On 04/12/2014 07:37 AM, Geoffrey Coram wrote: > On 04/11/2014 23:50, Kyle Hamilton <aerow...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> Teach me to ask a question without reading the entire thread. >> >> At what point would the break-even cost make sense to form a >> non-profit entity? >> >> -Kyle H > > > It costs $500-$750 to file for tax-exempt status (501c3); then you > have to file a return every year. There's no filing fee, but you do > have to have someone willing to do it, or you have to pay an > accountant. ...
OSF uses a professional accounting and law firm, and spends many thousands a year on their services. That's not a job for amateurs, as I learned three decades ago when I did all the taxes for my first little company myself. > > The other benefit to OpenSSL would be eligibility for various grants > and matching gift programs, many of which are restricted to registered > non-profits. I don't know if there are any such grants that would > consider OpenSSL. With total annual donations never exceeding (until recently) ~$2K, it clearly didn't make sense to incur the extra expense and hassle of non-profit status. If it did make sense I'd set up a 501(c)(3) in a heartbeat (pun intended); I understand some open source organizations do it both ways, with both a for-profit and non-profit component (Mozilla for instance). And by "I'd set up" I mean we'd pay our lawyers and accountants to make it happen. Having founded or co-founded five companies in my life, and paid the bills for the associated professional services, I can tell you that you don't just "set up" a corporation for "$500-$750". Not a real functioning entity with real clients and real revenues, insurance, employees, subcontractors, etc. -Steve M. -- Steve Marquess OpenSSL Software Foundation, Inc. 1829 Mount Ephraim Road Adamstown, MD 21710 USA +1 877 673 6775 s/b +1 301 874 2571 direct marqu...@opensslfoundation.com marqu...@openssl.com gpg/pgp key: http://openssl.com/docs/0xCE69424E.asc ______________________________________________________________________ OpenSSL Project http://www.openssl.org User Support Mailing List openssl-users@openssl.org Automated List Manager majord...@openssl.org
