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
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
