The Mountaineering Club of Alaska is taking the exciting step of applying for 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status. This change is incredibly important for the future of the club because it will allow donations—such as those needed to build and maintain our backcountry huts—to be entirely tax-deductible for the donor.
To make this happen, state law requires us to update our Articles of Incorporation. We are also taking this opportunity to modernize our governance to better protect our volunteer officers and streamline club operations.
We will be officially adopting these changes at a Special Meeting held via Zoom on July 15th (see your registered member email for the invitation and link to the meeting).
We Need Your Help (and Your Proxy!) Because this is a major legal change, state law requires us to hit a specific attendance quorum (at least 10% of our total membership) to legally hold the vote. Since it is the middle of the Alaskan summer, we are relying heavily on Proxy Voting to reach our numbers.
Please click the link in your registered member email to visit our online voting site and fill out your Proxy Form. It only takes two minutes.
To keep things simple, submitting this online proxy does three things at once:
Casts your vote: It directs the Proxy Committee to vote "Yes" or "No" on your behalf for the 501(c)(3) amendment.
Opts you into electronic notices: It gives the club explicit legal permission to send you official corporate notices by email in the future, saving the MCA thousands of dollars in physical postage.
Helps us with future quorums: It allows the Proxy Committee to count you for "attendance" at future meetings so we never fail to reach a quorum again. (Don't worry—the form specifically states the committee cannot use your proxy to vote on new measures or candidates without your explicit permission).
Important Note for Family Memberships: Because our governing documents do not limit household voting, every individual covered by a Family Membership is legally entitled to one independent vote. Because we only have one primary email address on file for your household, please forward this email and the online voting link to the other adult members of your family so they can submit their own individual proxies.
If you want to dive into the legal details, you can review the full text of the official notice and proposed changes by clicking the links below:
Thank you for helping us take this massive step forward for the MCA!
Sincerely,
The MCA Board of Directors