Non-Profits & Foundation

[SensibleandHourly]

Hello, 

I have clients who have recently inherited assets and are interested in setting up a non-profit and/or foundation for the performing arts in their area. They are wondering what type of professional they need to set up such a non-profit. And also, if they choose to purchase larger items for this project such as equipment/staging/building, are they able to write off the items as a donation, or should the entity make those purchases? 

Thank you, 

Dawn

[BobKamman]

There's a good chance that there is already a Community Foundation in their location that will allow them to direct how and when their funds are distributed, while minimizing overhead.  Spread the wealth among existing institutions, don't sop it up with spending on vanity projects.  

[qbteachmt · Accepted solution]

You probably wanted this under Tax Talk, since it is not specific to using ProSeries.

You can google: performing arts 501c

My community is huge for this. Montana has the most NFP organizations per capita:

https://taxfoundation.org/data/all/state/which-states-have-most-tax-exempt-organizations/

It also helps to stop using "nonprofit" and start using "not for profit." Everyone needs to be in the black, or they won't be operational for very long. The bad word is "profit", because that is not the intent.

"are they able to write off the items as a donation, or should the entity make those purchases?"

Well, in some cases, their own donation of funds or materials (pretty much equivalent, like the "cash or not" topic) are not going to be considered public support. Yet, some organizational requirements include specific targets of public support. And others are not allowed to have much as unrelated (nonprogrammatic) revenue, such as a motorcycle group has a great magazine, but they lost their NFP status, because the magazine and ads are their main source of revenue and not membership activities. A retail establishment to further "bear aware" and support forestry and did outreach for "know your bear differences" also lost its NFP status, because retail became its largest revenue stream, even though that seemed "program-related and not UBI."

And the big question: what is the intent? Artist support, community education, traveling to schools?

You asked about equipment and real estate and there is a lot to ownership of any of this stuff. The performing gear goes out of tech or takes a beating quickly. Imagine owning a performing arts theater and having to change all the lighting to LED, computer controls, the audio systems had to be replaced because the Feds sold off some of the wireless spectrum that was in use for instrument amplifiers and microphone/in-ear receivers that were used on stage. Everything analog to digital...

I've done quite a bit of this: submitted for 501(c) status (3, 4, 7). Is this an annual projection of revenue at $5,000? $50,000? $5mil? Endowment or one time? Are they intending to submit for grants from other organizations or public grants such as Arts Councils? A private foundation is nothing like a 501(c)(3) or (4) or (7) organization.

It can be fairly easy to get your status. Example: we have a large retail music and toys and doodads and gifts establishment where the owner sponsored a 4-day jazz music festival for years. It finally handed itself off to stand alone as a 501(c)(3). This also is how the Butte Folk Festival got started. The National Folk Festival organization acts as a seed organization. They choose a place, run the festival for a few years in that spot, then leave it to grow independently. Read here:

https://montanafolkfestival.com/folk-festival-information-and-history/

Go to: From National to Regional, the History of the Montana Folk Festival Speaks For Itself

See also:

https://mctinc.org/

And there is a documentary on this: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1247677/

Maintaining that status is a different issue. "Running the show" backoffice and public-facing, are two different skill sets. Getting a board, managing volunteers, etc.

They might benefit from meeting with the local United Way, as a place to start. That is a group of professional NFP managers who work as an umbrella organization. They review and rank and support or deny support to a bajillion organizations every funding cycle. They've seen the good, the bad, the ugly.

[SensibleandHourly]

Thank you, I really appreciate this information!!

[SensibleandHourly]

I just had time to follow these links. These organizations sure are spectacular and I wish I could go to the festival. Thank you, also, for the tip about the United Way. 

[qbteachmt]

The Children's Theater is an amazing experience for kids, especially since "the little red trucks" travel to rural areas. Their building is so cute and is used for lots of events. We've got a new County Library that has won national and international awards, too. This is a great town to grown up in, thanks to the way our ridiculously high property taxes are being put to work. I spent time last Saturday helping prepare a 3.5 acre exploration and demonstration garden outside of the new Butterfly House and Insectarium at the county fairgrounds.