Thanks for the offer! I'd definitely be interested in hearing about your tax exempt experiences. I think for a significant portion of that +year we were in line to be reviewed now that we have a case reviewer i hope/expect things to move along. The other issue with our file is hacker spaces are a relatively new phenomenon, some go for 501c7\9 status and others, like us, go for 501c3. A you're aware this requires us to prove our educational intentions and organization. The original application didn't make this case as clearly as the IRS wanted. Hopefully now that they have some examples of our lesson plans, clarification on structure, and bibliographies for our reference library they'll be content. As far as having a retail front, this is allowed for out tax exemption under the unrelated business income clause; income not essential to the accomplishment of our goal. If i remember to tonight I'll send our response to the IRS out to the discuss list once I'm on a real computer (phone currently). There's a version already out there but i changed a few things before mailing it in.
Thanks for your time, Andrew SynHak secretary On Oct 24, 2013 12:16 AM, "Chris Faircloth" <[email protected]> wrote: > Hey guys, > > My name is Chris Faircloth... I know none of you know who I am as I just > recently stopped in (finally) to check things out. I like what you've got > going. > > Chris and Devin mentioned you guys had been dealing with the 501c3 process > for a while but seem to be getting close(r) to getting approval. I was > reading the message about the concern with selling anything through the > group - I would say if you have an avenue to do so, that's a great way to > raise funds for the operation and pretty common among a variety of > non-profits. I have been involved with a couple of neighborhood > organizations that are 501c3 and selling merchandise has been a great > fundraising avenue for them. > > That being said, I checked in with some of the guys that are on the board > of the Highland Square Neighborhood Association who themselves were > approved as a 501c3 not that long ago, and they said they would be glad to > come and talk to you guys about the process and answer any questions that > you may have. If any of you have been to Art In the Square or Porchrokr in > Highland Square you may have noticed they are pretty big on merchandise > sales and were able to navigate that part of the 501c3 application process > successfully. IIRC Chris said your application has been in process for > about a year; by comparison they were able to get from application to > approval in about 4 months so I guess they did pretty well navigating the > minefields of the non-profit approval process. :) > > They are really nice, approachable people and may also be a good > connection to have in general. > > If you think it would be beneficial to speak with them let me know a few > days/times that would be convenient and I'll work it out for you. > > Thanks, > > Chris > > > > ------------------------------ > *From:* Timothy Baldwin <[email protected]> > *To:* [email protected] > *Sent:* Thursday, October 17, 2013 1:19 PM > *Subject:* [SH-Discuss] Subject: Re: Adafruit reseller status > > Just an out of the box suggestion: What if we pass the savings on, > instead of charging the full price. (it would fall under the > "Conducted for the convenience of organizational members" exemption.) > This would not be much of an additional burden to prove that we're not > making a profit from those sales. > > From an ongoing compliance perspective (after 501(c)(3) status is > obtained), we could continue to give a discount to members (maybe > half-way between full price and Reseller price) so that it would still > fall under the "Conducted for the convenience of organizational > members" exemption. > > -Tim > > > > Date: Wed, 16 Oct 2013 17:35:04 -0400 > > From: a l <[email protected]> > > To: "SYN/HAK discussion list" <[email protected]> > > Subject: Re: [SH-Discuss] Adafruit reseller status. > > Message-ID: > > <CADLqFH5vWowgapYBa4yw6vG-X0nPcP5RmRLZUf= > [email protected]> > > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" > > > > I understand the intent of the reseller status. All I said is it's going > to > > complicate things. Reseller == Retailer in the eyes of the IRS. And > > "turning a profit" is exactly what we're doing. We(SynHak Inc.) are > buying > > goods at one price, selling them at a higher price and keeping the > > diffference. Just because we don't necessarily keep a stock of arduinos > > around doesn't change the fact that SynHak Inc. are profiting from the > > sales of goods. > > By reselling things we have one more test to pass in order to get our > > 501(c)(3) status. When this goes on our application we now have to prove > > that the funds raised by these sales is not the primary goal that: > > "Unrelated business income is the income from a > > trade or business that is regularly carried on by > > an exempt organization and that is not substan- > > tially related to the performance by the organiza- > > tion of its exempt purpose or function, except > > that the organization uses the profits derived > > from this activity." > > This wording needs to very explicit so there is no confusion that though > we > > profit from the sales, the sales are not part of the regularly scheduled > > business. > > Judging by the reception of our previous application they are very picky > > about the wording. There can be no confusion about the purpose of SynHak > > Inc. in their eyes or they will deny our application. > > > > -Andrew > > > > > > On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 2:48 PM, Justin Herman <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > >> We are not listed as a retailer but we get retailer pricing. We are > listed > >> as a hackerspace. > >> > >> > >> On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 1:58 PM, Torrie Fischer < > [email protected]>wrote: > >> > >>> On Wednesday, October 16, 2013 01:19:08 PM a l wrote: > >>> > This actually complicates things for the application process. > Holding a > >>> > retail front was one of the sticking points they had with the initial > >>> > application. > >>> > >>> When I first tried to get our reseller status moving, the goal I had > was > >>> for > >>> SYNHAK to benefit from it. > >>> > >>> The way Noisebridge and others run their adafruit reseller status is > as an > >>> additional way to bring in funds. Folks add their bulk purchase > requests > >>> to a > >>> list and pay full retail price. The space pays the reseller price, and > the > >>> difference goes to the space. The purpose of using reseller status > isn't > >>> to be > >>> able to turn a profit, it is expressely for the purpose of contributing > >>> funds > >>> to the space without members having to pay more for their parts. > >>> > >>> > > >>> > -Andrew > >>> > > >>> > On Oct 16, 2013 11:11 AM, "gs volt" <[email protected]> wrote: > >>> > > Thanks for taking care of this Justin, really appreciate it! > >>> > > > >>> > > Also, for those dealing with IRS paperwork, please cite any > feedback > >>> we > >>> > > got from adafruit as proof of reseller status. Simple printouts of > >>> > > adafruits reply should be enough afaik. > >>> > > > >>> > > On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 10:30 AM, Justin Herman <[email protected] > > > >>> wrote: > >>> > >> We are now listed on the hackerspace list. > >>> > >> > >>> > >> http://www.adafruit.com/hacker_spaces/ > >>> > >> > >>> > >> On Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 12:06 PM, Justin Herman <[email protected] > > > >>> wrote: > >>> > >>> We were approved and now can place large orders ($250) and get a > >>> nice > >>> > >>> discount per item. > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> I am going to put an order together so.... please take a moment > and > >>> tell > >>> > >>> me if you would like to add anything to the order I am placing by > >>> adding > >>> > >>> your info to > >>> > >>> HERE< > >>> https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Ahw1KFspeHRrdFBDVUVNd > >>> > >>> GJZeVNRd1YzUjhoa3liYlE&usp=sharing> > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Here is the reseller's catalog. > >>> > >>> http://www.adafruit.com/catalogs/reseller_catalog.pdf > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Once we hit $250 we will get the funds and place the order. > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> Justin > >>> > >>> > >>> > >>> On Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 12:13 AM, Justin Herman < > [email protected] > >>> >wrote: > >>> > >>>> I applied and hope to hear something soon. > >>> > >>>> > >>> > >>>> On Mon, Jul 1, 2013 at 12:00 AM, Torrie Fischer < > [email protected] > >>> >wrote: > >>> > >>>>> On Sunday, June 30, 2013 11:33:41 PM Justin Herman wrote: > >>> > >>>>> > I thought SYNHAK was a distributor (or got discounts) when > >>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>>>> purchasing items > >>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>>>> > from Adafruit. But I looked on the Adafruit site and I dont > see > >>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>>>> Syn/Hak. > >>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>>>> > Is this something we could sign up for again? I have some > >>> things I > >>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>>>> would > >>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>>>> > like to order from Adafruit. > >>> > >>>>> > > >>> > >>>>> > http://www.adafruit.com/contact/?section=reseller > >>> > >>>>> > > >>> > >>>>> > http://www.adafruit.com/catalogs/reseller_catalog.pdf > >>> > >>>>> > > >>> > >>>>> > Should I just sign up under synhak's name or do I need to > seek > >>> the > >>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>>>> boards > >>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>>>> > approval? > >>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>>>> Nah, go for it. If you need anything, let me know and I'll add > it > >>> to > >>> > >>>>> the wiki > >>> > >>>>> in an appropriate location. > >>> > >>>>> > >>> > >>>>> > Stay Excellent, > >>> > >>>>> > > >>> > >>>>> > Justin > >>> > >>>>> > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > https://synhak.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss > > > > _______________________________________________ > Discuss mailing list > [email protected] > https://synhak.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss >
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