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January 4th, 2010 - Making it far

I hope 2010 is off to a great start for everyone. It has been almost 5 months since I left my home in Montana and it has been a blast riding through some of the most beautiful parts of the United States and Canada. I have met so many amazing people and experienced the ups and downs of the traveling life. I started this ride with a vision and hope of good deeds and I have tried to incorporate my passion for the cause with activities which would stir up the attention for the cause.

I am pleased to announce another exiting change. After a long and exhausting research and tweaking my financial resources, I decided to take the leap and make the 501 (c)(3) a reality.

On December 3, 2009, the Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Montana Secretary of State office on behalf of the Transcontinental Humanitarian Corp. to form a non-profit corporation. The corporation was formed approved on December 7. Transcontinental Humanitarian Corp. is now a legal entity formed and operated exclusively for charitable purposes under the section 501 (C)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

On December 27, I received the Federal Employee Identification Number (EIN) for the corporation and with help from the directors, I am almost done with the federal paperwork for the tax exemption status.

To give you some idea on how extensive and exhausting this process is, I will name a few of the documents which I had to write and get approved by the board: Articles of Incorporation 6 pages, Bylaws 13 pages, Conflict of Interest 6 pages, 1023 Form 28 pages, additional information for the IRS 18 pages and so on…

The costs for forming the organization are significant and all the fees were funded from my own pocket. I invested my own resources into the corporation and while this is taking from me personally, the 501 (C)(3) status will open up many more fundraising channels and allow for us to write grants to virtually any foundation or corporation in the word.

I am in process of appointing and electing officers for the organization. I would like to invite and encourage the public to participate in this great and meaningful undertaking by filling the officer positions.

To be considered, you can apply for an officer position by sending your resume to Chris at motorcyclememoir dot com (Sorry spam robots) or by mail to:

ATTN: Board Selection

Transcontinental Humanitarian Corp.

P O Box 7603

Helena, MT 59604

The board members and officers are NOT employees of the Transcontinental Humanitarian Corp. but are the governing body and agents of the organization. There are no compensations of any sort and on solely volunteer basis. I as the founder and director still don’t receive any salary of any sort nor will any of the corporation directors. Lastly, not one penny of the public and private contributions will ever be used for recreation or personal gain.

I realize that lately I haven’t been posting any ride reports because in truth, there are no rides to report on. Despite the fact that  it may seem that I’ve lost my focus about continuing on the expedition or that I am being lazy, there is a lot taking place behind the scenes. I’m eating out of my own pocket as I always have been and everyday that I’m immobile and not making mile-measurable progress, I’m losing what little I have left but the reason for all these delays are due to extensive logistical changes and the aforementioned governmental paperwork.

Adding another person to the expedition is not as simple as doubling grandma’s favorite cinnamon roll recipe. The fact is that there are a myriad of details big and small which are being dealt with: from motorcycle training for Cynthia, packing all her stuff, getting her medical exams and shots and finding the right gear to further modifying the GS so it would be able to haul what’s almost impossible to fit in an SUV.  We are working on some fundraising events in Bakersfield, sending out sponsorship letters and setting up future lectures and slideshows down the road while counting days for departure time. The ride is not over and it has merely begun. It is expanding beyond the scope of what I envisioned for a long time and it’s getting done the right way.

There are 4 Comments

  1. Skateguy50
    January 6, 2010 at 4:13 am

    Glad to see you are putting so much into this trip turned um… new life plan as it may seem. How long do you intend to continue this? I hope its something like say Bob Dylans never ending touring, but truth be told if you continue to fund all your personal expenses for the trip out of your own pocket there must be some end in sight based on funds and budgets.

    I think early on that is totally the way to go cause startup costs and such could bring the operating budget well over 50% of donations, but as you get going and expand the fundraising efforts it could become something much more reasonable and acceptable to those donating, like say 10-15%. Most non profits would be very happy to boast something in that range.

    I work professionally as a construction scheduler but some of what I do could transfer pretty well to your cause, especially in the realm of tracking various side projects and the main goals, and linking that all with a budget. If the software I use can track tasks and costs to build $50 million dollar building projects it surely could be of some use to you.

    Needless to say if the officer’s position can be done via webex sessions and other online methods I would consider sending some in some sort of resume towards it.

  2. mpanther
    January 6, 2010 at 9:08 am

    I am glad to hear of the changes.

    Doing it right is the best way to go, even if it takes some extra time.

    As for gear, you should talk to Motoport just north of San Diego.
    They may not help, but their gear is the Best i have seen.
    and they might be willing to help with gear that has been returned for fitment reasons. either modified to fit you or Cynthia, or something that is close enough to be comfortable.
    they take appointments or email and Wanye is pretty quick to respond to emails.
    review and info thread:
    https://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=80138

    Vendor thread:
    https://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=154671

    Web site:
    https://www.motoport.com/

    Location:
    https://sandiego.citysearch.com/profi…oport_usa.html

    I am going to think about your Officers offer. Have to think about what I can bring to the table and if it will be helpful.

    Best of luck to you two, and keep us in the loop.

  3. CaddmannQ
    January 8, 2010 at 1:01 am

    I’m getting more and more impressed with every post Chris.

  4. Spanky
    January 9, 2010 at 7:02 am

    Keep up the good work Chris!

Leave a Reply to Spanky