Assets and Ownership

Four Quarters is a Landed organization.

What does that mean? Simply put, the camp and its buildings; our sewage, water and power systems; the equipment used for building and maintenance; are all owned by the non-profit corporation.

Forever removed from the cycle of private ownership, Four Quarters can never become a housing development, involved in an inheritance dispute, or sold for profit. Now in our sixteenth year on the Land, Four Quarters has become an institution of permanence in an uncertain world. Together as Members, we are creating a lasting foundation for Ecologically Sustainable and Earth Spiritual living, values that will be much needed in our emerging new world of limits.

Assets and Ownership

As a Church and Nonprofit it is important to understand that it is the Church Corporation that owns the assets of Four Quarters, not an individual. In fact The Land of Four Quarters has been set aside in such a way that it can never revert to private ownership. We believe that is very, very important.

It is possible for a nonprofit to legally operate in such a way that much of its income is paid out in salaries to its officers, or to lease equipment and facilities that are owned by its officers. Although this is a legal practice, its long-term results are that the nonprofit is stripped of the benefit of owning its own assets and is unable to invest in its own growth and future. And Four Quarters pays no salaries to its officers or to the Church Wards. The Land, our tools and equipment, buildings and our vehicles are all titled to and owned by the Church.

It is important that the finances of any Church or Nonprofit be completely open and accessible to its Membership; and it is the lack of transparent financial accountability that has soured so many to religious organizations.

As a Member of Four Quarters you may inspect the Church accounting system at any time and we encourage you to do so. Four Quarters publishes its year end financial statement to the Membership through the Members Muse and we publish that financial statement to the general public through our web site.

It is these simple facts that distinguish a functional nonprofit, and we believe this is how every EarthReligious Church should conduct its affairs. You should expect nothing less from any nonprofit that you chose to support.

Gifts and Donations

Four Quarters is incorporated as a Church and your gifts are fully tax deductible (PA Tax Exmp #75-538-546)

In fact, it is our Members’ willingness to give to Four Quarters that has enabled our growth and constitutes the single most important form of income for the Church. Many have said that people of an Earth Religious NeoPagan background are not willing to support their institutions; our Members are proving that to be untrue.

We take your gift giving very seriously and consider it to be a trust, working hard to track your gift giving, account for it properly and treat it with the respect it deserves. Every January we mail a copy of our records of your gift giving for your own use in preparing your taxes. You are welcome to stop by the Church office at any time and examine our contribution records.

Four Quarters also makes gifts and contributions to other worthy non-profits. These include our local fire and rescue associations as well as other EarthReligious Churches and organizations. We insist on contributing only to other nonprofit organizations and we do so gladly. We believe this policy promotes the responsible growth of other EarthReligious groups and is our way of showing respect for the gifts that come to us, by passing them on to other nonprofit organizations. We hope that you will consider making a monthly pledge to Four Quarters and join your fellow Members in creating the foundation that will support Four Quarters and the Circle of Standing Stones into the future.

In Kind Gifts

We are blessed that so many see our needs and freely give to help meet them. Construction materials, automobiles, coffee, food and office equipment are all gifts that go a long way to supporting Four Quarters.

If you have made such gifts and would like them reflected in your tax acknowledgment letter, just drop a note in the donation jar at registration giving your full name and what you have given and its cost. We will enter your gift in the accounting system and will see that it is reflected in your year end acknowledgment letter. If you are one of the kind folks who call in to ask what food you can buy or what our other needs are before your visit, do keep the receipts of your gift purchases. Forward them to us in December and we will include them in your tax acknowledgment letter, with our thanks.