Wednesday, July 28, 2021
BY TRACY HOFFMAN
President of the Washington Irving Society
I’m finally back to blogging on a Washington Irving Wednesday, and it’s been awhile. I’ve been awaiting “the letter” giving the Washington Irving Society non-profit status, and at last, we have it. Though the formal, printed letter never arrived at the university, according to mail authorities at Baylor, I did manage to find the letter on the IRS website, which I’ve been monitoring periodically.
Tomorrow, on July 29, I have an appointment with a bank to set up our very own checking account. I was told to hold off until we had the 501-C3 letter because it rather changes the setup. In consultation with other officers, particularly treasurer Kirsten Stine, we look forward to our membership drive in 2022.
Until then, I would encourage Washington Irving enthusiasts who also dabble in Nathaniel Hawthorne, to join the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society:
https://nathanielhawthornesociety.org/membership/
We at the Irving Society have benefited from the work of the Hawthorne Society in a number of ways. As a member of the organization, I have learned about how they operate, which has helped me see how things might work on the Irving side.
As many of you know, the Nathaniel Hawthorne Society fell victim to wire fraud recently. They could use your support to rebuild their funds. I am grateful for the transparency of the officers during the situation so that other author societies, like the WIS, can avoid similar trouble.
I assure you, our treasurer and I have consulted about this matter, and we will never send money to anyone unless we have confirmation in person or via a phone conversation.
Until my next post on a Washington Irving Wednesday, please stay healthy and cool, for the remainder of the summer. In Texas, we’re finally hitting our normal highs for July: the 100s.
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