A Sparrow account is a designated, tax-exempt fund that is available to cover a Sparrow’s medical expenses and his/her family’s maintenance during that time. Medical expenses include, but are not limited to: medical bills, insurance premiums, deductibles and prescriptions. Family maintenance includes, but is not limited to, ancillary expenses for a child’s medical care such as: family travel costs, lodging, meals, as well as support for day-to-day expenses such as groceries, housing, utilities, etc.
When a new sparrow is adopted by our organization, he or she is set up as a "project" with a designated account. If money has been raised for the Sparrow, parents can these funds from their designated account with a Check Request Form .
Sparrow Clubs USA has an in-house accounting department, which manages all the financial operations of our organization, including each designated sparrow account. We are also registered with the IRS as a tax-exempt, charitable and educational 501 (c) 3 non-profit and must report our financial operations to the government annually. Due to IRS guidelines, our National Board of Directors has determined how designated gifts will be handled by Sparrow Clubs USA. Read their statement.
At the school-level, managing sparrow funds is very simple. First, Sparrow Checks (service vouchers) require no money handling by students or staff. After the club completes their community service of 256 hours and turns in their Sparrow Checks, funds are transferred into their sparrow account (if the project is fully sponsored). Advisors simply collect the vouchers, validate them and send them to the Sparrow Clubs USA office. We then transfer the appropriate amount of pledged and earned Sparrow Cash from our general fund to your designated sparrow's fund.
When funds are raised at school, the monies are handled according to normal school district procedures like any other student body club fundraiser and donation to a charity. The school bookkeeper simply writes a check to Sparrow Clubs USA. All monies must go through the Sparrow child’s account, before checks can be issued to the family.
We also provide pre-addressed donation envelopes for your Sparrow project. If there are individuals or businesses in the community that want to get behind the efforts of the club to help their Sparrow, their donation checks can be mailed directly to the Sparrow Clubs office.
Sparrow Clubs USA makes school-based charity for a Sparrow child a turnkey, accountable operation at no cost to schools!