The existing bank account of the ILFGA is based in the US with the Bank of America, and was set up in the 1990s when the ILFGA was established. When Tracy handed over to Aaron as Secretary-Treasurer in the mid-2000s, it proved problematic for Aaron to gain access to the BoA account, and this problem became worse when Tibor became Secretary-Treasurer, since it is impossible to access the BoA account from outside the US. This means that Tracy has been managing the BoA account on behalf of the Secretary-Treasurer for now about 20 years, a problematic situation that needs to be resolved. It has also proved difficult to change the registration details for the ILFGA with the IRS, or to set up a new account for the ILFGA in or outside the US, because some of the original ILFGA documentation is missing.
After exploring various option, and following discussions at previous business meetings, in May 2024 the ILFGA Exec agreed for John Lowe as current Sec-Treas to set up a new, UK-based, charity, to serve as an effective subsidiary of the ILFGA, as a means to give us a modern and fully accessible bank account. During 2024, John Lowe, Charlotte Hemmings and Kersti Borjars therefore set up a new charity, Lexical Functional Grammar Association UK (LFGAUK). The LFGAUK exists solely to support LFG by providing access to a UK-based bank account which will be used for the ILFGA just as the old BoA account has been used. The LFGAUK is a UK-registered charity, so donations to the LFGAUK are eligible for Gift Aid in the UK, and may count as tax deductible elsewhere.
At present the BoA account still exists and the main ILFGA funds are still in that account, but the plan is to move the ILFGA money into the new account, so that Tracy no longer has to do everything for us. The new account is accessible online, payments can be made to and from the account very simply online, and it should be unproblematic for Secretary-Treasurers to pass on access as and when they hand over.
There is a Justgiving site for the charity to simplify online donations: https://www.justgiving.com/lfgauk.
For other means of donation, including in person at the annual conference, please contact the Secretary-Treasurer.