wfn.org | ELCA Publishing House to Form Separate Not-For-Profit Corporation

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ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 1, 2000

ELCA PUBLISHING HOUSE TO FORM SEPARATE NOT-FOR-PROFIT CORPORATION
00-250-JB

     MINNEAPOLIS (ELCA) -- The board of trustees for Augsburg Fortress
Publishers endorsed a management proposal to form a separate not-for-profit 
corporation that will house all of the publisher's Internet operations.
     Augsburg Fortress is the publishing house of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA).  The board met here Oct. 12-14.
     The board endorsed a concept that the trustees will serve ex-officio 
as the trustees of the new corporation, to be known as "iAFP."
The management of the corporation will be the same as Augsburg Fortress.
     Forming the new corporation is necessary to help keep Augsburg
Fortress' prices competitive, explained George W. Poehlman, vice
president for finance and treasurer.
     "If we do Internet business within the existing Augsburg Fortress
structure, we will have to charge sales tax," Poehlman said, noting that
other companies often form a separate corporation to sell products on
the Internet.
     "Putting these activities into a separate company will make us
more competitive," he added.
     Decisions in previous court cases make such a practice legally
possible, Poehlman said.
     iAFP will be a churchwide unit and have a direct relationship with
the ELCA, as does Augsburg Fortress, Poehlman said.   Such an idea is
new for the ELCA, and there are many legal issues involved, he said.
     The board's iAFP resolution directed company management to
"continue its work through the ELCA Office of the Secretary, including
the ELCA legal counsel, to resolve constitutional and legal issues
involved with establishing such a separate not-for-profit corporation."
     The action is expected to be reported to the ELCA Church Council
when it meets Nov. 10-13 in Chicago.
     In 1999, the board of trustees adopted a strategic development
plan that expands Augsburg Fortress' business capabilities by marketing
to individual consumers.  One method  includes expansion and enhancement
of the company's Web site.  Internet sales are about $1 million ahead of
the company's projections for the first 9 months of this year, and
management believes the publisher's Internet business will continue to
grow, Poehlman said.
-- -- --
     Augsburg Fortress' Web site is http://www.augsburgfortress.org.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or NEWS@ELCA.ORG
http://listserv.elca.org/archives/elcanews.html