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.
