Block Love Charlotte navigates tax woes while seeing influx of need

CHARLOTTE — Deborah Phillips says the work has not stopped for Block Love Charlotte, despite the charity organization losing its non-profit status.

“We’re trying our best to get this food out to the street,” Phillips told Channel 9 this week.

Phillips is the executive director for Block Love Charlotte. She started the organization out of her car to serve people experiencing homelessness. Eventually, Phillips grew the organization enough to move into a warehouse.

But in February, she found out about an unexpected change: Block Love Charlotte has temporarily lost its non-profit status.

“Block Love Charlotte is currently in revocation. We are trying to get everything to the IRS so that we can come out of revocation. This is something I never thought would happen and we do take accountability for what has taken place,” Phillips told Channel 9.

She says it’s because of missed filings, and she’s working to get it fixed.

Revocation means the organization is now treated as a for-profit business. All donations can now be taxed, donations are not tax-deductible, and the organization is no longer eligible for certain grants.

“I’m going to be as transparent as possible because this is something that I never thought would happen, but it did happen. I thank God for everyone who has continued to support us throughout this,” Phillips said.

Phillips said private donations and out-of-pocket payments have helped them weather the extra costs. Even though they’ve survived for the past few months without asking the public for help, she says they need it now because of the influx of people they’re starting to see.

“We’re in the midst of colder temperatures. We’re going into the holidays. The need has already grown. We saw our largest number of individuals come in here last Monday, it was 82. They’re coming to get out of the cold, they’re coming for meals, they’re coming for resources for services,” Phillips said.

She says she hopes to get answers from the IRS by the end of the year.

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