Young Pilots USA Achieves Non-Profit Status
In a major development that will help to support Young Pilots USA for many years to come, we have achieved official 501(c)(3) non-profit status, with full tax deductibility.
Since the beginning of Young Pilots USA just a few months ago, our team has worked hard to raise funds for our various organizational expenses, programs, and events. From the very start, we knew that official non-profit status could be a big help towards fundraising, and had hoped to incorporate our organization and file for federal tax-deductible status at some point in 2021.
Fortunately, we learned early on about the many complications of incorporation and maintaining our non-profit status. Because of that, we realized that our best option was to partner with an existing organization. Ultimately, that partner was the Tunison Foundation.
The Tunison Foundation, Inc. is a relatively small organization, dedicated to the preservation of historic military aircraft and related educational programs. Incorporated in Florida and headquartered at Waterbury-Oxford Airport (KOXC) in Oxford, CT, the Tunison Foundation was founded in 2017 to support a D-Day veteran aircraft, the 1942 Douglas C-47 Skytrain, "Placid Lassie." In 2019, they organized the D-Day Squadron, which successfully brought 15 DC-3/C-47/C-53 type aircraft from the United States to Europe to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the D-Day Invasion of Normandy and the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift, which was later transformed into the DC-3 Society, an association of type owners, pilots, and enthusiasts. The Foundation is restoring its 1943 Consolidated Vultee PBY-5A Catalina.
Under this partnership arrangement, Young Pilots USA will benefit from the non-profit status and financial infrastructure of the Tunison Foundation, while also becoming, for fundraising purposes, an educational program under the Tunison umbrella. Young Pilots USA will retain complete organizational independence. Both organizations hope that this partnership will allow them to broaden their base and continue with their mission on a larger scale. All donations to Young Pilots USA will now be processed through the Tunison Foundation; to learn more, go to our Donate tab!
Young Pilots USA is America’s only nationwide members’ association of young aviators that’s actually run by young people, with an annual fly-in, guest speaker series, a great aviation community, and chapters in 5 states and growing!