[Noisebridge-discuss] oscilloscope etc. over abundance

[Andy Isaacson]

On Mon, Jun 08, 2009 at 03:01:00PM -0700, Christie Dudley wrote:
> Hrm.  First of all, with a 501(c)3 charitable status (or even hoping to get
> it), I believe we have legal restrictions on who we can give stuff to.

Yes, once things are donated to Noisebridge, as a Public Benefit
Nonprofit we have obligations on how we dispose of them.  It is possible
for us to legitimately give or sell donations to others -- members,
nonmembers, companies, and other nonprofits -- but we have to do so in
specific ways.

We haven't yet developed the necessary systems to do this properly.

So, please don't take donations away from Noisebridge until we have
figured out how we want to do it.  (Mostly this has to do with
record-keeping and avoiding the appearance of self-dealing, IIUC.  But I
haven't talked it over with our legal advisor, so my understanding may
not be complete.)

> Otherwise, this sort of organization could become just a huge tax dodge.

Yes, in the worst case there are tax implications, but I'm more worried
about our moral obligations to each other and our community.

-andy