Mary,
Ryan said it best about the volunteer point system.
As for selling bikes, we here at the Bicycle Kitchen in LA ran into
this same wall when applying for our 501c3. We had to say that we
will not sell bikes, so we continually tell "clients," "We are not a
retail shop. We do not SELL bicycles. What we have our bikes and
bike frames that have been donated to us that the public can come and
pick out as a Project Bicycle. With the help of a Cook, you learn to
build it up. In exchange we ask for a donation based on the quality
of the bike, how much new parts it needed and how much you, the client
can afford to contribute. We never turn anyone away for lack of funds."
It's all about (for us) making sure that any "sales" are based around
our education mission. We also collect sales tax on new items like
cables and chains, tubes etc.
Hope this helps.
Kelly On Aug 15, 2011, at 11:00 AM, Mary Bergeron wrote:
Hi friends,
I'm a volunteer at Recycle-A-Bike here in Providence, RI. We are in
the middle of applying for 501c3 status and have hit a few road
blocks. I was wondering if any folks have applied for 501c3 or are
also in the middle of it, and can offer some advice. Basically, my
questions are:
- Do any 501c3 shops also have a volunteer point system? At RAB, we
award volunteers "points" for putting in time, and they can later
cash these points in for used parts or time in the shop. We don't
want to get rid of this system, but the IRS finds this problematic
for 501c3.
- Do any shops sell bikes as a 501c3? Have shops set up both models-
such as a for-profit bike shop to sell bikes and an affiliated non- profit to run community programs? So far bike sales keep us
sustainable, so we really want to keep this up as a nonprofit.Thanks for any insight! Sorry if a similar email was already sent
out by another RAB person...we're all trying to collect as much info
as we can.cheers,
Mary
-- Mary Bergeron Funds/Outreach Coordinator c: 508.265.2904 p: 508.273.7101 www.recycleabike.org
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Kelly Martin, Operations Facilitator The Bicycle Kitchen/La Bicicocina 706 N. Heliotrope Dr., Los Angeles, CA 90029
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