Bitcoin 100: Developed Specifically for Non-Profits

[Phinnaeus Gage]

What about donating to Ed Snowden? https://wikileaks.org/freesnowden

For starters, having a standalone website is probably a must.

Does the link no longer work for you? It should be up at www.neuroethics.com.

The website works fine, keystroke. I/we just feel that more information from you is desirable since Rassah raised possibly a valid point, but I wasn't too sure. I, personally, have no problem with your org. We want to just make sure there's no conflict with our supporters.

Thank you kindly for providing your post a couple posts up from this one. If anybody has any questions, be feel free to ask keystroke. I'm sure he'll address any and all concerns.

[1714855491]

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[1714855491]

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[1714855491]

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[Phinnaeus Gage]

If we start spending other people's money on anything other than donations, it might be best to register and start acting like a "legitimate" non-profit.

How come?

The IRS, my friend. I believe the Internal Revenue Service might insist bitcoins sent to us constitute "taxable income" unless we register as a 501c. I could be wrong, however. I don't have much experience in running non-profits.

One issue with that: Bitcoin100 is not an American entity. I donate my time to it, and you, Bruno, and I are US citizens (dunno about edd), none of whom actually get a salary. Other people helping and volunteering are from other countries. So Bitcoin100 is really a web-based entity. One could argue that since I am running it, it is my personal thing, and I should do personal reporting of my own personal hobby project, specifically to make sure I'm not scamming with a fake "charity," but I don't claim to own Bitcoin100, am not in sole possession of the funds (others have the private key as well), and all activities are completely public, so there is nothing for me to scam or hide. This whole thing is one of those new tricky "global entity" things that many other international companies are struggling with... 

The problem that you will run into is that you claim not to own those funds, but nobody else claims ownership of them either. The government does not like things to be unowned, so it would make sense to form some sort of organization which would lay claim to those funds (and thus they would not need to be added to your personal income for tax purposes).

Even though Bitcoin100 is very loosely organized and probably falls under the category of "hobby" at the moment, I worry that using any funds to pay for services or purchase items might push us over some line (in the eyes of regulatory agencies). As you mention, BTC sent to the vanity address have thus far only been held on behalf of others until worthy charities have been chosen and I doubt any red flags have been raised as of yet.

I am also a US citizen, BTW.

As it stands now, I don't believe Bitcoin 100 is in danger of abiding my any strict rules/laws/guidelines. But the moment we do scale up, if that's the next course of action, then we may explore the 501(c)3 route. Apologies for carefully using my words in that previous sentence(s). The intent was not meant to cloak anything nefarious.

[Rassah]

If Rassah were to operate an escrow service (maybe he already is), I would highly recommend using it. The dude comes across highly honest, albeit owning a funking coffee table.

Seriously, what is this coffee table malarkey?

I have a coffee table. It's nice. We salvaged it from a junk heap, and it was old, wooden, and nasty looking. Hubby sanded it down, spray painted the legs, crossbars, and underneath with grey hammered look spray-paint, making it look like cement, and used black shiny square tile all around the sides and top of the table edge. In the untiled center is a large clear piece of glass, and under the glass is a custom $300 piece of art. It is indeed NSFW, though in the say you would see NSFW art all over Italy or Greece. The table remains covered most of the time. Years ago someone took a picture of me laying on a couch by this table (dressed, of course), and this picture got out on the web. Once in a wile it has been used to poke fun at me, or as an example of how I am a bad or immoral person, ever since. Although slightly annoying, it doesn't really bother me. It's a nice table.

[keystroke]

Thank you kindly for providing your post a couple posts up from this one. If anybody has any questions, be feel free to ask keystroke. I'm sure he'll address any and all concerns.

Yes, I'll be watching this thread closely so feel free to ask here or in message. I check the forums obse^H^H^H^H several times per day.

[Phinnaeus Gage]

If Rassah were to operate an escrow service (maybe he already is), I would highly recommend using it. The dude comes across highly honest, albeit owning a funking coffee table.

Seriously, what is this coffee table malarkey?

I have a coffee table. It's nice. We salvaged it from a junk heap, and it was old, wooden, and nasty looking. Hubby sanded it down, spray painted the legs, crossbars, and underneath with grey hammered look spray-paint, making it look like cement, and used black shiny square tile all around the sides and top of the table edge. In the untiled center is a large clear piece of glass, and under the glass is a custom $300 piece of art. It is indeed NSFW, though in the say you would see NSFW art all over Italy or Greece. The table remains covered most of the time. Years ago someone took a picture of me laying on a couch by this table (dressed, of course), and this picture got out on the web. Once in a wile it has been used to poke fun at me, or as an example of how I am a bad or immoral person, ever since. Although slightly annoying, it doesn't really bother me. It's a nice table.

Although a nice concise explanation, I'm sure the post would be much larger if keystroke asks you about Pinkie Pie.  I reread that episode last night and am still laughing my ass off.

[Rassah]

Although a nice concise explanation, I'm sure the post would be much larger if keystroke asks you about Pinkie Pie.  I reread that episode last night and am still laughing my ass off.

I can't believe it's been 2 years already...

[keystroke]

Although a nice concise explanation, I'm sure the post would be much larger if keystroke asks you about Pinkie Pie.  I reread that episode last night and am still laughing my ass off.

Tell me more 

[phelix]

What about donating to Ed Snowden? https://wikileaks.org/freesnowden

For starters, having a standalone website is probably a must.

   He the man!


The table is quite special     but concentrate on the more important issue above 

[TitanBTC]

If the time comes, I've founded 501(c)3 organizations myself before and I can help.  My most recent one uses e-commerce to support other charities, so its not too dissimilar from what Bitcoin100 is doing (though BTC100 is much simpler).  I'll send you some resources on setting everything up, if you'd like, Rassah.  The longer you can keep it informal though, the better in my opinion.  

The turning point when you may want to consider setting up an official tax-exempt organization should be when charities start running into problems accepting the money you're donating because they can't account for it without jeopardizing their own tax-exempt status.  It depends a lot on the country that the non-profit lives in, but in many places including the U.S., charities have to prove that they are "publicly" supported.  Hence they need to document the persons they receive donations from and their respective amounts.  For small organizations, receiving the majority of their support from one particular person or entity can constitute "private" support which can change their designation to a private foundation.  Private foundations are taxed on donations and income similarly to for-profit corporations, albeit at a reduced rate.  

Most international organizations that want to do fundraising in the U.S. do end up getting a 501(c)3 in the U.S and establishing themselves as a public charity.  The IRS laws regarding sending money overseas to NPOs tightened up a lot after 9/11 so pursuing big donations from U.S. corporations and the like practically requires 501(c)3 exempt status.  Anyway, this is a pretty complex area of law in the U.S. so i'll leave it at that.  

By the way, I agree with you Rassah that this could get rather large.  That's what happens to good ideas, after all.

[Rassah]

Hi Rassah,


I wanted to reach out to you because I saw your site Bitcoin100 and your goal of getting charities to accept Bitcoin.

I run a site called Coinlock (https://www.coinlock.com/)  that basically allows anyone to sell digital content almost effortlessly, with strong assurances of privacy and anonymity.

I was thinking that it would be a great way to sell premium content for charity causes. So for example if an artist wanted to sell art that directly benefit a charity cause they could use the charities bitcoin receiving address when they uploaded the content. I also may modify the site so that a portion of a particular sale could go to multiple receiving parties.

Do you think this could be useful? Please check it out, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks,

Matt

[Phinnaeus Gage]

Hi Rassah,


I wanted to reach out to you because I saw your site Bitcoin100 and your goal of getting charities to accept Bitcoin.

I run a site called Coinlock (https://www.coinlock.com/)  that basically allows anyone to sell digital content almost effortlessly, with strong assurances of privacy and anonymity.

I was thinking that it would be a great way to sell premium content for charity causes. So for example if an artist wanted to sell art that directly benefit a charity cause they could use the charities bitcoin receiving address when they uploaded the content. I also may modify the site so that a portion of a particular sale could go to multiple receiving parties.

Do you think this could be useful? Please check it out, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks,

Matt

Apologies, for I couldn't get my head wrapped around the concept. This is not a dis toward the project or its owner. If anything, its a dis at myself for not being able to get my head...

[Ente]

If the time comes, I've founded 501(c)3 organizations myself before and I can help.  My most recent one uses e-commerce to support other charities, so its not too dissimilar from what Bitcoin100 is doing (though BTC100 is much simpler).  I'll send you some resources on setting everything up, if you'd like, Rassah.  The longer you can keep it informal though, the better in my opinion.  

The turning point when you may want to consider setting up an official tax-exempt organization should be when charities start running into problems accepting the money you're donating because they can't account for it without jeopardizing their own tax-exempt status.  It depends a lot on the country that the non-profit lives in, but in many places including the U.S., charities have to prove that they are "publicly" supported.  Hence they need to document the persons they receive donations from and their respective amounts.  For small organizations, receiving the majority of their support from one particular person or entity can constitute "private" support which can change their designation to a private foundation.  Private foundations are taxed on donations and income similarly to for-profit corporations, albeit at a reduced rate.  

Most international organizations that want to do fundraising in the U.S. do end up getting a 501(c)3 in the U.S and establishing themselves as a public charity.  The IRS laws regarding sending money overseas to NPOs tightened up a lot after 9/11 so pursuing big donations from U.S. corporations and the like practically requires 501(c)3 exempt status.  Anyway, this is a pretty complex area of law in the U.S. so i'll leave it at that.  

By the way, I agree with you Rassah that this could get rather large.  That's what happens to good ideas, after all.

Wow, thank you for the valuable insights!
It's great to have a pro here! :-)

Ente

[Peter Lambert]

Hi Rassah,


I wanted to reach out to you because I saw your site Bitcoin100 and your goal of getting charities to accept Bitcoin.

I run a site called Coinlock (https://www.coinlock.com/)  that basically allows anyone to sell digital content almost effortlessly, with strong assurances of privacy and anonymity.

I was thinking that it would be a great way to sell premium content for charity causes. So for example if an artist wanted to sell art that directly benefit a charity cause they could use the charities bitcoin receiving address when they uploaded the content. I also may modify the site so that a portion of a particular sale could go to multiple receiving parties.

Do you think this could be useful? Please check it out, I'd love to hear what you have to say.

Thanks,

Matt

Apologies, for I couldn't get my head wrapped around the concept. This is not a dis toward the project or its owner. If anything, its a dis at myself for not being able to get my head...

While it is possible for people to use this to support charities, it is just as useful to use Ebay for the purpose. And nobody would claim that Ebay is a charitable organization.

[Rassah]

Received e-mail from Primate Education Network:

Hi Dmitry,

Amy (my girlfriend) and I were referred to you by our mutual friend, Frankie, about using Bitcoin to seek/process donations online for our startup NGO - Primate Education Network.  Amy and I are excited about this opportunity and we are eager to dig deeper.

We would like to arrange a Skype / phone call with you to discuss this matter further.  As a preliminary point of discussion, PEN is not a registered 501c3 but has a fiscal sponsor, Trust for Conservation International (TCI), through whom we process all donations.  We would like to see how we make this work.

I would greatly appreciate a few minutes of your time to speak further.  Thank you for this opportunity.

Best regards,
Pradeep Suthram

Suggestions for what I should ask about? The only concern is hat their domain is fairly new (2012)

[Rassah]

*bump*

Just had a Skype call with Amy and Pradeep of the Primate Education Network. Their fiscal sponsor http://trustforconservationinnovation.org/ does the donation receiving and processing for them, and handles quite a few charities. Amy and Pradeep want to try to convince their sponsor to accept bitcoins, but mostly had some questions regarding legal issues and regulatory stuff. Like, whom would any financial disputes be handled with if they start taking bitcoin, etc. The chat went well, and they'll take all the information they discussed with me to the trust. They also asked if they could get KhanAcademy to talk to their trust to answer any questions regarding issues one might run into when accepting bitcoins as a charity. I send Khanacademy an e-mail asking if they would object to being contacted.

In the mean time, I know we're all busy with voting for me in the Bicoin Foundation elections (except for Jason you backstabing bastard  ), but we should probably give a yes or no to some of the charities we've been questioning recently. I'll take the loud silence is no objections I guess.

[aenemic]

How about planting some trees and saving some lives?

http://www.treesforthefuture.org/about-us

[Phinnaeus Gage]

*bump*

Just had a Skype call with Amy and Pradeep of the Primate Education Network. Their fiscal sponsor http://trustforconservationinnovation.org/ does the donation receiving and processing for them, and handles quite a few charities. Amy and Pradeep want to try to convince their sponsor to accept bitcoins, but mostly had some questions regarding legal issues and regulatory stuff. Like, whom would any financial disputes be handled with if they start taking bitcoin, etc. The chat went well, and they'll take all the information they discussed with me to the trust. They also asked if they could get KhanAcademy to talk to their trust to answer any questions regarding issues one might run into when accepting bitcoins as a charity. I send Khanacademy an e-mail asking if they would object to being contacted.

In the mean time, I know we're all busy with voting for me in the Bicoin Foundation elections (except for Jason you backstabing bastard  ), but we should probably give a yes or no to some of the charities we've been questioning recently. I'll take the loud silence is no objections I guess.

A Bitcoin donation option would look great on this page: http://trustforconservationinnovation.org/donate/index.php

[Phinnaeus Gage]

How about planting some trees and saving some lives?

http://www.treesforthefuture.org/about-us

They have one helluva FB page: https://www.facebook.com/TreesfortheFuture/likes

Overall, they look fine.

[No_2]

An interview with the Virtual Doctors.

http://bitcoinwarrior.net/2013/09/bitcoin-africa-interview-virtual-doctor-project/

They are looking for places to buy computers and cameras with BTC so if the community has any pointers it would be welcomed.

The Virtual Doctor's BTC donation address is: 1G1zNwrLw7xQPWUvRierbg9wrkUCJ2Dort

[edd]

An interview with the Virtual Doctors.

http://bitcoinwarrior.net/2013/09/bitcoin-africa-interview-virtual-doctor-project/

They are looking for places to buy computers and cameras with BTC so if the community has any pointers it would be welcomed.

The Virtual Doctor's BTC donation address is: 1G1zNwrLw7xQPWUvRierbg9wrkUCJ2Dort

I've been seriously considering forming a company to accommodate supply needs of Bitcoin accepting charities. Of course, I am concerned that there might be concerns since I am also involved with Bitcoin100. Someone not familiar with me might only see that I am part of an organization encouraging non-profits to accept BTC donations and simultaneously running a BTC business targeting non-profits. 

I guess what I'm saying is, I don't have any information regarding buying equipment in Africa for bitcoins but I may attempt to address this issue myself if the community doesn't see any moral ambiguity in it.