Editorial
The corporate entity known as SaveNIC, Inc. was started by Christa Hazel, the Biden-voting political antagonist who perpetuates the hyped-up narrative about accreditation concerns at North Idaho College (NIC) and launches political attacks against conservative NIC trustees, the Republican party, and community members.
In the initial filing for SaveNIC, the founding board members were listed as Christa Hazel, Jim Coleman, and John Goedde, all three of whom signed the Democrat-founded Reclaim Idaho initiative that placed Proposition 1 on Idaho ballots. Not only does Hazel engage in anti-conservative activism, but she publicly campaigned for Joe Biden and supports Democratic initiatives and ideals. Based on public social media comments, Hazel supports Kamala Harris, even though she claims to be a “lifelong Republican.”
Coleman is currently a Director of the North Idaho College Foundation, Inc. He is also listed as the Chairperson of Save NIC Now, the political action committee (PAC) of SaveNIC, and he donated $1,000 to the PAC.
Goedde, a former Idaho senator, has an unimpressive voting record from his tenure in the legislature. Emails obtained by Kootenai Journal shows Goedde engaged in backdoor communications with the Idaho State Board of Education (SBOE) before and after SaveNIC filed its incorporation documents. In one email to the SBOE dated January 10, 2022, Goedde cc’d Hazel while discussing the likely fallout from a politically pressured resignation of a former trustee. Goedde was subsequently appointed to a trustee seat by the SBOE in May 2022. The SBOE denies knowing Goedde was part of SaveNIC at the time of the appointment; however, this email clearly shows a link between Goedde, Hazel, and SBOE months before the state appointed him and two other trustees.
SaveNIC’s filing with the state includes an “Attachment to Articles of Incorporation (Non-Profit) of SaveNIC, Inc.” This document states, “SaveNIC, Inc, (the “Corporation”) is organized as a social welfare organization within the meaning of the Section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986…” There is only one publicly available IRS document about the nonprofit, a 2022 tax filing which reveals the Employee Identification Number (EIN) to be 87-4524736 and shows incoming contributions of $105,280. It is unknown at this time whether the entity filed its 2023 tax return; it’s possible an extension was filed to keep the public in the dark about the amount of money flowing through SaveNIC to influence elections at the college.
According to the IRS, examples of civic organizations allowed to operate under 501(c)(4) tax exempt status are:
- An organization operating an airport that serves the general public in an area with no other airport and that is on land owned by a local government, which supervises the airport’s operation,
- A community association that works to improve public services, housing and residential parking; publishes a free community newspaper; sponsors a community sports league, holiday programs and meetings; and contracts with a private security service to patrol the community,
- A community association devoted to preserving the community’s traditions, architecture and appearance by representing it before the local legislature and administrative agencies in zoning, traffic and parking matters,
- An organization that tries to encourage industrial development and relieve unemployment in an area by making loans to businesses so they will relocate to the area, and
- An organization that holds an annual festival of regional customs and tradition.
Not only is it a wild stretch of the imagination to place the Democrat-leaning SaveNIC nonprofit into any of these 501(c)(4) categories, but all such civic organizations are restricted from primarily engaging in political advocacy for or against any candidate for public office.
The requirements for exemption on the IRS website states, “To be operated exclusively to promote social welfare, an organization must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community (such as by bringing about civic betterment and social improvements)…The promotion of social welfare does not include direct or indirect participation or intervention in political campaigns on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.”
It certainly looks like SaveNIC fragrantly violates the provision that prohibits 501(c)(4) entities from primarily engaging in political campaigns. A scroll through the SaveNIC’s social media pages and review of its advertisements in The Coeur d’Alene Press and social media sites, shows that not only is Hazel’s SaveNIC directly promoting specific candidates for public office, it also directly opposes candidates for public office. In fact, one of SaveNIC’s earliest advertisements was a three-page ad demanding the resignation of NIC Board Chair Todd Banducci.
Any objective observer can clearly see that political advocacy for and against candidates is the primary activity that SaveNIC engages in — well that and the unrelenting lies about the college being on the edge of destruction.
Can someone please explain how the continuous harassment of college trustees coupled with the fear-mongering over accreditation by Hazel and SaveNIC et al. furthers “the common good and general welfare of the people” in our beloved North Idaho community?
SaveNIC (synonymous with Hazel herself) calls Save NIC Now a “sister organization.” The PAC was approved on January 10, 2024. By November 4, the PAC reported $114,360 in contributions. Expect a slew of ads attacking conservative candidates to hit before election day. SaveNIC has a full war-chest to spend as it works to spread false narratives about the state of the college and promote its endorsed candidates.
It is the opinion of this publication that Hazel and her band of cohorts at SaveNIC and Save NIC Now are actively harming our community, shamelessly engaging in political campaigns for and against political candidates in violation of the rules for nonprofit 501(c)(4), and regularly dishonest in all matters relating to our community college.
SaveNIC treats this community with contempt by disseminating outright lies and intentionally misrepresenting the accreditation review at the college. SaveNIC and Save NIC Now cannot be trusted, and by extension, the candidates who are supported by them cannot be trusted. Do the individuals funding SaveNIC’s shameful actions realize that they have been lied to? We suggest you check the list of Save NIC Now donors and ask them.
Updated: October 26, 2024 at 4:59 p.m. to include additional details about Hazel, Coleman, and Goedde.
Updated: November 4, 2024 at 6:37 p.m. to reflect approval date of Save NIC Now PAC, status of Jim Coleman as the PAC’s Chairperson, and the PAC’s reported contributions.
