Questions have been raised about our IRS filings. Here are the facts:
We Love Harbor Springs is a registered 501(c)(4). We requested and received a standard IRS filing extension for our Form 990. That makes our new filing deadline November 15, 2025. Until that date, there are no additional public documents to provide—because they do not yet exist. When our 990 is filed, it will be available for anyone to review directly through the IRS.We are following the law and standard procedure, the same as thousands of other nonprofits across the country. 30%+ entities file extensions. It is normal. It’s hard to chase down missed details on donation forms.
We do use a law firm in Toledo for campaign finance law because we could not find one locally. Mark Wagoner, the Toledo lawyer, visits Harbor Springs often and is a family friend of 30+ year home owner in Harbor Springs. He is an expert in campaign finance law, with many years of experience. It is a poorly understood technical field best advised by experts.
WLHS is a Harbor Springs entity led by Maureen Kenney, President, 30+ Year resident; Tim Patton, Harbor Springs Voter, Business Owner, resident; and Janie Jenkins, Treasurer, Harbor Springs resident, Voter. This information has been on our website since roughly June of 2024.
As best we can tell, the 130 or so donors are some combination of Harbor Springs voters, Harbor Springs property owners, or local property owners who have lived in the City some time in the past. It’s difficult to discern every detail in a donor’s life. By their attestation, many have been associated with Harbor Springs for decades. There are many small donors (<=$100) but it’s hard to tell with small donors. Since WLHS is focused on preserving and protecting, i.e. slow cautious change, it’s hard to see any conspiracies by donors.
According to the law, the 990 form does not require disclosure of small donor names (<$5000). So we won’t. We are sensitive that new voters have reported that there is someone in town investigating their right to vote, despite these voters confirming their right with the City. So we are sensitive that this 990 list, once released, will be used to harass people.
There is nothing we can do to stop donors or voters from being harassed. We do encourage them, however, to report such activity to the authorities. Voter intimidation is a state and federal felony. Those who do it understand, sadly, it’s a rarely enforced law. But voters have told us they have reported this intimidation activity to authorities.
Transparency matters to us, and when our filing is complete, it will be public.
Anyone claiming we are not in compliance, based on our understanding of the law and legal counsel, is incorrect or confused.