Background

The first time Old Home Day was ever held was on July 31st, 1912. Then again on August 12th, 1913, then August 20th, in 1914 and 1915, and then on September 1st, 1919, September 3rd, 1934 and so on. From it's very beginning the purpose was not to celebrate July 4th. Old Home Day has always been exactly what it's name announces and is in keeping with the historical creation of Old Home Days from it's very beginning. It was never created to be an "Old Independence Day" celebration. (A specific celebration on Independence day might be desirable in addition to Old Home Day. This would be up to to the Celebrations committee.)


Facts

At Old Home Day in 1972 a team of horses broke their leads and bolted through the Art show being held on the Green. Following this incident, the Old Home Day committee recognized that disasterous personal liabilities that could accrue to the individual volunteers on the OHD committee from such incidents.

In 1975 the Old Home Day Association was incorporated as a non-profit organization for the specific purpose of celebrating the tradition known as Old Home Day. It was then subject to the IRS rules regarding 501(c) organizations:

	(Adapted from IRS Publication 1828 - February 2004) Section 501(c) organizations cannot support or oppose political candidates. Section 501(c) organization is not permitted to allow groups or individuals to use its facilities and equipment to campaign for candidates. No partisan political campaign activities, however minimal, are allowed. It cannot be anything that can be construed as an attempt to sway the public one way or the other. Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Activities with evidence of bias: (a) favoring one candidate over another; (b) opposing a candidate in some manner; or (c) have the effect of favoring a candidate or group of candidates, will constitute prohibited participation. [Even activities that encourage people to vote for or against a particular candidate on the basis of nonpartisan criteria violate the political campaign prohibition of section 501(c)]

The prohibition is absolute; there is no de minimis exception to that rule. Nonprofits are heavily regulated, and rightly so, from engaging in partisan political activities.

In 2004 the OHD Assoc. was informed by the Board of Selectmen that holding OHD on July 4th would be open to interpretation that it was an Independence Day celebration and as such the town would have to endorse the inclusion of all political parties within the venue of any group that was given a permit to operate on town property on that day.

This would mean the loss of the Old Home Day non-profit status and with that the loss of the protection of all our volunteers under the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997. With the loss of non-profit status goes the ability of donors to deduct their contributions. It is clear that the Old Home Day Association and its celebration of Old Home Day would become a casualty.

In 2006 and again in 2007 we asked all residents to let us know their preference for a date for Old Home Day. The overwhelming response was to NOT have it on the 4th but the weekend prior to the 4th.