A non-profit for docs?

[Alex Vincent]

Lately the thought has been crossing my mind of creating a non-profit tax-deductible corp. specifically dedicated for churning out documentation for mozilla.org. I've worked out what I think is a viable business plan, but I'm going to need a little help.

Because documentation written for mozilla.org can't really be sold to make a profit (books.mozdev.org notwithstanding), a business plan such as this will need a healthy dose of money to keep the business running. I'm thinking companies such as ActiveState or AOL's Netscape division may be willing to contribute.

Right now it's little more than a business plan on paper, but combined with government docs and forms for creating such a business, this may be a viable non-profit. Contributors of money or equipment would get tax deductions, I get a job that I really, really love and can spend 70 hrs a week on, and mozilla.org gets at least 30 major articles and references a year: a full-time position. Everybody wins.

One aspect I'm particularly thinking I will need help in is convincing the US Govt. that this is a legitimate cause for tax exemption. I looked it up, and they said a scientific organization is eligible. I think Mozilla, Bugzilla, and the other tools we support fall under the category of computer science... but I may need letters of reference on this subject and others.

Anybody willing to help? Particular assistance from mozilla.org management (in terms of the written word, at this point) would be very valuable. Of course, I'd be willing to relocate for this kind of business, if the need arose.

Alex Vincent
Vallejo, CA