How Do I Join the Bay Planning Coalition?
Visit the BPC online membership application and download our dues guidelines. Review the membership categories and dues levels in the Sustaining and Sponsor range. Select your category and appropriate dues amount, fill out the application and write a check for the annual dues amount payable to the Bay Planning Coalition.
Please call the BPC office at 415-397-2293, if needed, to discuss your appropriate membership category and dues amount. You should fill in the application and mail with your check after confirmation of the amount with the staff of the BPC. Upon request, an invoice can be mailed to you.
What is your IRS non-profit designation under the IRS code?
The BPC is designated a 501c.4 non-profit public benefit corporation organized for social welfare and educational purposes.
Are membership dues to the BPC tax-deductible?
Membership dues are not tax-deductible as they would be for a 501c.3, charitable or religious organization. They may be deductible as an ordinary business expense as defined under the IRC.
Is the BPC a lobbying organization?
No, we are not defined or registered as a lobbying organization under the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1993 or the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995. We are not required to identify any part of your dues as lobbying activity expenses. If this were the case, then you or the BPC would have to pay a lobby tax.
How often do you have meetings?
The Board of Directors meets quarterly on the fourth Wednesday of the third month at the end of the fiscal quarter from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at the Port of Oakland. Members are welcome to attend these meetings in addition to Committee Meetings which are posted on our website. The BPC holds its Annual Decisionmakers Conference in the spring; the Annual Membership Meeting is held the second Thursday in December; member workshops and seminars are held throughout the year.
My permit is held up in the permit review process. What can the Bay Planning Coalition do to help?
The staff of the BPC can provide you with advice as to the appropriate agency personnel to contact and also assist you to develop a strategy for securing your permit. As part of this strategy, if you need technical advice (e.g. engineering, environmental, legal, planning, construction, habitat restoration design), we can refer you to our roster of professional service consultants. In addition, the BPC has access to a wealth of resources including a complete library with regulations, laws, agency permit procedures and plans which are available for your review. Please schedule an appointment to come in to the BPC office.
