Being a good sport Realtor, and friends, start nonprofit

MatT Jarzemsky — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 01:00:00 GMT

Real estate mogul Chad Goldwasser turned to sports as a 14-year-old after his father was convicted on federal mail fraud charges and died of kidney failure seven months later.

As a junior in high school, the 5-foot-10, 150 pound Goldwasser had become captain of the football team and led his team to the state semifinals. After losing the game, Goldwasser sat crying in a corner of the locker room.

"I still remember to this day," Goldwasser says, "Coach Paul Miller came to me and said, 'You have nothing to be sad about. You're one of the best leaders this team has had.' It gave me the most rewarding feeling."

He hopes to help kids feel the same way.

Last year, Goldwasser -- the most successful Realtor at Austin-based Keller Williams and regarded as one of the best in the country -- joined with Edward Jones Financial Advisors Mike Davis and Jaime Pina and commercial real estate agent Nathan Smith to create a charity that helps kids play sports. Right Course provides the money for underprivileged kids in single- or no-parent families to play in local sports leagues. The nonprofit launched in March and will sponsor its first youngster in June, sending a Mendez Middle School student to a soccer camp.

The partners hashed out the idea for the charity during their twice-a-week 5:30 a.m. triathlon workouts. Each had given to local charities, but wanted to direct their aid to something that was personally important to them: sports.

"I was an average athlete at best," Davis says. "But it's what you learn when you play sports. It's the obvious health aspect of it, and on an equal level all the values you learn as far as perseverance, teamwork, rejection and goal setting. There are so many different things you learn in sports that carry over into your overall daily life."

Starting a nonprofit involves a relatively easy state-level process and a trickier, more time-consuming federal procedure.

To make an organization tax-exempt, founders must draft bylaws that outline how the organization's board will operate and complete an IRS form 1023, which inquires about plans, budget, potential conflicts of interest and other aspects of the nonprofit.

Once submitted, application materials often end up in the "black hole of the IRS," where they can sit four to six months before an agent reviews them, says Barry Silverberg, director of the Center for Community-Based & Nonprofit Organizations at Austin Community College. He is also president and CEO of the Texas Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

Dissatisfied with nonprofit resources on the Internet and averse to the idea of paying $3,000 to $5,000 to consult a lawyer, the Right Course founders called Silverberg last July. They paid TANO $850 for its services.

"I don't care how much money someone makes, they need to go see Barry," Davis says. "He helped keep us in line, as far as what we needed to be doing to get the 501(c)3 designation and move forward..."

Among the scores of would-be nonprofits Silverberg works with each year, about 60 percent succeed in starting.

"If they're not aiming to be the best at what they do, they shouldn't be doing it," Silverberg says. "There are already a lot of nonprofits. What we're working towards is to promote effective nonprofits."

Going forward, Right Course's biggest challenge is raising money. The organization has solicited donations from businesses and individuals. Goldwasser hopes the nonprofit will get a $7,000 boost from Rock 'N' Restock, a concert held on May 22 benefitting Right Course and the Capital Area Food Bank.

"That's the big challenge, raising money," Davis says. "Where we'll end up with it, I don't know. The goal is to make it a major nonprofit in the city of Austin."

10-Jun-08 8:00 PM

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Being a good sport Realtor, and friends, start nonprofit