Atlantic, IA – Officials with SHIFT ATL, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization, issued a public statement following Wednesday evening’s meeting of the Atlantic City Council, with regard to fundraising for the Splashpad Project. The statement reads…

“We are very grateful for the decision made this evening by the Atlantic City Council to allow the Splash Pad fundraising committee to act within their roles at full capacity to fundraise and move forward on this project, just like other community amenities that started as grassroots fundraising efforts within our community and like we see in other progressive cities.

Although we did not feel it was necessary to speak on our own behalf at the council meeting after this decision was made, we still need to clarify a few points that have recently been publicly stated in regard to our organization.

Our mission, vision and community commitment was called into question in March during a public meeting stating that our mission was focused on “housing”. Our mission, vision and “who we are” is, and always has been directed toward community betterment for Atlantic. Our mission, vision and who we are, is the same today as it was at our inception in 2019, with overall community at the forefront.

Vision: To SHIFT the direction of Atlantic’s social and economic development opportunities by leveraging partnerships and strengthening social bonds within the community.
Mission: To revitalize Atlantic through projects, services and programs that will enhance the community and foster a sense of development and growth.

Who we are: SHIFT ATL was officially born in June 2019 by a group of young(er) professionals who believe in creating a positive “shift” for the Atlantic community. We aim to be a development catalyst organization by identifying the needs and wants of residents, and creating an actionable plan to move forward. We also serve as a conduit and connector for those that have a passion project but not necessarily the means or backing to get started. Getting the right people and
pieces in place to support new and expanding businesses, organizations and projects is at the heart of how we operate.

We also wanted to address the comments sent to the media (in regards to our proposed partnership agreement with the City for the Splash Pad project) that stated the City’s local auditor raised multiple questions, one in specific stating “the biggest concern of the Auditor’s according to John Lund, is that SHIFT is an unaudited organization. While they do have a CPA, they are still unaudited.”

We contacted the local Auditor to confirm the listed concerns said to be raised by them, most specifically the above mentioned statement, and they stated that is NOT the position of the Auditor and/or their office and that they did NOT make this comment. SHIFT ATL would be a private organization making a donation to the splash pad project, and therefore, the City is not responsible for the records of our organization, nor any other person, business or organization
looking to make a donation for the splash pad.

SHIFT ATL whole-heartedly supports this project and the fundraising/Splash Pad committee, and we will continue to be advocates and supporters of this committee as the project moves forward. We wish the fundraising committee and the City the best as they continue to navigate the undertaking of funding the splash pad project. We remain committed to supporting their efforts.

Lastly, we would like to add specific context and clarity to remarks made in the aforementioned press release from Monday about our nonprofit and how we are audited. The IRS heavily scrutinizes organizations with a tax exempt status, as they rightfully should. Since our inception, all required quarterly reports and annual taxes have been submitted on
time and with the help of Rush CPA, an outstanding local accounting firm. The published concerns about SHIFT ATL being an “unaudited” organization could be perceived as extremely derogatory to someone not familiar with accounting practices for a 501(c)3. Integrity and financial transparency create the foundation in which we have built this non-profit, and we are proud of the fact that the IRS sees nothing in our financial reporting to flag an audit.

All of Shift ATL’s annual reports are accessible via our website and our financial statements or balance sheets are available upon request at shiftatl.org or shiftatlantic@gmail.com. We encourage anyone wanting to know more about what we do and how we utilize our resources, to please reach out!”