Become a 501c3 Nonprofit Organization

When we started + POOL, it’s safe to say we never imagined that we’d be running a non-profit. But after tons of advice and guidance (a ton of which came from Josh David), it was super clear it was the best way forward to make + POOL truly for the public, so we went for it, and called it Friends of + POOL.

We raised around $100K at our first fundraising event, put all that money towards hiring our first staff (the incredible Kara Meyer) who basically structured the entire thing, hired a lawyer to handle the process, and sent it in. We had heard how hard it could be to get approved, so waiting to hear back was sorta painful.

Eventually, on March 15, we got a letter from the federal government saying Friends of + POOL was officially a non-profit, tax exempt, 501c3 organization registered with the IRS, and we were off.

Dedicated to the development, operation and maintenance of the world’s first water-filtering, floating pool, right here in New York, the organization was also founded to promote, encourage and support the preservation, restoration, conservation, maintenance and use of pools, rivers, oceans, lakes and other bodies of water for recreational, scientific and educational purposes; promote, encourage and support water treatment systems and educational programs focused on water stewardship; and educate the public about the importance of clean water. That’s a mouthful, but it’s rad that one little plus-shaped pool can stand for all that.

A super big thanks to our friends at Storefront for Art and Architecture for acting as our fiscal sponsor until we became IRS official.