Press Releases
Barnhill Helps Local Charities Achieve Nonprofit Status
GREENVILLE, S.C. -- A former tax attorney who now practices in the corporate securities arena, Greenville partner Ben Barnhill has assisted (on a pro bono basis) various nonprofit organizations with applications for 501(c)(3) public charity status for many years. He gained one of his more memorable experiences while working with Marsha Wallace to attain 501(c)(3) status for her nonprofit organization Dining for Women.
Ms. Wallace was inspired to start a nonprofit organization when she learned about a group of women who met for a potluck dinner and donated to charity the money that they would have used eating at a restaurant. The Dining for Women circles dine in once a month and donate their "dining out" dollars to fund programs that aim to improve the lives of women and their families through education, healthcare, vocational training, and economic development. Dining for Women focuses on improving the lives of women and girls worldwide.
Mr. Barnhill attained 501(c)(3) public charity status for the Greenville-based organization in 2003. Since its inception, Dining for Women has expanded from a handful of motivated women in Greenville, SC to hundreds of chapters across the US and Canada. It has received numerous accolades and has been featured on Good Morning America, the Today Weekend Show, in the New York Times and USA Today, just to name a few.
More recently, Susie Wallace, Marsha's sister-in-law, came to Mr. Barnhill, on Marsha's recommendation, with an idea to start a toy bank to benefit under-resourced children in the Greenville area. As a foster parent and through her experiences working with the Department of Social Services, Susie recognized a need that wasn't being met. Mr. Barnhill helped take this from an idea to a reality.
Toybanker is an upstate toy bank that collects new and gently used toys and distributes them to low income families through home-based therapists, early intervention services, churches, and schools. Thanks to Mr. Barnhill’s assistance, Toybanker's 501(c)(3) public charity status was approved by the IRS in September 2011. With its public charity status now secured, Susie Wallace hopes Toybanker can make a big difference in children’s lives in Greenville, and maybe, one day, across America.
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