Affiliate with UOAA!

UOAA is an association of affiliated, non-profit, support groups who are committed to improving the quality of life of people who have, or will have, an intestinal or urinary diversion. It is dedicated to providing information, advocacy and service to, and for, its affiliated support groups, their members and the intestinal/urinary diversion community at large.

UOAA is dedicated to increasing the viability of its affiliated support groups. Benefits that the member groups will receive include:

IRS 501(c)(3) tax-exempt “umbrella” status (see Note 5 below).
Privileges to vote in UOAA elections.
Referrals to local member groups of people who seek rehabilitation support.
Periodic electronic newsletters from UOAA to leaders of member groups.
A library of articles that member groups will be able to use in their newsletters.
Information sharing with other affiliated groups at UOAA regional and national conferences.

Membership in UOAA is open to any group that provides mutual aid and support to those who have undergone, or will undergo ostomy or continent bowel/bladder surgery, and to their caregivers/family, and meets the following requirements:

Acceptance of UOAA’s Constitution, agreement to support UOAA’s mission, programs and activities, and, IF group coverage is elected under UOAA’s 501(c)(3) Charity Status, adherence to the IRS mandated provisions;
Payment of the Annual Affiliation Fee as determined each year by the UOAA Management Board of Directors; The Annual Affiliation Fee rate for 2012 is $ 2.50 / member. For groups that report “No Members” the Fee is $ 30.00;
Agreement to encourage support group members to subscribe to UOAA’s magazine, The Phoenix;
Provision to UOAA of an e-mail address where communications to the support group can be sent;
Agreement to have an active patient “Visiting Program”;
Agreement that upon dissolution of the group it will give any remaining funds in its treasury to a viable 501(c)(3) charity/s, with strong preference to UOAA or to other organizations that provide support to ostomates.

To affiliate your group with UOAA, please fill in the Membership Affiliation Form below and return it to Joan McGorry, UOAA’s Office Administrator, at the address shown in the form:

Notes:

We’re providing this form in both PDF and Word versions. Both can be filled in electronically and e-mailed. The PDF version allows you to “type” on it using the Typewriter tool in Adobe Reader 7.0 or later (Download Adobe Reader if necessary).
The form asks you to report the number of members in your group. This number will determine both the group’s voting rights and affiliation fee, according to the following criteria:
Annual Affiliation fee: An Annual Affiliation Fee is due on January 1st of each year. As of January 1, 2012, the amount paid by each support group is $2.50 for each member reported on their Affiliation Form (e.g., a group that reports 50 members pays $125). If a group does not report any members, the Annual Affiliation Fee is $30.00.
Voting rights: In UOAA elections, each affiliated group has as many votes as the number of members for which it has paid an Annual Affiliation Fee (e.g., a group that reports 50 members has 50 votes). A group that does not report any members has 12 votes.
Tax Exempt Status: When a group has 501(c)(3) charity status, it means that people can make tax-deductible contributions to the group. With or without 501(c)(3) status, all groups that affiliate with UOAA obtain an automatic “non-profit” status that confers various privileges (for example, the group can open a non-profit bank account). Groups that want to be able to accept tax-deductible donations must either obtain 501(c)(3) status on their own or be included under UOAA’s 501(c)(3) tax exempt “umbrella” (group exemption). To come under the UOAA umbrella, a group must inform UOAA that it wishes to be included. The group will need to include certain IRS-mandated language in its bylaws or other “organizing document” and must report certain information annually to the IRS (usually just a 990-N e-Postcard). Also, the group must have a Federal “Employer Identification Number” (EIN) which serves as the group’s tax identification number (analogous to an individual’s Social Security Number). If your group needs to obtain an EIN, you can do it by completing IRS Form SS-4 (download the form and its instructions); then use it as a worksheet when calling the IRS at 800-829-4933. They will give you your EIN over the phone! You can also apply for an EIN online.

Once you have affiliated, if your group has a website, we urge you to display either of the following logos on your site to publicize your affiliation:

[Affiliated with UOAA] [Small UOAA Logo]

You are welcome to copy these logos to your site. Please link your copy of the logo to our home page at http://www.ostomy.org/

We also encourage you to use this logo in your newsletter or meeting notices. For this purpose, see our page of High Resolution UOAA Logos for Printing which includes higher resolution versions of the logo in both color and black & white.