Tax document: BF USA does no lobbying- but we ask legislators for money

Bright Futures USA does no lobbying, but does ask legislators for money.

That was one of the revelations in the organization's 2015 Form 990 filed with the IRS.

"The organization did not have lobbying expenses for the current year, but did have discussions with legislators regarding future funding," it said on the tax form, which also asserted that no lobbying expenses were paid in the previous years. That's the same thing, the organization said last year, when it added this to its return:

The organization spent $137 for travel of staff to meet with legislators in Jefferson City, MO to discuss inclusion of program to budget for future funding.

The following definition of a lobbyist is provided by the State of Missouri:

The definition of a lobbyist under Missouri law is contained in §105.470 of the Missouri Revised Code. In general terms, a lobbyist is an individual attempting to influence the state executive, state legislative, state judicial, or elected local government officials’ actions and meets one or more of the following:

-Is acting in the ordinary course of business

-Is engaged in pay as a lobbyist

-Is designated to act as a lobbyist by any person, business entity, governmental entity, religious organization, nonprofit corporation, association or other entity
Spends $50 or more on behalf of public officials, annually, from January 1 through December 31st

The latest tax filing shows how much taxpayer money means to the continued existence of Bright Futures USA, which at one point had $400,000 appropriated by the Missouri State Legislature over a three-year period.

The organization reported receiving $188,577 in government grants or contributions out of its $306,117 in revenue. An additional $65,446 came from other gifts, with $14,840 coming from fundraising events, $38,900 from support fees, and $3,505 from conference revenue.

BF USA continued to have problems raising money with its fundraising activities, according to the tax document, receiving $7,607 from its golf tournament and a sporting clays shooting event, but spending $13,649 for those events, for a loss of $6,042.

The organization spent $134,822 on salaries, including $66,527 for Executive Director Kim Vann and $67,995 for everyone else. The information on the tax filing, which is for the period between July 1, 2014, and June 30, 2015, came before the organization hired former Joplin R-8 Superintendent C. J. Huff as a consultant.