Grass-Roots Belmont Activist Group Acquires Non-Profit Status

Belmont, MA, December 05, 2021 --(PR.com)-- Citizens for a Fiscally Responsible Belmont Inc. (CFFB, Inc.) has been designated a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation, a tax-exempt status reserved by the IRS for organizations which promote the general welfare of their community.

This means CFRB can receive donations while maintaining the privacy of all donors. Marie Warner, Vice President, said, “Our supporters can now contribute to a fiscally responsible Belmont without worrying about the retribution or bullying that have gone along with past challenges to the town’s status quo.”

Dawn MacKerron, President of CFRB, Inc. stated, “This is confirmation that CFRB has become a permanent organization as we continue to advance our mission to help Belmont citizens and to make a positive impact on Belmont’s future by holding Belmont’s elected and appointed officials responsible for transparent, accountable and financially responsible governance.”

CFRB Origins:
CFRB was formed in the Autumn 2020 by a group of Belmont residents frustrated with the status quo of never-ending tax increases, lack of fiscal responsibility, and the absence of transparency and accountability from town officials. From that initial exchange of ideas by concerned citizens on a local social media outlet, CFRB grew in numbers, expanded outreach, and organized to advocate for common sense spending and responsible town management.

CFRB Co-Founder and Corporate Secretary, Allison Lenk, a third-generation Belmontonian said, “It’s rewarding to see how this passionate and knowledgeable group of Belmont residents, who initially came together with a shared concern over unfair taxation, has evolved. Research, carried out in 2019 by a CFRB member who is a retired Forensic Accountant, revealed that owners of properties with lower values were taxed at a higher rate than those with higher valued properties. We diligently ‘followed the money’ and found that there were other related issues in need of attention in the town we love.”

“Our shared focus is on fiscal responsibility from the town and school government officials and actively working for a planned, responsible and affordable future for Belmont,” stated Bill Anderson, CFRB Treasurer.

CFRB Successes:
In the early months of 2021, CFRB members separately formed the committee “No Override Now,” and the entire organization galvanized Belmont voters to successfully defeat an unnecessary $6.4 million override. The override was rejected by an unprecedented 56% of voters, rescuing Belmont residents and business owners from a tax hike during the pandemic — the latest of 15 tax increases in 20 years — giving Belmont some of the highest taxes in the Commonwealth.

Also in early 2021, several CFRB members, including officers Dawn MacKerron, Allison Lenk and Marie Warner successfully ran for election as Town Meeting Members. CFRB Vice President, Marie Warner said, “We are Belmont residents committed to making a positive change in our town. Our members monitor town and school committee meetings and officials, ask probing questions during town meetings and challenge the attitude of ‘business as usual.’”

Dawn MacKerron, President added, “CFRB is now a permanent organization serving as a catalyst for citizens who are engaged and involved in making a positive change in Belmont.”

Dawn MacKerron concluded, “CFRB is here to stay in Belmont. State incorporation and IRS non-profit status strengthens our organization and enhances our outreach to all our concerned Belmont neighbors who want to make a difference. It reinforces and demonstrates our commitment - by both actions and words - to promote responsible governance of, by and for the people of Belmont - fiscally responsible spending and transparent, accountable town governance from both elected and appointed officials.”