WordPress Foundation Launches Website

[andreasnrb]

The donate page should be up in a few days it says. But I think they need to give A LOT more information before anyone should consider donating.

[Ryan]

The donate page should be up in a few days it says. But I think they need to give A LOT more information before anyone should consider donating.

Yah!

It looks like you are effectively donating to Matt Mullenweg's business right now, which I'm assuming is not the case.

[Ryan]

FYI, apparently the 501(c)3 thing they refer to is some sort of USA tax thing.

I found some information about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)


Off-topic: From what I can tell in that article the non-profit needs to pay a US$400 yearly fee to the government. What the hell kinda of non-profit help is that? Charging someone to be a non-profit???

[chipbennett]

FYI, apparently the 501(c)3 thing they refer to is some sort of USA tax thing.

I found some information about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)


Off-topic: From what I can tell in that article the non-profit needs to pay a US$400 yearly fee to the government. What the hell kinda of non-profit help is that? Charging someone to be a non-profit???

1) It helps ensure a significant increase in charitable giving, because donations to 501(c)3 orgs are tax-deductible.

2) Profits are not taxed.

So, a 501(c)3 org is likely to bring in (and keep) *far* more than the $400 yearly fee.

[andreasnrb]

WikiHow has an article too http://www.wikihow.com/Start-a-501c3...t-Organization

[Ryan]

<off-topic>

1) It helps ensure a significant increase in charitable giving, because donations to 501(c)3 orgs are tax-deductible.

2) Profits are not taxed.

So, a 501(c)3 org is likely to bring in (and keep) *far* more than the $400 yearly fee.

Yeah, I get that. I've setup non-profits in NZ before, but we just pay NZ$150 (~US$120) as a one-off fee. We then never have to pay bank-fees, tax, or anything else ever again. I'd be pretty pissed if the NZ government started billing my grandma's scrabble club US$400 per year just so that they didn't have to pay tax. In fact I don't think non-profits need to file a tax return unless they earn over a certain amount in NZ.

We have basically the same sort of system, but we don't shaft our non-profits with a yearly fee.</off-topic>

[chipbennett]

<off-topic>


Yeah, I get that. I've setup non-profits in NZ before, but we just pay NZ$150 (~US$120) as a one-off fee. We then never have to pay bank-fees, tax, or anything else ever again. I'd be pretty pissed if the NZ government started billing my grandma's scrabble club US$400 per year just so that they didn't have to pay tax. In fact I don't think non-profits need to file a tax return unless they earn over a certain amount in NZ.

We have basically the same sort of system, but we don't shaft our non-profits with a yearly fee.</off-topic>

Oh, and just a note: I've been involved with 501(c)3's before, and I don't ever remember paying an annual fee. Granted, ours was a 501(c)3 that was subordinate to another 501(c)3 - so perhaps they paid that fee. I don't know.

[Otto]

FYI, apparently the 501(c)3 thing they refer to is some sort of USA tax thing.

I found some information about it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/501(c)

Off-topic: From what I can tell in that article the non-profit needs to pay a US$400 yearly fee to the government. What the hell kinda of non-profit help is that? Charging someone to be a non-profit???

It's a filing fee, basically. And in terms of taxes, $400 is nothing. Normal taxes on a for-profit organization of the same type would be in the 30% range or thereabouts.

Note that "non-profits" are not like your grandma's scrabble club. Non-profits are a special class of entity. Donating to a non-profit is tax deductible for the individuals doing the donating. Meaning that if I give a non-profit $100, that's $100 I can deduct from my income for tax purposes. More or less.

Also, your grandma's scrabble club likely would actually not quality as a non-profit organization. Unless you wanted to classify them as a "national or international sports organization" or something. Becoming an actual 501c.3 org is a big deal which requires special circumstances.

Finally, generally speaking, public non-profit groups don't have to file anything at all unless they pull in more than $5000 a year.

Also realize that normal groups that simply collect and pool money for a common cause are not taxable organizations in the first place. Example: My BBQ team has a fee to join, in the $250 range. That money is spent on all the equipment, setup, beer, etc. that goes into throwing the big party. We usually spend in the $20-30k range, but none of that is taxable, as it's not income and the team is not a taxable entity. It's not an entity period, it's simply a bunch of people pooling their money together.

[Jeffro]

Looking forward to see what this means for the future of wordpress in greater detail. I wonder if that's a large load off his chest to finally launch the foundation to the public.

[andreasnrb]

Matt will be in charge forever and they won't control anything. At least that what I understood from his response.