fundraising/hosting (was Re: [Theforum] inventory)

[matt g.]

> From: "aardvark" <roselli at earthlink.net>

> having NFP status, however, makes donations much more
> attractive to everyone involved...

<not an accountant>
Actually, I made a contribution to the evolt/meo/djc fund in December and,
as far as I'm concerned, it's a *business* expense. Evolt offers me services
and information which I use for my business. I pay for the value of the
information I receive. In this case, i figured it was worth at least as much
as 2 of those $50 3-inch-thick books.

That seems like a legitimate business deduction to me - and it's much better
than a NFP deduction, which comes after paying Self Employment taxes on the
amount...
</not an accountant>

So, NFP reassures new folks - but after spending a lot of time on the evolt
fringe I feel comfortable giving even without the NFP status. If it's not
deductible, it still doesn't matter too much. I was actually looking at it
as spending part of the pointless tax rebate I got this summer. I gave *all*
of that money away.

matt g