Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Mozilla Foundation Now IRS 501(c)(3) Approved

Posted by Hemos on from the get-out-the-donations dept.

jesus_X writes "We at MozillaNews have discovered that the Mozilla Foundation is now officially 501(c)(3) approved by the IRS, meaning you can now deduct donations made directly to Mozilla.org from your income tax returns. This is separate from, and obviates the Open Source Applications Foundation donation method mentioned in August on MozillaZine."

5 of 116 comments (clear)

  1. Very stupid question... by Midnight+Thunder · · Score: 4, Interesting

    At a business level, what is the technical difference between a non-profit organisation and a traditional business. Maybe better: to what extent can it non make a profit? Surely a non-profit organisation still needs to assure it has money in the bank and pay its employees.

    --
    Jumpstart the tartan drive.
    1. Re:Very stupid question... by alexatrit · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Part of it is about the goals of the organization. It's easier to receive 501(C) status if you give back to the community, so to speak. Free publications, software groups, churches... these organizations provide something without expecting anything in return. They are allowed to report income and expeditures. This includes salary to the management of the organization. But at the end of the year, the books (in theory) shouldn't be too far in the black. Historically you're less likely to be sued as a 501(C) non-profit, since it's on the books that there isn't a lot of extra money floating around. There are tax benefits to incorporating as well.

      --

      Nothing but the finest in meaningless drivel
  2. Re:All the cool people are doing it... by FooAtWFU · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Wikipedia is not... YET. (they're applying, however. At least, I think that's the status, anyway. From what I remember,

    --
    The World Wide Web is dying. Soon, we shall have only the Internet.
  3. UK donations? by 16K+Ram+Pack · · Score: 2, Interesting
    Any way we can donate and get some extra money for Mozilla?


    I don't know if an open source software project would be able to get charity status in the UK.

  4. Re:Hah! by ZipR · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Microsoft may not be 501(c)(3) approved, but they do get some nice tax breaks, which I'm sure help:
    Microsoft enjoyed more than $12 billion in total tax breaks over the past five years. In fact, Microsoft actually paid no tax at all in 1999, despite $12.3 billion in reported U.S. profits. Microsoft's tax rate for the past two years was only 1.8 percent on $21.9 billion in pretax U.S. profits.
    Taken from here: http://www.ctj.org/html/corp0402.htm