Class of 1969 Case Study

At the time of our 30th Reunion in 1999, the Reunion Chairs discovered that the Class bank account, which had been opened some years earlier, held the Social Security number of an individual classmate. We determined that this situation needed to be corrected, so in consultation with the HAA, classmates knowledgeable in this area, and Harvard's law firm, we incorporated as a "voluntary association" in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Incorporation required us to write a special constitution, get signatures from class leaders, file papers with the IRS, and open a new bank account. Membership in this corporation would be everyone classified by the Harvard Alumni Records Office as a member of the Class of 1969. An important feature of the constitution was a provision for the disposition of funds when only five classmates remain. We decided that the governing board of this corporation would be called the "Reunion Committee."

It was very helpful to have a Class Treasurer who knew what steps needed to be taken, particularly what special forms had to be filed to get a Federal ID number to replace the classmate's Social Security number and to attain tax exempt status. The Class Treasurer must now file annual reports with the IRS in order for the Class to retain its tax exempt status.

For a copy of the Class of 1969 constitution, contact Benjamin Levy '69 (BenLevy@post.harvard.edu).