[Foundation-l] Re: Is the Voter's Guide legal?

Sat Oct 9 17:26:25 UTC 2004

Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales wrote:

>Michael Snow wrote:
>> >Anything NPOV is perfectly fine. As a 501(c)(3) we can't engage in
>> >certain types of political advocacy as an organization.
>> >
>> So are we a 501(c)(3) yet?
>
>We have applied, but clearly we should act as if we already are, I
>think, in terms of not engaging in political advocacy.  This isn't a
>big issue for us, of course, because neutrality is such a big deal.
>
I wasn't worried about the political advocacy aspect, just wondering 
about our status with the IRS. Achieving it will make a big difference 
in making us eligible for grants, along with the tax deductibility 
aspects in the US. Because of the latter, though, I would be careful 
about "acting as if we are already" (in this sense, not the political 
advocacy sense) lest we mislead our donors about our status.

--Michael Snow