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The difference is that in all of those cases the money has been earned as the cost of work done. The non-profit's employee is spending the money they earned for

The difference is that in all of those cases the money has been earned as the cost of work done. The non-profit's employee is spending the money they earned for work done. This is different from the non-profit itself making the donation because that wouldn't be part of the operating cost of the non-profit itself.

solardev 4y ago
Companies make donations and lobby and such too. I don't see the difference.
- yucky 4y ago
  If I pay a company for a widget, I expect only that widget in return. If I make a donation to Wikipedia to ensure it can pay for its infrastructure, that is what I expect them to do with the money. I don't expect them to funnel my donation through dark money vehicles to fund causes I have no idea they're even funding and that I may or may not want to support financially. Do you see the difference?
  - solardev 4y ago
    Nope. When you buy a widget from the company, the company will use the revenue to do whatever it wants. Same with nonprofits. It's not like they guarantee that your donation only goes to X, unless that was specified. Otherwise it just goes into their general fund.
    - yucky 4y ago
      You keep restating something that isn't true, in order to save face. There is no reason for you to do that, we're anonymous here. Non-profit donations to a charity with a stated mission and programs, are very different than transactional purchases made from a commercial enterprise. Perhaps ask others if it's still unclear.
      - solardev 4y ago
        I don't know where you got that idea. I've worked for several nonprofits and donations can and do get used for all sorts of things, not just a single project (unless that was a specific requirement for a donor, which was rare). It's got nothing to do with saving face. I just don't believe what you're saying is true.
        yucky 4y ago
        Why would someone who makes a donation to Wikimedia expect that their donation may get used to fund a different organization who will then issue grants to a different organization whose goal is to assist illegal immigrants, for instance? Is that really a reasonable expectation? If you polled 100 Wikimedia donors, how many do you think would guess that is one of many places where their money may go?
        solardev 4y ago
        Those are two different questions though. "What a donor (or buyer) thinks happens to their money after they spend it" is not the same as "What the recipient does or is legally allowed to do with that money". Many nonprofits prey upon donor naivete. Even if they don't funnel it to some other cause altogether, there is no guarantee they actually spend your donations on the services they advertise in their marketing (vs funneling to employees or funds or other nonprofits or for-profits they own or whatever). Many corporations do the same. It's not like Amazon the bookseller invested all their profits into bookselling, or we'd never have seen AWS. Or churches, another common form of nonprofit. It's not like tithes go to the man in the sky, they get spent on whatever the organization decides to spend it on. The key point I'm trying to make is that nonprofit status is not some magical protection bestowed upon your funds. The moment you give your money to another organization, even if they are a nonprofit, they have a LOT of leeway to spend it however they please. 501 status has SOME limitations, not like being able to turn it into shareholder profit and restrictions on political activities (depending on the specific 501 type), but by and large the recipient still has a lot of freedom. If, as a donor or buyer, you are concerned about where that money goes... you have to do your own deep digging and due diligence. Neither the organization nor the law will protect you here and ensure that the funds are spent how you wish.

solardev 4y ago

Companies make donations and lobby and such too. I don't see the difference.

yucky 4y ago
If I pay a company for a widget, I expect only that widget in return. If I make a donation to Wikipedia to ensure it can pay for its infrastructure, that is what I expect them to do with the money. I don't expect them to funnel my donation through dark money vehicles to fund causes I have no idea they're even funding and that I may or may not want to support financially. Do you see the difference?
- solardev 4y ago
  Nope. When you buy a widget from the company, the company will use the revenue to do whatever it wants. Same with nonprofits. It's not like they guarantee that your donation only goes to X, unless that was specified. Otherwise it just goes into their general fund.
  - yucky 4y ago
    You keep restating something that isn't true, in order to save face. There is no reason for you to do that, we're anonymous here. Non-profit donations to a charity with a stated mission and programs, are very different than transactional purchases made from a commercial enterprise. Perhaps ask others if it's still unclear.
    - solardev 4y ago
      I don't know where you got that idea. I've worked for several nonprofits and donations can and do get used for all sorts of things, not just a single project (unless that was a specific requirement for a donor, which was rare). It's got nothing to do with saving face. I just don't believe what you're saying is true.
      - yucky 4y ago
        Why would someone who makes a donation to Wikimedia expect that their donation may get used to fund a different organization who will then issue grants to a different organization whose goal is to assist illegal immigrants, for instance? Is that really a reasonable expectation? If you polled 100 Wikimedia donors, how many do you think would guess that is one of many places where their money may go?
        solardev 4y ago
        Those are two different questions though. "What a donor (or buyer) thinks happens to their money after they spend it" is not the same as "What the recipient does or is legally allowed to do with that money". Many nonprofits prey upon donor naivete. Even if they don't funnel it to some other cause altogether, there is no guarantee they actually spend your donations on the services they advertise in their marketing (vs funneling to employees or funds or other nonprofits or for-profits they own or whatever). Many corporations do the same. It's not like Amazon the bookseller invested all their profits into bookselling, or we'd never have seen AWS. Or churches, another common form of nonprofit. It's not like tithes go to the man in the sky, they get spent on whatever the organization decides to spend it on. The key point I'm trying to make is that nonprofit status is not some magical protection bestowed upon your funds. The moment you give your money to another organization, even if they are a nonprofit, they have a LOT of leeway to spend it however they please. 501 status has SOME limitations, not like being able to turn it into shareholder profit and restrictions on political activities (depending on the specific 501 type), but by and large the recipient still has a lot of freedom. If, as a donor or buyer, you are concerned about where that money goes... you have to do your own deep digging and due diligence. Neither the organization nor the law will protect you here and ensure that the funds are spent how you wish.