Thursday, August 16, 2007

Shining Daylight On Erwin McManus' Awaken

PART ONE






In my previous post, A Wake Up Call To Erwin McManus and Awaken, I commented that when I visited the California Secretary of State's official webpage, it led me to the California Business Portal where public records on state corporations are available for view online through their Business Search, http://kepler.ss.ca.gov/list.html.

Based on the information I discovered at the above database, I asked numerous questions regarding the activities of an organization(s) called "Awaken" associated with Erwin McManus and his church Mosaic,L.A.

Looking for answers to at least some of these questions I have continued to search the internet for information.

The majority of my original questions still remain unanswered yet recently I uncovered new information leading to new questions.


A Chronology of "Awaken"


At the California Business Portal I was able to identify three corporations with ties to Erwin McManus and/or people working on his behalf. While researching corporations using the name "Awaken", I recently discovered that I had overlooked a fourth Awaken.

Here is the chronology on "Awaken" in its various forms:
(Information current as of "AUG 10, 2007," California Business Portal.)



1. AWAKEN CENTER FOR CREATIVITY
Date Filed: 8/7/2002
Status: Suspended
Agent for Service of Process: ERWIN MCMANNS (The last name is misspelled)

My Comments: The Agent for Service of Process is indeed, Erwin McManus, the address listed for this corporation is that of the Church on Brady. I have been unable to find any further information on this corporation anywhere on the internet.

According to the California Business Portal, suspended means:



"The California corporation has lost all rights and powers for failure to meet statutory filing requirements of either the Secretary of State's office or the Franchise Tax Board. Information regarding the type of suspension can be obtained by requesting a status report. Fees and instructions for requesting
a status report are included on the Business Entities Records Order Form."




2. AWAKEN INTERNATIONAL
Date Filed: 7/22/2003
Status: Suspended
Agent for Service of Process: ERWIN R. MCMANUS

My comments: It is my understanding that at one time, this version of "Awaken" listed as its board members the elders of Mosaic, L.A. The elders resigned from their board positions when key financial reports necessary to complete the legal paperwork were not provided in time to meet the filing deadlines. Perhaps this is why the status of this particular "Awaken" has been suspended by the state of California. (See the definition of "suspended" above.)



3. AWAKEN (Previously overlooked)
Date filed: 2/28/2005
Status: Active
Agent for Service of Process: SEALY M. YATES


My Comments: In my original research, I did not recognize the name Sealy M. Yates and therefore thought this was an unrelated "Awaken." When I later went back for a second look and actually brought up the more detailed information on this Awaken, I was surprised to find that I recognized the former Crossroads Parkway address for Mosaic, L.A. A subsequent Google search of the name Sealy M. Yates led me to the discovery that he is in fact, Erwin McManus' literary agent.

According to the Calfornia Business Portal, the active status means:


"California Corporation: Subject to any licensing requirements otherwise imposed by the laws of this state, the California corporation is authorized to exercise all of its powers, rights and privileges in the State of California."




Apparently this Awaken is filing the proper paperwork with the State of California to retain its "active" corporate status.

While this "Awaken" is a valid California corporation, I have not been able to find any official records indicating it is a non-profit organization. Please keep reading for more on this particular "Awaken."

4. AWAKEN HUMANITY
Date Filed: 4/20/2007
Status: Active
Agent for Service of Process: ERIC BRYANT

My Comments: The address given for this "Awaken" is the same address of Sealy M. Yates. Eric Bryant has been described as "Erwin McManus' right hand man"; he is also the Vice President of Awaken Humanity, the Agent for Service of Process of Mosaic, L.A. and the executive pastor of Mosaic.



Eric Bryant's Words Regarding Awaken and Awaken Humanity



This is an excerpt of an email sent to me by Eric Bryant on April 27, 2007 regarding Awaken Humanity:




Awaken is a registered 501c3 under the name Awaken Humanity. We just received our paperwork recently. The Secretary of State should be updating their website soon. This summer we are registering for tax exempt status. Currently, Awaken is still a subsidiary of Mosaic until we finish this paperwork. The elders began this paperwork process awhile back, but we have a few more loose ends to tie up.




A Closer Look At Eric Bryant's Words


Awaken is a registered 501c3 under the name Awaken Humanity.



This is a rather confusing statement given the fact that "Awaken" was created two years before "Awaken Humanity." More importantly, if Awaken is a "registered 501c3" then why doesn't it show up on the IRS database for charity organizations? This list is called Publication 78 and can be accessed at: http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=96136,00.html

The IRS describes their database thus:








Publication 78, Cumulative List of Organizations described in Section 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, is a list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions. This online version is offered to help you conduct a more efficient search of these organizations.






Claiming that Awaken is a "registered 501c3" organization gives the impression that it is already recognized by the IRS as a tax exempt organization. Although churches and certain religious organizations are exempt from having to register, Eric Bryant said in this statement that Awaken is registered; past tense, therefore shouldn't it show up on the IRS list? In other words, even if Awaken is exempt from filing according to the IRS rules and therefore doesn't need to file (in which case it would not show up on the IRS database) Eric Bryant said that it is registered which means that is in fact, filing with the IRS.




Maybe Eric Bryant is unclear on the difference between "non-profit" and "tax exempt." One would hope that the Vice President of a charity organization would know the difference.




Please see this online article written by Joanne Fritz, "Do I Have to File for Tax Exempt Status to be Non-Profit?", regarding the difference between non-profit and tax-exempt at About.com: http://nonprofit.about.com/od/qathebasics/f/donothaveto.htm




The Secretary of State should be updating their website soon.




Obviously, this has not happened yet since I conducted my latest search on August 16, 2007, almost 3 1/2 months after this statement by Eric Bryant. Keep in mind, the California Business Portal is updated weekly.




This summer we are registering for tax exempt status.




Again, how can Awaken or Awaken Humanity be a "registered" 501c3 if "this summer we are registering for tax exempt status? How can any organization be a "registered" anything BEFORE it actually "registers?"




Currently, Awaken is still a subsidiary of Mosaic until we finish this paperwork.





According to the California Business Portal, "Awaken" (Agent for Service of Process: Sealy M. Yates) is a fully functioning corporation. It appears to be a wholly independent, legal entity and NOT a "subsidiary" of Mosaic.





The elders began this paperwork process awhile back, but we have a few more loose ends to tie up.




As I mentioned in my previous post, A Wake Up Call To Erwin McManus And Awaken, and in the timeline above, the "Awaken" Eric Bryant is referring to in this statement is Awaken International. As I reported earlier, all of the elders of Mosaic resigned from the board of Awaken International when it became clear that the financial reports necessary to complete the legal paperwork would not be supplied to them in time to meet the filing deadlines. This corporation remains under a suspended status. To the best of my knowledge, (with the exception of Elders Erwin McManus and Eric Bryant) the remaining elders of Mosaic are not a part of Awaken or Awaken Humanity. Accepting a position as a board member of a charity entails accepting the legal responsibilities of that position.




So what exactly is ErwinMcManus' "Awaken?"



ERWIN MCMANUS' OWN WORDS

In this 2006 Interview with Infuze Magazine, http://www.infuzemag.com/interviews/books/erwin_mcmanus/
Erwin McManus gives his own explanation of what "Awaken" is:




Erwin McManus
Interviews : Books
Posted by Matt Conner 12:01 AM
Wednesday, 18 October 2006




Awaken was our response to being overwhelmed with 50-100 pastors from all over the world showing up at our doorstep every week. Our church is really not that big of a church and we ended up having, in some ways, an unexpected global relationship. So we said,"What do we do?" We could ignore it and let it filter away. Or we could see it as the fingerprint of God allowing us and inviting us to have influence and shape the ways that churches relate to the future.

We created Awaken as an organization to focus on unleashing the potential in every human being. We didn't want to be resisted by people saying, "You're a church. You can't come into these institutions. You can't come to these organizations. You're not allowed in this arena." So we created a non-profit organization that focuses on unleashing the creative potential in every human being and we help people without God begin to see how they're uniquely designed. And we're so convinced that if we can help people see that they're created in the image and likeness of God, they will be drawn to relationship with Him.


In this same interview, McManus goes on to explain that Awaken is composed of four parts:

1 Awaken Films: A film deparment.

2. Wide Awake Records: A record label.

3. Awaken Humanity: "And we have Awaken Humanity, which focuses on creating documentaries and we're just calling it "Things You Should Care About."" Erwin McManus

4. The Mosaic Alliance. A membership organization made up of individuals, churches and others.

The Mosaic Alliance is comprised of three levels: Level 1 is free, levels 2 and 3 require an annual membership fee of $200 plus those interested in joining at Level 3 are reguired to:

"Invest 5% of your annual budget towards church planting with the Mosaic Alliance in critical metropolitan cities worldwide. "


For more on the Mosaic Alliance see: http://mosaicalliance.com/






So in Erwin McManus' own words, Awaken appears to be the parent "non-profit" organization of Awaken Humanity, not the otherway around as Eric Bryant indicated.




Questions:




What is Awaken's status with the IRS?



It is evident by Awaken's listing at the California Business Portal that it has already completed at least one of the first steps required for becoming a registered 501c3 by filing for corporation status in Calfornia and it appears to be operating in compliance with state law. Does Awaken intend to file for tax exempt status?



Are donations to Awaken tax deductible? This is a crucial question to ask given that the following text can be found at the Awaken.org website under the subheading Awaken Humanity: http://www.awaken.org/awaken-humanity








*All donations are tax deductible. Please make checks payable to “Awaken” and indicate “Awaken Humanity” on the memo line and send to the Awaken offices at:

Awaken1443 E. Washington Blvd. #659Pasadena, CA 91104-2650

*Note this is a mailing address and not an office address.

Or, give online with the link below. Donations will be distributed according to the need of each area.





(Please note that once again, the wording of the above indicates that Awaken Humanity is under Awaken.)




As I have stated above, "non-profit" does not necessarily mean "tax exempt", nor does it mean "tax deductible." For another good explanation of the difference please see this article by Eve Rose Borenstein, "Legal Needs Relative to Non-profit and/or Tax Exempt Status of New Organizations", at http://www.managementhelp.org/legal/lgl_need.htm




"When the public thinks of "tax-exempt" groups, they often equate same with charities and the possibility of writing off donations to same. But it is only groups who receive a 501(c)(3) determination letter from the Internal Revenue Service who do, in fact, qualify to receive tax-deductible dollars from the public."





3. Is Awaken a religious non-profit?
What does Erwin McManus mean when he states: We didn't want to be resisted by people saying, "You're a church. You can't come into these institutions. You can't come to these organizations. You're not allowed in this arena." Is Erwin McManus trying to say that he wanted to create an organization that was not tied to a church? The answer to this question directly speaks to my next question:

4. What exactly is Awaken's relationship to Mosaic? The IRS recognizes very specific types of religious organizations as being exempt from federal tax filing requirements. Awaken's religious "identity" would have a direct impact on whether or not it is subject to filing a Form 990 (or other applicable forms) with the IRS. For more on this please see the IRS instructions for filing the Form 990 at:http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i990-ez.pdf

It is my understanding that if Awaken is merely a "subsidiary" of Mosaic as Eric Bryant stated, then it would be covered under the blanket 501c3 status of Mosaic, L.A. If this is the case, then Awaken must also be included in the annual budget reports of Mosaic. This seems highly unlikely given Awaken's corporate status with the State of California.




A Few Concluding Comments On Part One




Eric Bryant has still not responded to my last email sent on May 3, 2007.



At the end of May, after waiting for a response from Mosaic, I sent an email to the California Southern Baptist Convention outlining my concerns regarding "Awaken." Despite its claims of being"non-denominational", Mosaic, L.A. reports directly to the CSBC. When that letter failed to elicit a response, I sent the same letter (with additional information that became available during the interim) to the main offices of the national Southern Baptist Convention.


I have not received a response from the Southern Baptist Convention.


Curiously, soon after sending these letters I began to notice changes at the official Mosaic, L.A. website: http://mosaic.org/


I will comment on these changes as well as other matters in Part Two.






Yvonne W.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good investigating Yvonne. In the end Mosaic will be grateful.

Anonymous said...

Does this Awaken company also make films? I ask this because I think this is the same company I looked up; they are trying to raise money to make a film about an "ex gangster's" life. The problem is that it's all a big lie; the guy was never a gangster, just a small time criminal that has supposedly turned his life around, his name is John Turnipseed. Maybe, with your investigation, you could look deeper and find out waht's really going on.

Yvonne W. said...

Anonymous,

Yes, this is the same Awaken. I've written about the John Turnipseed project in "Erwin McManus and The McName Game" post at:
http://solidfoods.blogspot.com/2008/07/erwin-mcmanus-and-mcname-game.html

Yvonne W.