's considers the orphanage to be part of its ministry.  Therefore it was natural for St. Paul's to provide the structure required to get the project underway.  In effect, what we have is an independent organization under the St. Paul's ministry umbrella. 

For this interim organization, UFCC has a separate board and its own officers.  Office and website are provided by St. Paul's at no charge.  All Contributions are deposited in a separate St. Paul's account controlled by UFCC, and are deductible as charitable contributions.  This includes contributions from a second offering taken at every Sunday service at St. Paul's.  All labor and services, including graphic design and website design and construction, are provided by unpaid volunteers.

(What we have here is somewhat analogous to the relations between St. Paul's and the Covenant Soup Kitchen.  St. Paul's started the Soup Kitchen some 27 years ago as part of its ministry.  Through the years the Soup Kitchen grew and in the process established a more and more independent structure.  Finally, in 2006 it became an independent 501(c)(3) and at this point is providing the community with 10,000 - and growing - meals per month.)

Obtaining 501(c)(3) status turned out to be more complicated than originally anticipated.  The problem of satisfying the requirements of both the IRS and The Liberian government is not easily solved, and a solution is not yet in sight.  However, we are confident that the present organizational structure is adequate to keep the project moving until the 501(c)(3) issues are resolved.