The Pan-African Family Empowerment & Land Preservation Network, Inc."Connecting & Empowering All Branches of Our African Family Tree"
OUR SERVICES
Our PAFEN Headquarters Office is located in the Regions Bank Building, 69 Roberts Smalls Parkway, Suite 3B, in Beaufort, SC 29906.
The current Office Hours are on Wednesdays and Fridays--by appointment only--from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Other appointment times can be arranged by calling 843-592-6076.
We've made every effort to provide our substantial list of services to Gullah-Geechee and other African-American property owners for free since 2015. And our literature, and STAND4LAND TAXPAYER EMPOWERMENT WORKSHOP are free, and available to all S.C. taxpayers regardless or race, or ethnic origin.
But to help defray operating costs, a small $25 application fee for assistance with paying delinquent property taxes, or redeeming auctioned property has been implemented effective March 1, 2018. That's a tiny amount in comparison to the several hundred, or thousands of dollars often required to prevent a property from being sold, or redeeming it after it has already been sold for unpaid taxes.
Our Proposed Services 2018
Educate ministers, and other community leaders about public and private resources available to help families maintain land ownership, especially the Charleston-based Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation.
*Train property owners to use the Beaufort County Government, and other South Carolina county websites to find ways to reduce or eliminate taxes through applicable exemptions; divide property; and lower tax rates for cars, etc.
*Provide financial assistance to pay property taxes to prevent the loss of property through county Delinquent Tax sales, and redeem property already sold for unpaid delinquent taxes.
*Maintain our in-office PAFEN STAND4LAND TAXPAYER EMPOWERMENT Resource Center, and open STAND4LAND TAXPAYER EMPOWERMENT KIOSKS in underserved communities.
*Sponsor an annual free STAND4LAND TAXPAYER EMPOWERMENT WORKSHOP, which will bring in top local, state, and federal experts to inform S.C. taxpayers about various programs and resources designed to sustain long-term property ownership, and create generational wealth.
*Assist homeowners over 65 with applying for Homestead Exemptions, which reduces their tax assessments by $50,000.
*Help property-owners appeal their tax assessments.
*Refer homeowners who need mortgage foreclosure assistance to the Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce; S.C. Help, or S.C. Legal Services.
*Inform property owners about free Beaufort County Black Chamber of Commerce classes to learn about budgeting, debt reduction, and other methods of saving money ways to pay taxes.
*Show landowners how to apply for lower tax rates based on timber and agricultural uses of land.
*Refer families to non-profits, businesses, and government agencies that can help them to use their land to generate money to pay property taxes, including the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation, the S.C. Forestry Commission, and the Small Business Administration.
*Assist families with applying for Installment Property Tax Payments, which allow taxpayers to prepay their upcoming tax bills in up to 6 affordable payments spread over 12 months.
*Network to negotiate for lower land surveying fees, and sources of shallow septic tank systems for low-lying property.
*And assist with registration for our one-time per family, one-year tax grants through PAFEN’s Taxpayer Lottery.
DONATE VIA PAYPAL
DONATE via GOFUNDME
Your employer may match your donation!
PAFEN is a 501c3 tax exempt non-profit organization. All donations to us are considered tax deductible charitable contributions under IRS guidelines.
WHY DONATE?
1. Things ain’t looking too good for the home team: Gullah Geechee families like Eddie Grant, Jr.’s on Hilton Head Island, (left), have been able to keep their land. But many other families near them have fallen like dominoes in the face of upscale development, gentrification, and skyrocketing property taxes.
2. If land rich, but cash poor Gullah/Geechee families lose the land passed down to them by their ancestors, they face becoming homeless, or permanently displaced because they simply can’t afford to replace the highly-coveted land they’ve lived on for generations.
3. Your donation will provide seed money for creating a long-term financial solution to Gullah Geechee land retention. Fish frys; bake sales; yard sales; dinners; raffles; non-renewable timber harvesting; and the sale of agricultural products and seafood just won’t be enough to cover ever-increasing future tax assessments.
4. An Annual Taxpayer Lottery will be established to give one-time, one-year tax payment grants to allow Gullah Geechee households to transition to paying their taxes in installments. That will prevent them from ever facing the possibly of the sale of their land at a Delinquent Tax Sale or auction! No fees will be charged to enter the Taxpayer Lottery. But entrants must take a taxpayer class, and save two installment payments on their taxes to be eligible.
5. You can help reverse the flood of African-American land loss: In 1910, Blacks owned an estimated 15-million acres of farmland, and between 3-million and 4-million non-farm acres of land. But by 1997, their farmland ownership plummeted to just 2.4-million acres, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. In 1999, the Agriculture, Economics, and Land Ownership Survey of the USDA arm of the Census Bureau found just 68,000 rural Black landowners with 7.7-million acres of land, or less than 1% of all privately held land in the U.S.!
6. Much-needed support and referral services for families in need of legal assistance will be funded by your donations.
7. Displaced families will receive help with relocation to affordable housing.
8. Homes and land lost during Delinquent Tax Sales will be redeemed and kept by their original owners.
9. Property owners will be educated about various methods of saving to pay their taxes; lowering their taxes; tax exemptions; and how to apply for Installment Property Tax Payments where they’re allowed by state law and county ordinances.
10. You’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you’ve helped to preserve Gullah/Geechee land for present and future generations.
For all of the reasons above and more, this is a worthy cause! So hurry and make your tax-deductible donation today! IF YOU”RE LOOKING FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE–THIS IS IT!!!!
To read more about how PAFEN is helping Gullah Geechee landowners right now, click here: ‘Our Angel’: New group seeks to help Gullah families reclaim their property.
All your donations are tax deductible, whether you use the donate button below or choose to donate on our GoFundMe page. The only difference is that you can choose to make your donation publicly displayed on the GoFundMe page. If you use the donate button below (in the footer), the receipt for your tax-deductible donation will be sent to your email address. Donations of every size are greatly appreciated!!
HOW CAN I HELP?
DONATE VIA PAYPAL
DONATE via GOFUNDME
Your employer may match your donation!
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