Posted on 12/08/2001 12:25:12 AM PST by Jim Robinson
Neither. A not for profit does not have to be a charity.
Man, you must have a full wardrobe of teflon suits ;)
I was on the board of a nonprofit conservative business club. We did fine until it came to supporting candidates. We got around that by saying we were only supporting candidates who were members of our club. We thanked our members for stepping up to the plate and running for office. But on this board, with no controls, I don't think we could get away with supporting GWB, etc. and still maintain our nonprofit status.
Which also happens to be one of the most interesting sources of news ANYWHERE on the net! Thanks JimRob for keeping it going for us!
And, because of the fact that we advocate various political positions and even support (by arguing for or against) various political candidates and or conservative issues or causes, I cannot qualify as a public benefit non-profit charity (501C, etc.).
You know you can write that a million times and still some people don't want to understand
Amazing.
God Bless you.
The host performs its task of providing educational forums according to a theme (that's the non-profit's sole function vis a vis the IRS) and does not endorse the content expressed by invited guests.
I guarantee this will work.
But, there are downsides to non-profits. If I were Jim I would know both sides or, since going non-profit would appear to have many advantages, become thoroughly famliar with non-profit administration and regs by asking those among his friends and contacts who have done it before.
FR is not just your avocation, Jim. It is the avocation that we FReepers all share.
I don't look at my monthly contribution as a gift, nor a requirement. I look at it as an investment. My concern is for my children. Seeing the direction the country was going, especially during the clinton years was what turned me from a mere political junkie to a sign-carrying protestor. FR provided the rallying point for all of us to band together and accomplish a LOT in the past 4 years!
I sincerely thank you and John for FR. The country is a better place because of FR, and the Robinsons!
FR is what it is, but it also seems to have a life of its own that may not be as controlable as desired. No doubt much legal advise will be offered that may help you and us.
Thank you Jim.
Through FReep Mail, Grampa Dave and I expressed the same sentiments. Our country would be leaderless at this stage if it weren't for Free Republic.
And that right there, is how I have viewed each of my contributions to FR. Anyone who sends FR a donation (or gift) expecting to have control over the system, special "access" or favors granted, special treatment in any way, or somehow thinking that they can demand "financial accountability" is seriously mistaken.
Donations are "gifts" and go with no strings attached.
Just my view.
Au contraire. FR provides one of the most valuable services on the 'net, IMO. It is the only forum that I am aware of, where Conservatives (and non-Conservatives) can get together and have the conversations that we do, right here.
FR has been my "lifeline" at times over the past few years that I've been here. It is the first place I come to for news and opinion on a variety of topics. Often, my own opinion is either validated/solidified or swayed based on the intelligent, cogent opinion of others that I have read here.
I challenge ANYONE to name another website like FR. There is none. And that's why IMO FreeRepublic provides a very valuable service on the 'net.
You are far too humble Jim. :)
It's not much of a leap at all. Think about this for a moment. From Barbara Olson's comments (God rest her soul) to Registered's "Sore/Loserman" graphic to the recent "Lets Roll" campaign (which also originated here on FR) it's probably safe to say that FR is "monitored" by both political camps.
Time and again, I've seen & heard "one liners" quoted directly off of FR on Rush, some of the Sunday Talking Heads shows, Sean Hannity reading directly off of FR, and even the democRATS themselves trying to refute the comments made HERE, without anyone in the Republican Party saying nary a word.
It's a beautiful thing. I find myself often commenting to my better half "we said that on FR!" when the lamestream media finally catches up to US!
Often the best comments posted here are biting, hard-hitting, incisive and cutting edge. This is when FR is at it's best, IMO. The impeachment of Clinton was one of FR's hilights, since so many here were so active in that effort, and the Florida Election debacle was another. I continue to believe to this day that without FR, Republicans & Conservatives (the two are not always the same) wouldn't have stood up and done what we did in Florida, to secure the rightful victory that was President Bush's.
FR's influence is far and wide. Our only "problem" is that we do not measure that influence, and exercize it as much as we can and should. We need to find a tool with which to measure and document FR's successes. We "know" what they are, we just don't measure, document, and credit ourselves for them as much or well as we should.
( /soapbox)
Free Republic is something new, both in scope (world-wide) and application (letting total strangers converse and debate).
It's kind of sad, really, to think about a government, or any regulatory body, that through its bureaucracy would try to impose rules and regulations based on OTHER THINGS that Free Republic is not. Maybe, Free Republic will be gone soon, because of this, or push the government to consider new ideas and ways of defining things. So right now, we may be in a golden age that some will look back on as the beginning of the common man's participation and control of his own life.
At least I hope so.
Once you settle, make this a subscription site. You've got 70,000+ registered users here, and who knows how many regular users, yet less than 1000 Freepers contributed to the last fundraiser here. Ditch the leakers. The network overhead needs to be plannable and affordable to the number of anticipated users. That truth is the legacy of all the dead dotcoms. Hey, make everybody who uses this site invest in this site. If they're not willing to pony $20 annually for access here, they don't value this resource and they shouldn't be using the forum in the first place.
Just my $.02 from someone who cares about this joint.
Thanks for letting us share in your hobby!
God bless you and God bless America!
Good point, and that's what I do with mine. In the "comments" section I say it's a gift to be used however JimRob deems necessary. That means he can use it to help pay the mortgage, put food on the table, run FR or pay down some legal bills, I don't care.
Which brings me to the larger point that you touch on: If it's specified as a GIFT to JimRob, up to $10,000 is TAX FREE for Jim. That means he doesn't have to pay taxes on it, and it gives him more "income" with which to support FR or himself. Perhaps we should change the donation screen and add a check-box to specify "gift" for the next fundraiser to help make this easier.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.