Team Sail Like a Girl recently announced the formation of a 501(c)4, now making them a not-for-profit promoting and inspiring women and girls. The team of all-women sailors made history when they won the R2AK (Race to Alaska) in 2018 racing on the Melges 32 Maks to the Moon, skippered by Jeanne Assael Goussev. R2AK, produced by the Northwest Maritime Center, is a 750-mile sailboat race from Port Townsend, Washington, to Ketchikan, Alaska, and must be completed using no motors and no outside support. The first team to finish claims $10,000 and the second-place winner receives a set of steak knives.
Under Internal Revenue Service rules, a 501(c)3 is a non-profit for religious, charitable or educational purposes and donations to a 501(c)3 are tax-deductible. A 501(c)4 is a not-for-profit, but as a social welfare group, providing a community benefit (and often a sports team) so donations are not tax deductible to the donor.
As a new social welfare organization, Team Sail Like a Girl has big plans in the works to build adventure, empowerment, courage, inspiration, and community for women and girls in all walks of life. Their mission is to inspire women to push limits, challenge assumptions, and through teamwork, make the impossible, possible. Currently, the team is preparing for their third R2AK event, happening on June 8, 2020.
