I did a bit of checking and the foundation lists itself as a 501c3 or public charitable organization (vs. a private family foundation) which may be a good thing. Family foundations are only required to use a small percentage of their revenue annually on charitable endeavors (5%) - ostensibly to encourage multi-generational giving. Families of wealth are often accused of using them as tax-dodges.
A 501c3, which is defined as a publicly supported charity, has a bit more stringent criteria to maintain its tax exempt status. For instance, even though the five-year waiting period has been eliminated and the charity maintains its public status regardless, the IRS requires recordkeeping that will indicate it complies with the public support test.
From the IRS website (a pdf of the rules and regs is available at link below)
www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p4221pc.pdf
"A section 501(c)(3) organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests, such as the creator or the creator's family, shareholders of the organization, other designated individuals, or persons controlled directly or indirectly by such private interests. No part of the net earnings of a section 501(c)(3) organization may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. A private shareholder or individual is a person having a personal and private interest in the activities of the organization."
From the handbook:
A public charity is prohibited from allowing more than an insubstantial accrual of private benefit to individuals or organizations This restriction is to ensure that a tax-exempt organization serves a public interest, not a private one. If a private benefit is more than incidental, it could jeopardize the organizations tax-exempt status. No part of an organizations net earnings may inure to the benefit of an insider. An insider is a person who has a personal or private interest in the activities of the organization such as an officer, director, or a key employee. This means that an organization is prohibited from allowing its income or assets to accrue to insiders. An example of prohibited inurement would include payment of unreasonable compensation to an insider. Any amount of inurement may be grounds for loss of tax-exempt status.
If a public charity provides an economic benefit to any person who is in a position to exercise substantial influence over its affairs (that exceeds the value of any goods or services provided in consideration), the organization has engaged in an excess benefit transaction. A public charity that engages in such a transaction must report it to the IRS. Excise taxes are imposed on any person who engages in an excess benefit transaction with a public charity, and on any organization manager who knowingly approves such a transaction.
From what I can see on their website, the foundation has donated 100 bears to the Trumbull County LE office that was delivered to a local OH hospital. I can't imagine what the wholesale cost of these bears would be, but it is certainly less than $5 each I'd imagine.
A good 501c3 will publish its 990 tax form on its website so that donors can get an idea of what their total contributions have been and how they are being used, including what percentage are used in administrative costs (including salaries). In fact, many donors demand that and an annual report to make sure that administrative costs are kept in line with program costs and to get an indication of total fundraising success.
I'd encourage folks to keep an eye on this as long as it has public charity status (and it's a good idea for anyone who would like to do due diligence when considering giving a donation to a non-profit org).
