[hackerspaces] US hackerspaces - corporation formation and 501(c)3 status

[Mitch Altman]

Doing 501(c)(3) is a pain in the ass for everyone equally -- it is independent of your organization.  There are lots of forms to fill out, questions to answer, budgets, bylaws, etc., etc.  On the other hand, the process is fairly straigh-forward -- you just have to go through it all.  We hired a lawyer who is experienced at bringing forming organizations from a bunch of internal discussions to acceptance of 501(c)(3) status -- she charged us $2,000 for all this.  If you can find a lawyer who is into what you're doing, as we did, maybe you can raise the money, as we did, to hire them to help out.  I am way glad we've had our lawyer's help in all this.

 

 

The IRS examiner's job is not to see whether they think your organization is worthwhile, but to see if it fits into the public benefit category of non-profit you're requesting, that it is viably financially, and especially to make sure that no one can take advantage of the organization to evade paying their share of taxes.

 

 

So, it really does not matter if you are promoting widgets, saving whales, feeding kids, or promoting community through education via hacking and hackers.  If you have a mission that fits in with a public benefit, have all the paperwork done, and jump through all the hoops, you can get 501(c)(3) status.

 

 

Mitch.

 

 


 

-------------------

 
> Date: Mon, 15 Jun 2009 08:27:09 -0700
> From: noid23 at gmail.com
> To: discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> Subject: Re: [hackerspaces] US hackerspaces - corporation formation and 501(c)3 status
> 
> I'd really be keen on learning more about the whole process. We here
> at the Lodge had thought about going that route but backed off because
> it looked insanely complicated and a mutual friend of ours who runs a
> charity (gets schoolbooks and educational materials to poor kids in
> Africa) talked about what a PitA it was. We figured if the guy who was
> helping poor kids in Africa had a hell of a time getting his set up, a
> pack of hackers in a rented workspace would probably not stand a
> chance.
> 
> Nick, maybe you and I could pow-wow for a bit at Toorcamp, its been a
> while since we caught up anyways..Shame my current batch of homebrew
> wont be ready in time..I still have plenty of homebrew cider though..
> 
> PGP Key ID: 0x0517358E
> "None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they
> are free" - Goethe
> --
> 
> 
> 
> On Mon, Jun 15, 2009 at 8:05 AM, Nick Farr (HacDC)<nickfarr at hacdc.org> wrote:
> > On Sun, Jun 14, 2009 at 15:38, Mitch Altman <maltman23 at hotmail.com> wrote:
> >>
> >> At Noisebridge we also went the 501(c)(3) route.  We got a bunch of
> >> questions back from the IRS examiner, and answered them all last week.  We
> >> should hear back soon.
> >
> > Hey Mitch!  Do you think anyone at Noisebridge would mind if you shared
> > those questions and your responses back?
> >
> > I've had to answer similar questions for other non-profits in the past, and
> > I think it'd be really helpful for others filing their apps to see what the
> > IRS is interested in finding out!
> >
> > Hope to see you guys at ToorCamp!
> >
> > --
> > Nick Farr / http://nickfarr.org
> > Washington, DC, 20013-1208 | +1 (202) 316-5850 | Fax: +1 (866) 536-2616
> > Sent from Washington, DC, United States
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
> >
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