News

By Rich Pollack
    
The Highland Beach Police Foundation is officially a nonprofit organization, recognized by the Internal Revenue Service.
    “Up until now, donations to the foundation were not tax-exempt,” said Highland Beach Police Chief Craig Hartmann. “Now, with the official IRS status, residents can make donations that are tax deductible.”
    Formed in 2012, the foundation is designed to make it easier for residents to support the Police Department.  
    “We had people who wanted to help financially, and we didn’t have a vehicle to accept contributions,” Hartmann said. “Now they can help us cover the cost of items beyond the scope of the town’s budget.”  
    Since the foundation was formed more than two years ago, its independent board of directors has worked on developing bylaws, a website and going through the time-consuming process of obtaining nonprofit status from the IRS.
    “Having the foundation as a nonprofit organization will improve our ability to pursue the latest technology, enhance our training and equipment, offer quality police services and build on our ultimate goal of providing the best safety and security to our residents,” Hartmann said.
    He says foundations supporting police departments are common throughout Palm Beach County as well as throughout the country.  Locally, the towns of Palm Beach and Ocean Ridge have similar foundations, as does the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and the cities of Delray Beach and Palm Beach Gardens.
    Hartmann, a nonvoting member of the board, which is made up of five voting community members, said the foundation is a separate entity from the town and the Police Department.
Police officers are not allowed to solicit funds and are not members of the board, he said.
    Highland Beach residents will be receiving information about the foundation in the mail this month. ;

    To find out more, visit the website at www.highlandbeachpolicefoundation.org.