This doesn't seem to have posted. Also the WTS has pointed to the disaster relief programs they have but leaving out that the vast majority of people helped are their own members. Some non-jws may be helped like the non-jw spouse of a jw.
Something I had never thought about re: the Borg's nonprofit status
by dubstepped 31 Replies latest jw friends
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blondie
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dubstepped
Yes, they do claim to do charitable work as to disaster zones, though we have also heard that they send brothers in after the volunteers do all of the work and leave on their own dimes and then they ask for the insurance checks.
So yeah, they are definitely kings of obfuscation and weasel words. I'm reading the publication and form 1023 but my eyes are getting blurry at this point and I'm not sure how much I care to dig in. I just thought it was an interesting point that made a lot of sense in giving them something to report that would be the crux of their supposed charitable work of preaching which is the main work that they do.
Or maybe simply qualifying as a church gives one all they truly need. The form 1023 requests more specifics and then there are mentions of "other circumstances" that are unclear that are taken into consideration. I guess without talking directly to a governmental entity that makes such decisions it would be hard to know anything for sure. It's still interesting to me, all of it.
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poopie
Great
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Nathan Natas
GREAT idea, Dubstepped!
I liked what Roseofjuly shared: "Nonprofits don't have to do anything charitable. There are lots of different kinds of nonprofits; not all of them do charitable works...501(c)(3) status is "exclusively for religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, or for testing for public safety, or ...for the prevention of cruelty to children or animals."
An XJW nonprofit could easily be involved in these activities - or a separate nonprofit could be formed for each purpose. I would happily contribute to such an organization.
In fact... this may sound crazy at first... couldn't Simon set up JWD as a non-profit?
I have a tiny bit of coincidental experience with non-profit organizations due to my interest in martial arts. I was surprised a few years... OK, many years... ago when I learned that a lot of the martial arts dojos in my area (Seattle WA, USA) were being run as nonprofit organizations. Of course, MOST dojos (of any nationality - I'm using the word "dojos" to include any martial arts training hall, even boxing gyms) have a time-honored tradition of not making any money unless they were run as "Black Belt mills" that handed out black belts to any six-year-old who could make a kick while screaming a "Kiai!" at the same time (I'm exaggerating for your literary amusement) OR if the dojo was owned by a movie-star martial arts "master" like Seagull Sensei teaching Cobra-kai dim-sum kung-fu. Let me tell you, THAT MAN knows how to eat a bowl of noodles - or three bowls, if he's challenged! But I digress...
...So, these Seattle dojos are set up as non-profit cultural and educational organizations. You won't learn conversational Japanese or Korean or Filipino from these schools, but you might learn what "Rei!" means, or how to do "sumbrata" and you might be introduced to Zen meditation or the Tea Ceremony, depending on the school.
But even here, where it is so common, there are misunderstanding about what being nonprofit means. One teacher I spoke with seemed certain that it would mean he could not charge for his teaching, which is his major source of income. He could not imagine that as a nonprofit his earnings might increase.
I've thought about becoming a church - "The First Church of Man Without Gods" - but I don't mind paying income taxes. Somebody has to support the Gweilos and Wogs, right?
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OrphanCrow
Volunteer hours are important to nonprofits when the nonprofit is applying for grants. Most granting agencies require proof of volunteers in order to qualify.
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dubstepped
I am dealing with a local person that sets up nonprofits for children's hospitals and that does major fundraising. The original goal was to raise funds for things like deposits on housing for people thrown out on the streets (often due to domestic violence or young people that get shunned), for college scholarships, for job skills training, and for therapy.
Essentially setting up a nonprofit is starting a business. It is starting a corporation with a board and everything and almost a proof of concept, proving that you can raise funds. There is a lot of paperwork to do, we'll need a lawyer and an accountant, and to set up a board. Ultimately from a fundraising perspective this is sales and marketing. My contact thinks that the scholarship option is the best one. It needs to be focused on one thing. So it appears that will be my focus going forward but she is pitching the ideas to some local proven donors to get some qualified feedback. I should be meeting her again tomorrow to see where we stand on this.
Doing this made me look at this whole thing differently, and then when I interviewed this person and she linked the time slips to the nonprofit side of things it made sense to me if they aren't taking in money and spending it directly linked to charitable pursuits. It seems as though there needs to be something to use to quantify the results and that the time slips are it. It may simply be that qualifying as a church creates a nonprofit entity by default, but there is some ambiguity there and my adhd brain couldn't stand reading anymore tax rules for the moment.
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dubstepped
You trying to say something with those last two book recommendations? Lol.
Nolo puts out quality stuff. I've used them before.
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Nathan Natas
Hi Dubstepped,
When the "...for Dummies" imprint started, I thought it was a terrible business decision and that it insulted their intended audience.
Then I realized that there were MANY subjects about which I was indeed a "dummy," and I have report cards that prove it!
I still feel that the tag is irksome, but I have become more tolerant
as my mind has declined. <-- free poetry! Get yours now!
I meant no offense, but the NOLO books are better, as you implied.
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dubstepped
Oh, no worries Nathan, I knew you were just sharing quality stuff. I have no qualms saying that I'm a dummy in many areas of life. We all start out ignorant of many things and have to learn somewhere. The goal is not to stay a dummy when you come up against something where you need to learn.