Fundraising question

[Benjamin Root]

I was just chatting with Thomas Caswell about setting up a Indigogo page for selling products with some of the Matplotlib logos (stickers, patches, mugs, etc.) for fundrasing purposes. I was wondering how feasible that would be in a non-profit context and given that we are planning to register various trademarks soon through NumFocus.

Thanks,

Ben Root

[Travis Oliphant]

I think this should be just fine.   Numfocus can support this as it is consistent with it's non-profit status.    Products purchased in this way are not donations, but should also not be taxable.

Here is a quote from http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/taxes-nonprofit-corporation-earnings-30284.html

In other words, your nonprofit can make a profit. Whether or not a nonprofit's income is taxable depends on whether the activities are related to the nonprofit's purpose.

Making a Profit From "Related" Activities

Tax-exempt nonprofits often make money as a result of their activities and use it to cover expenses. In fact, this income can be essential to an organization's survival. As long as a nonprofit's activities are associated with the nonprofit's purpose, any profit made from them isn't taxable.

Let's take as an example a group called Friends of the Library, Inc. It's a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (which means it has a federal tax exemption), organized to encourage the appreciation of literature and to raise money for the support and improvement of the local public library. It makes a profit from a lecture series featuring famous authors and from an annual volunteer-run sale of donated books.

Because these activities are educational and literary in nature, they do not jeopardize the group's tax-exempt status, and the proceeds from them are not taxable. The organization may use this income for its own operating expenses (including salaries for officers and staff) or for the benefit of the local library. What it cannot do is distribute any of the income to the nonprofit's officers, directors, or others connected with Friends of the Library.

-Travis

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Travis Oliphant

CEO

Continuum Analytics, Inc.

http://www.continuum.io

[Benjamin Root]

Ok, so that is good to know that we are able to raise funds in this manner (not that I am expecting much, but I figured it would be a neat way to get the brand out there). How do we go about getting this set up? Right now, I am looking at Zazzle.com, but I am trying to find other sites like it. Do we want to make this a community store where not only matplotlib branded things can be purchased, but also other member projects could benefit from this?

Cheers!

Ben Root

[Eric Firing]

Travis,

I don't see how selling swag can be considered "related to the
nonprofit's purpose" in the case of a software project like matplotlib.
Maybe there is some other criterion that would make it non-taxable.

Eric

On 2015/07/08 9:21 AM, Travis Oliphant wrote:
> I think this should be just fine. Numfocus can support this as it is
> consistent with it's non-profit status. Products purchased in this
> way are not donations, but should also not be taxable.
>
> Here is a quote from
> http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/taxes-nonprofit-corporation-earnings-30284.html
>
> In other words, your nonprofit can make a profit. Whether or not a
> nonprofit's income is taxable depends on whether the activities are
> related to the nonprofit's purpose.
>
>
> Making a Profit From "Related" Activities
>
> Tax-exempt nonprofits often make money as a result of their activities
> and use it to cover expenses. In fact, this income can be essential to
> an organization's survival. As long as a nonprofit's activities are
> associated with the nonprofit's purpose, any profit made from them isn't
> taxable.
>
> Let's take as an example a group called Friends of the Library, Inc.
> It's a 501(c)(3)

> <http://www.nolo.com/dictionary/501(c)(3)-term.html> nonprofit (which

> <mailto:numfocus+u...@googlegroups.com>.

> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
>
>
>
>
> --
>
> Travis Oliphant
> CEO
> Continuum Analytics, Inc.
> http://www.continuum.io
>

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> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google
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> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send
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[Jason Moore]

A 501c(3) is not restricted from selling merchandise to further their cause. You are also not restricted to selling merchandise at cost either, you can make money that expands the organization's coffers. I worked for a 501c(3) for 8 years and we were able to maintain our non-profit tax exempt status and the primary method we raised money was through selling services and merchandise. Think about Goodwill...

Selling merchandise with a markup is legal.

Jason
moorepants.info
+01 530-601-9791

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