| Pages in topic: < [1 2 3 4 5] > | Legal matters Thread poster: Marion Schimmelpfennig
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| Need help from each one of you | Dec 20, 2004 |
OK, I found out more things. I just talked to two specialized lawyers / tax advisers on the phone (they didn't charge me anything) and told them the very basics.
They agree that it will be difficult to avoid taxes but that it may not be impossible. I will probably set up an appointment with one of them for after Christmas (the one who is willing to talk to me 2 hours for free).
Since tax law in other countries may be different and more suitable for us, I suggest each o... See more OK, I found out more things. I just talked to two specialized lawyers / tax advisers on the phone (they didn't charge me anything) and told them the very basics.
They agree that it will be difficult to avoid taxes but that it may not be impossible. I will probably set up an appointment with one of them for after Christmas (the one who is willing to talk to me 2 hours for free).
Since tax law in other countries may be different and more suitable for us, I suggest each one of you does the same: Look up big lawyer / tax adviser offices in your yellow pages and try to talk to a professional on the phone. I simply told them that we are about to found a non-profit society with a world-wide approach and are looking for the right legal/tax partner. That got their attention! Then I told them the rough outline (a group of people from various countries plan to find a publisher and publish a book world-wide; all the money should go to kids in need, thus we want to avoid taxes) and asked whether they thought that we could achieve a tax-free status in spite of the money we plan to earn (I think 6-digit-nummbers are reasonable).
Try to get an appointment (for free) and stress our non-profit angle.
Any questions or comments welcome!
[Edited at 2004-12-20 12:29] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Blithe
Local time: 06:25
Russian
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This is basically what a lawyer told me and recommended this site, so I will just quote:
More often than not, a nonprofit corporation begins as a nonprofit association – a loosely organized organization ran by mostly volunteers. In a nonprofit association, the members can be held liable for the debts and liabilities of the organization.
If a nonprofit association stays afloat long enough, they often seek to gain tax-exempt status and attract donors by becoming a nonpr... See more This is basically what a lawyer told me and recommended this site, so I will just quote:
More often than not, a nonprofit corporation begins as a nonprofit association – a loosely organized organization ran by mostly volunteers. In a nonprofit association, the members can be held liable for the debts and liabilities of the organization.
If a nonprofit association stays afloat long enough, they often seek to gain tax-exempt status and attract donors by becoming a nonprofit organization. Once incorporated, not only can the organization gain tax-exempt status from the IRS, but the individual members will no longer be subject to the debts and liabilities of the organization.
Becoming a nonprofit corporation is no more difficult than a registering as a limited liability company – you draft articles of organization and file them with the Secretary of State. You must then submit your incorporation papers to the IRS to gain tax-exempt status, under IRS Section 501(c)(3). To gain tax exempt status, you must obtain and fill out (likely with the assistance of a lawyer/accountant) IRS Package 1023.
The caveat to being a nonprofit corporation is that the assets of your organization must be dedicated to charitable, educational, religious, or similar purposes; moreover, nonprofit corporations cannot campaign or lobby for or against political candidates. Finally, taxes must be paid on any profits the nonprofit organization makes.
http://www.legal-database.com/nonprofit-corporation.htm
I was also told that there's a lot of paperwork to be done for non-profit organizations in the U.S.A. every year. I know that I, for one, will be completely unable to handle it. Something like "To gain tax exempt status, you must obtain and fill out (likely with the assistance of a lawyer/accountant) IRS Package 1023" is freaking me out already... But if there are people who are willing to deal with the U.S. bureaucracy, I am ready to help. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | No need to do legal things ourselves - we'll get help! | Dec 21, 2004 |
Dear Blithe (Ksenia),
you did a wonderful job, thank you! And please don't worry about actually having to do all this: Just as you, I have sometimes no idea what they are talking about, but we will find people to help us with that. One of the tax advisers I talked to even would consider becoming a sponsor for us.
All we need to find out now is in which country and with what kind of organization our project would be placed best. We simply take on step at a time.
| | | | | Our options seem clearer now | Dec 22, 2004 |
The big German lawyer / tax adviser office I talked to on the phone early this week actually managed to offer me an appointment today and I couldn't say no, of course. We had quite a lengthy meeting – at no costs at all – and I learned many things. All facts that follow do only apply to Germany:
Founding our own charitable association or corporation
Although it is not easy to gain a complete tax-free status, it is still possible. To do that, we must state in ... See more The big German lawyer / tax adviser office I talked to on the phone early this week actually managed to offer me an appointment today and I couldn't say no, of course. We had quite a lengthy meeting – at no costs at all – and I learned many things. All facts that follow do only apply to Germany:
Founding our own charitable association or corporation
Although it is not easy to gain a complete tax-free status, it is still possible. To do that, we must state in our statutes what exactly we aim to do, that we can only do this with the specific actions we are planning and that we want to create a 'tax-free single purpose corporation' (steuerbefreiter Zweckbetrieb – don't know the correct term). I know this sounds vague and maybe confusing, but these consultants would phrase this for us.
Of course, we will also have to decide which of our members (there must be at least seven) is 'responsible' for what, meaning we must have a managing committee. It's possible to pay the board members a salary.
Depending what we state in our statutes, we can do more than publish a book.
After having created our statutes, we will have to make sure with the revenue office that they will grant us the tax-free status based on our statutes. This would take 4 to 6 weeks.
The rest – registering as a society and gaining charitable status – is a mere formality.
I guess that some of you worry a bit about liability, so I would like to address this too: As in every other association, people are held liable only if they act grossly negligent or wilfully. Personally, I would have no problem at all with this. But I agree that we would take on some responsibility.
For assisting us with founding the above mentioned association, this law & tax office would have to charge us a 4-digit sum. But: I asked and they are willing to give us this money back as a donation.
Having said all this – and still being quite enthusiastic - I need to mention another thing:
Doing everything ourselves will require a lot of work and a lot of time. Sponsors. Publisher(s). Collecting the writings. Handling and wiring the money. Public Relations. Advertising. Web site. And probably many other things too. I could never ever do it alone. I would need at least a handful of seriously dedicated people and we should be able to rely on each other.
I know I ask a lot so I won't ask it. Simply consider it and take your time.
The alternative: teaming up with a big charity
As you know, this is not my number one option but as Natalia Eklund already pointed out, we should consider it and of course I am willing to consider it.
By teaming up with someone who already has branches all over the world and who has the means, money and time to do all those things necessary to publish and sell our book, we could still have the book and thus help those children who need help badly.
We will probably have to make compromises. And we will definitely loose control about the who, when, what and how. But if there is no other way, we should seriously consider it.
Let me know
And have a wonderful Christmas!!!!!!!
[Edited at 2004-12-22 20:33] ▲ Collapse
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Schwabamädle
Canada
Local time: 06:25
English to German
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| Dear colleagues | Jan 10, 2005 |
I was checking out the forum almost every day to see if there is a new posting and if someone may have replied, in the hope that someone else takes responsibility of the legal stuff.
I am kind of scared,worried that it could blow up to a huge legal thing and if someone in this non-charitable organization would make a mistake that I have to take on some responsibilty I could not handle.
I think it is fair to write down my concerns to let Marion know where I am coming fro... See more I was checking out the forum almost every day to see if there is a new posting and if someone may have replied, in the hope that someone else takes responsibility of the legal stuff.
I am kind of scared,worried that it could blow up to a huge legal thing and if someone in this non-charitable organization would make a mistake that I have to take on some responsibilty I could not handle.
I think it is fair to write down my concerns to let Marion know where I am coming from. I also thought that my posting would encourage others to write there concerns or thoughts.
I think too that the whole thing got a little scattered through the unfortunate tragedy in the Indian Ocean, but I hope that we can pick up our conversation again to discuss what we should do and come to a solution so all of us feel right about it.
I think Marion put in so much effort and thoughts that we should reply, as well as Henry who provided this whole space in order to make this happen.
Me too just thought that all I have to do is the translating part and collect writings from the children. I think if we post the roles we would like to take on Marion can coordinate better.
Maybe we should come out of our hiding holes and tell in all honesty our opinion.
Thank you and a Happy New Year to all of you!
Andrea ▲ Collapse
| | | | Balaban Cerit 
Türkiye
Local time: 13:25
Member (2004)
English to Turkish
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| I'm still quite enthusiastic about this project | Jan 10, 2005 |
A Happy New Year to you Andrea and to all of you.
I am sure that as soon as a decision is made concerning legal matters, the translators4kids project will continue as before, even stronger. People are still interested in this project, new translators are volunteering in the inital thread:
http://www.proz.com/topic/27354?start=30
I don't know much about legal affair... See more A Happy New Year to you Andrea and to all of you.
I am sure that as soon as a decision is made concerning legal matters, the translators4kids project will continue as before, even stronger. People are still interested in this project, new translators are volunteering in the inital thread:
http://www.proz.com/topic/27354?start=30
I don't know much about legal affairs so I was waiting for others to voice their opinions on this issue; but I'm still quite enthusiastic about working for the translators4kids project. As I wrote before in another thread, I want to work on advertising the project and contributing actively to discussions in that field.
By the way, I find seaMount's latest comments intriguing, especially the message in the "General strategy" thread on discussing the need for a "publisher annex partner". ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Do you need more info and/or time? | Jan 10, 2005 |
Thanks, Andrea and Balaban! I'm also confident that, together, we will be able to come to an informed decision in due time in this thread.
In my opinion, before we can successfully discuss more practical topics like contacting sponsors, hospitals or publishers, we should decide whether we want
a) our own charitable association (and if are you willing to become a member of it)
or
b) team up with a big charity with world-wide branches
... See more Thanks, Andrea and Balaban! I'm also confident that, together, we will be able to come to an informed decision in due time in this thread.
In my opinion, before we can successfully discuss more practical topics like contacting sponsors, hospitals or publishers, we should decide whether we want
a) our own charitable association (and if are you willing to become a member of it)
or
b) team up with a big charity with world-wide branches
as this decision affects the whole approach of translators4kids.
To decide about the above, maybe you need more information, or more time, or both? In any case, you'll get it. Just let me/us know.
[Edited at 2005-01-10 15:11] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Francina
United States
Local time: 06:25
Dutch to English
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| Teaming up might be the answer for now | Jan 22, 2005 |
b) team up with a big charity with world-wide branches
I have (finally) been reading up on all the threads. I feel that in order to move forward it may be best, at this point, to team up with another non-profit organization. In order to get off the ground it may be better to take a small step and as we evolve reassess. To go on our own entails a lot of research and investment in time etc. It may simply be a too big a step all at once. We may be better off scaling it down to bit... See more b) team up with a big charity with world-wide branches
I have (finally) been reading up on all the threads. I feel that in order to move forward it may be best, at this point, to team up with another non-profit organization. In order to get off the ground it may be better to take a small step and as we evolve reassess. To go on our own entails a lot of research and investment in time etc. It may simply be a too big a step all at once. We may be better off scaling it down to bite size pieces so that we can get going.
Francina ▲ Collapse
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Zhoudan
Local time: 18:25
English to Chinese
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While working with a charity or a non-profit organization, we could have them deal with the organization and we'll do the translation and maintain a website where we publish what we have already translated before a book is actually formed or published. In this way, we might be able to attract publishers.
Francina wrote:
I feel that in order to move forward it may be best, at this point, to team up with another non-profit organization. In order to get off the ground it may be better to take a small step and as we evolve reassess. To go on our own entails a lot of research and investment in time etc. It may simply be a too big a step all at once. We may be better off scaling it down to bite size pieces so that we can get going.
Francina
| | | | | Should we vote? | Jan 25, 2005 |
Maybe I haven't got all details but I would choose having our own charitable association. But I'm not exactly a legal expert and we mustn't forget our goal, funds for children.
| | | | | Voting - excellent idea | Jan 25, 2005 |
We've already successfully voted for the name of the project, so a voting for or against our own charity is a splendid idea!
If some more people are for voting, I am going to list all pros and cons that come to mind so that we can make an informed decision. It may take a little time (one or two days) because our house was flooded when the floor builder hit the main water pipe...
| | | | Francina
United States
Local time: 06:25
Dutch to English
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| Voting is a good idea, but..... | Jan 25, 2005 |
the project needs more than a vote of yes or no.
In order for the project to take off it needs action oriented volunteers. So along with the vote there needs to be a poll as to what kind of commitment that person is willing to give to the project and in what capacity that person is willing to serve the project. That way an informed decision can be made as to whether the project will be able to take off.
Francina
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| Very good point, Francina! | Jan 25, 2005 |
You are of course right, Francina. We don't want a situation where people vote for a charity of our own but don't make it clear what kind of commitment they are willing to make. I like your idea with a poll very much!
| | | | Blithe
Local time: 06:25
Russian
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| A thought about voting. | Jan 25, 2005 |
I'm not so sure that the majority is always right...
Say, there are 5 dedicated people who want to set up our own charity and are eager to devote their time and energy (I wish I had either one)to this noble cause. All the rest could help them to the best of their abilities. And that might be the perfect scenario. But my guess is that the majority of people will vote for teamimg up with some big charity just because they are not ready to do all the work for an independent organizati... See more I'm not so sure that the majority is always right...
Say, there are 5 dedicated people who want to set up our own charity and are eager to devote their time and energy (I wish I had either one)to this noble cause. All the rest could help them to the best of their abilities. And that might be the perfect scenario. But my guess is that the majority of people will vote for teamimg up with some big charity just because they are not ready to do all the work for an independent organization, which is perfectly understandable. But does it mean that teaming up is the best solution? I don't know. I think that if there are enough people to start up our own charity, that's what we should do, but since I'm not one of those people, I guess I should vote for teaming up?... I'm kind of in two minds here, if you know what I mean. ▲ Collapse
| | | | | The good thing about this discussion: many sensible thoughts are coming in | Jan 25, 2005 |
Thank you Blithe, your post makes a lot of sense. Actually, we would at least need 7 people to found our own charity (if we found it in Germany). Right now, I have no idea if 7 dedicated people would be enough to make the project work, but I think it would or could.
What about the following, then: Why don't we ask people who is willing to found our own charity and also willing to contribute their time for certain work? I would be the first person to say "I will" (I would offer to do... See more Thank you Blithe, your post makes a lot of sense. Actually, we would at least need 7 people to found our own charity (if we found it in Germany). Right now, I have no idea if 7 dedicated people would be enough to make the project work, but I think it would or could.
What about the following, then: Why don't we ask people who is willing to found our own charity and also willing to contribute their time for certain work? I would be the first person to say "I will" (I would offer to do all the financial stuff) and I know of at least one other person who would say that too.
[Edited at 2005-01-25 17:36] ▲ Collapse
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