Maxie's HOUSE Nonprofit

Dina Shacknai started a nonprofit in memory of her son, Max, in 2012. The premise of her nonprofit is that Max was "unsafe" in his "blended family", despite the fact that there were never any reports or allegations of neglect or abuse prior to his death, there were no custody disputes, and by every measure, Max was healthy and thriving in his blended family. Initially, the nonprofit held some fundraisers, put up a website with "resources" for divorced parents, and mounted an effort to influence AZ state legislation that failed spectacularly (right around the time Dina was named a defendant in the $10 million Wrongful Death Lawsuit filed in 2013 by the Zahau plaintiffs).

IMO, DS's motivations with starting this nonprofit were less than "pure". It was a three-pronged effort, IMO, to: deflect attention from herself for any involvement in Rebecca's death; continue to smear Rebecca's memory; and an opportunity to engage with her ex-husband Jonah in "competitive memorial nonprofits", after he started Max in Motion. Rebecca provided a great deal of care to Max in the last 2 years of their lives, and there was intense conflict and aggression from Dina toward Rebecca during that time, according to numerous references and reports available to the public.

Since early 2013, there has been little to no activity discussed or documented on the nonprofit website, and the last activity of this nonprofit appears to be the production of a YouTube video posted February 17, 2013. Several board members were replaced, 2 years ago, but no further activity such as fundraisers or donations to or from the nonprofit is recorded.

GuideStar and Charity Navigator both indicate, IMO, that this is essentially a "dead or dying" nonprofit that has not been closed formally-- forms 990 were filed for 2012, 2013, and 2014, showing a decline from $175,000 revenue in 2012, to $5000 in 2014. The 990 for 2015 is not yet posted. The overwhelming indicators are that the nonprofit has been essentially inactive for their stated mission and objectives for over 2 years of it's 4 year lifespan.

I'm not going to place links to the nonprofit or youtube here, but readers can search if interested-- members may want to consider the exposure of their IP address if they choose to go to these sites.

This is the most current Charity Navigator rating:

EIN 45-5639906
Name in IRS Master File MAXIES HOUSE
Street Address 8390 E VIA DE VENTURA
City, State, Zip SCOTTSDALE, AZ 85258-3188
NTEE Code P70
NTEE Classification Residential, Custodial Care
NTEE Type Human Services - Multipurpose and Other
Classification Charitable Organization
Subsection 501(c)(3)  (View the list of codes)
Activities
Foundation Status Organization which receives a substantial part of its support from a governmental unit or the general public   170(b)(1)(A)(vi)
Deductibility Contributions are deductible
Affiliation Independent - the organization is an independent organization or an independent auxiliary (i.e., not affiliated with a National, Regional, or Geographic grouping of organizations).
Group Name [Not Applicable]
Ruling Date September, 2012
Asset Amount $45,650
Income Amount $5,312
Form 990 Revenue Amount $5,063
Latest Form 990 Return December, 2014
Filing Requirement 990 - Required to file Form 990-N - Income less than $50,000 per year
Fiscal Year End December
IRS Forms 990
(provided courtesy of Foundation Center) (Log In or Register Now to View Forms 990!)
December, 2014
December, 2013
December, 2012

https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.profile&ein=455639906

And GuideStar:

http://www.guidestar.org/profile/45-5639906

*The graphs at GuideStar tell the story of the dying nonprofit.