Dear Pastors and Principals,
It has come to the attention of the Department of Catholic Schools that websites have been developed whereby individuals can engage in “virtual store” shopping on the Internet, with merchants crediting a portion of the total purchase price to the school of the individual’s choice. While this type of prograna can indeed benefit local schools, it is important, both for purposes of complying with Internal Revenue Code restrictions on tax-exempt organization business activities as well as Archdiocesan policy prohibiting product and service endorsements, to carefully minimize the active role of the schools in these programs
Given these concerns, the following restrictions shall apply:
- Any solicitation you may receive from companies seeking your involvement in Internet based shopping/non-profit rebates must be directed to the Development Office.
- The Development Office will review the proposed program and, if acceptable, will assure that the school “sign-up” forms contain clear terms and conditions which protect the interests of the school and limit the nature and extent of the school’s role in marketing the particular website, merchants etc.
- The Development Office will periodically provide to schools a list of those electronic and web