[foundation-board] OSS and charity, 501c3

Thu Sep 22 12:55:00 UTC 2016

This is what I know:

The IRS declines all applications for NPO status for orgs that primarily
produce FOSS, or appear to produce FOSS as their core business.  Their
reasoning is that they are building something of commercial benefit for
others and that has commercial value (never mind that it is free and not
possible to lock down), or that that org does not derive direct commercial
benefit - it is a blanket no.  This make it very diff for them to raise
money as it cancels out anyone looking for a tax deduction, and those that
will only fund 501c3's.

See: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/05/us/politics/irs
-scrutiny-went-beyond-the-political.html?_r=1

and : http://blog.cashmusic.org/post/54699615496/the-problem-with-the-irs
-and-open-source-logic

HT

On 19 September 2016 at 17:01, Tim Hubbard <timjph at gmail.com> wrote:

> I wrote to Jamie Love, Director of Knowledge Ecology International in US
> about whether he’d heard anything about 501c3 applications being queried
> over OSS connections.  Apparently he hasn’t.  He’s talking about sending in
> a FOIA to the IRS.  Are there any more precise information I could send to
> him about stories on the US side of organisations that have had trouble?
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Tim
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Tim Hubbard
> timjph at gmail.com @timjph
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
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-- 
Helen Turvey (King)

CEO
Shuttleworth Foundation

website: www.shuttleworthfoundation.org
twitter: @helenturvey
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