Welcome to Congressional District Programs, Inc.
CDP is a very unique registered 501(c)3 Public Charity. Our mission is quite simple: to Encourage Philanthropy. There is an ever-growing need for new and different charitable programs. CDP is designed specifically to meet those demands and fill charitable voids in our society by “Empowering People to Help People.” By allowing individuals to apply for a CDP program, our Board of Directors are able to evaluate specific needs in specific regions, whether locally, nationally or even globally!
If we determine the stated purpose of the proposed program will have the intended positive effect for its specific cause, it will likely be accepted as a “project of CDP.”
Once accepted, the named applicant becomes a Program Manager and is responsible for submitting donations (received strictly from unrelated donors) to CDP and making disbursement requests to provide financial support for program operations. All donations made to the program are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law.
This type of program is often referred to as a “Field of Interest Fund” and operates very similar to the way a stand alone charity would. The difference is that once your application is approved you become a part of CDP and operate under the umbrella of CDP’s tax exempt status. The application fee is not charged unless your program is approved and there are no additional registrations necessary with local or federal agencies. The main benefit of operating under CDP, however, is that we do all of your administrative work for you at a very low cost. You will only need to submit additional forms to us in cases of employment, travel requests, fundraising events, etc. (Click the Applications & Forms link above to see a full list of operational forms)
If you are interested in becoming a project of Congressional District Programs, please click the Getting Started link to the left to review the costs and procedures associated with running a CDP program. Then, click on the Application & Forms link above to view the Application and Legal Note, the two forms required to get started. Please also take the time to review some of the other forms to get an idea of what to expect once fully underway.-
CDP is a separate, independent public 501(c)(3) charitable corporation and is not associated with any government agency.
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Each CDP program will have a Program Manager, who may not be a donor, nor may his or her family be donors. The Program Manager should be selected for his or her enthusiasm, knowledge and support of the chosen charitable field of interest.
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Donors will not be permitted to be advisors to the project in regard to either disbursements or investments. Nor may a donor receive reimbursement for program-related expenses, compensation or any other payment from any CDP Program to which he or she donates. Support for the project will be derived from fund raising from the public or grants from foundations, government agencies or other third party organizations.
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The Program Manager will work with a Program Director, a staff member of CDP and the final decisions as to distributions and investments will be made by top CDP staffers to ensure IRS compliance.
- No incorporation is necessary for projects making application: they will all be “projects" of Congressional District Programs, Inc. Each program will be identified by its program name, and will use the Employer Identification Number issued to CDP by the IRS.