[TheThinkTank] Fancy Parts

[Erik Ryberg]

Hey all--

Yes, you can sell stuff and make huge wads of money on it and still be a 
501(c)(3)-- but the profits have to go back to the corporation, not into 
the pockets of the board of directors.  Non-profit means you don't have 
shareholders and you don't distribute earnings.  In the for-profit 
world, you calculate how much money you made and then decide what 
portion of that profit to distribute to shareholders.  In the non-profit 
world, it has to go back to your corporation and mission somehow.  (That 
doesn't mean you never get to raise salaries when you start making more, 
it just means you can't distribute profits.)

All this is general info and subject to lots of weird exceptions, but 
when it comes to selling of your high-end Italian parts to collectors 
you are going to be just fine.

Erik Ryberg

veganboyjosh at gmail.com wrote:
> IANAL and all that, but it's my understanding that as a non-profit, you 
> can sell whatever you want. as long as selling stuff isn't part of your 
> main mission, or it doesn't conflict with that mission, then it's all 
> good...
> 
> humane society can sell mugs and sweatshirts, but not dogs.
> red cross can sell bookmarks and keychains, but not blood.
> 
> by "sell", i don't mean charge for. each of the examples above has fees 
> associated with their services, but they don't turn a profit on it, or 
> else it would conflict with their doing their mission, and create a 
> situation where that's the main goal of the group is to earn money...etc.
> 
> 
> 
> On Wed, May 7, 2008 at 3:45 PM, ronald ferrucci 
> <ronald.ferrucci at gmail.com <mailto:ronald.ferrucci at gmail.com>> wrote:
> 
>     I am not sure on the legality for 501c3s, but at least ethically there
>     should be no problem. No one is making a profit off the additional
>     income. Hell, we are lucky to ever be out of the red as it is most of
>     the time. If you have something that you have that you can sell at a
>     premium in order to help pay rent and utilities or fund various
>     programs, by god do it. That is where most of the 'income' of most
>     groups go to anyway. And as someone who has been used to working with
>     negative profit groups, I can appreciate the idea of less money coming
>     out of my pocket. Just consider it an easier way to keep the program
>     afloat. anyone have the inside scoop on legalities?
> 
>     On Wed, May 7, 2008 at 11:00 PM, Erik Stockmeier <estockme at gmail.com
>     <mailto:estockme at gmail.com>> wrote:
>      > Question!
>      >
>      > What the heck does everybody's shop do with fancy items of
>     special worth to
>      > collectors?  For example... perhaps you come upon a donation of
>     half a dozen
>      > 70s unused campi sidepull break sets.  Your stock of breaks is
>     full, so
>      > throwing them in the bin or selling them for 5$ or shlepping them
>     on a
>      > Roadmaster seems like a waste.  Is it ethically ok for a
>     non-profit to
>      > occasionally indulge collectors as a source of surplus income?
>      What about
>      > legally for a 501c3?  Is it necessary to launder them through a
>     "buyer" who
>      > sells them at profit and donates the difference?
>      >
>      > Erik
>      > _______________________________________________
>      >  Thethinktank mailing list
>      >  Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
>     <mailto:Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org>
>      >
>      >
>     http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
>      >
>      >
>     _______________________________________________
>     Thethinktank mailing list
>     Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
>     <mailto:Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org>
>     http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Thethinktank mailing list
> Thethinktank at bikecollectives.org
> http://lists.bikecollectives.org/listinfo.cgi/thethinktank-bikecollectives.org


-- 
Erik B. Ryberg	
Attorney at Law
445 West Simpson Street
Tucson, AZ 85701
phone: (520) 622-3333
fax: (520) 792-6677