Actually no one does.
I know this is a concept that can be hard for some to grasp, considering all other forms of organizations like Sole proprietorship, General partnership, an LLC, or a For Profit Corporation. These organizations are created legally for the simple purpose of MAKING A PROFIT.
But unlike a for profit corporation,---- A nonprofit corporation is formed to carry out-
“A non-commercial purpose”
Whether that be religious, educational, charitable, scientific or other qualifying purpose.
I am assuming there is a couple of lawyers here, perhaps some accountants, and I have no idea if the laws have changed the past few years regarding nonprofit organization, so you are free to add “New Light” to what I learned a few years ago in College.
First thing is first with a nonprofit organization, which is that Governance responsibility is vested in the board of directors or trustees. I’m not sure who the trustees are for the Watchtower, but I am assuming it is the Governing body. But the trustees are accountable to state and federal authorities to ensure the organization operates in a legally compliant manner and for the purposes outlined at formation-which is NON PROFIT. This is why the Governing Body has sent many jws to law school, so they can have some in house legal minds to maneuver all the legal loop holes to keep the nonprofit organization going. But the trustees still have the power to make the decisions. This may explain why some of the decisions that come out from time to time just seem totally crazy, because it’s eight men with a high school diploma making these crazy decisions.
Then you have the particular law that applies to nonprofit organizations. This law stipulates that in a nonprofit organization, everyone involved in the nonprofit organization is prohibited from acting in a manner that results in private inurement (profit to individuals.) What this means is that any insider like a nonprofit employee that holds board seats or that works for the nonprofit in any capacity cannot abuse their power that will result in personal gain from NON-PROFIT ASSETS. The most common cases of abuse is excess compensation such as salary deemed above what the IRS considers reasonable for the job being done. Using credit for personal expenses is another abuse, and the list goes on. All insider crime committed in nonprofit organizations is defined as the “Inurement- or -profit to individuals” But this point is important to remember,-Not all activities defined as “Inurement are criminal. The courts decide which ones are and which ones are not. A good lawyer helps.
Also, a nonprofit organization like the Watchtower cannot be sold or liquidated with assets going to trustees or members. Again, without an ownership mechanism, it simply isn’t possible. Remember, No One Owns the Watchtower. What it can do is start winding up operations and do the unthinkable, which is distribute all its assets to “another non-profit organization”
You see the law stipulates that if a charitable nonprofit winds down operations, which many think this is what the Watchtower is doing because of the lawsuits and selling of Kingdom Halls, then they only have one alternative, which is that the board of directors must distribute all of the nonprofit’s assets to another 501(c)(3) after all debts have been settled. If I am correct, the Watchtower is a 501(c)(3) so the Governing Body cannot steal millions and hide in the Cayman islands.
But I’m assuming that rather than dissolve the WT corporation and transfer all the asset to another nonprofit, the Governing Body would prefer to run a small nonprofit religious organization with few or no buildings, with perhaps just a couple of million faithful believers, or even a few hundred thousand, who continue to donate and keep their room and board secure.
Right now the trustees which may be the Governing Body or someone else are doing all they can to keep as many believers in the organization who donate faithfully week after week. Also on their agenda is to indoctrinate young ones so they can to take over the donation arrangement after the old ones die, and to continue to fight the child abuse lawsuits and pay as little as possible. And one important point, to keep apostates from revealing the truth about the Watchtower Organization. That truth being that it is not God’s only channel on earth, but just a non-profit organization running on the fumes of gullible and ignorant people’s imaginary future of living forever in a paradise earth.
So the trustees are the ones running the show, making crazy decisions, and the lawyers are helping them navigate the turbulent waters of the law as they come under more scrutiny from more and more people.