4 ms·

What incentive do employees have to work for free? Why are you not calling yourself a non-profit?

mwhite 14y ago
I suppose he might gittip them.
whit537 14y ago
The incentive is the same as open source programmers have to work for free. RE: non-profits ... from the post: "An open company differs from a non-profit organization in that an open company does not itself accept donations, and it does not compensate its employees. From the open company’s point of view, whether and how its employees receive money and for what, is undefined."
- DASD 14y ago
  Since when are non-profits required to accept donations or even have employees?
  - whit537 14y ago
    De jure, they're not. De facto, they do. No?
    - DASD 14y ago
      No. Please look up the idea of a private non-profit. There are quite a few around.
      - whit537 14y ago
        Is this what you mean? "Non-profit organizations typically fall into one of two categories: public and private. While a public non-profit organization receives the majority of its funding from the general public, a private non-profit organization receives most of its funds from only a few private sources, such as through donations from a single family or corporation." http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-public-private-nonprofit-organizations-26366.html http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-public-pri... Still accepts donations. Still probably has a staff. Do you have a better link to what you're talking about?
        DASD 14y ago
        With regard to the source you cited, "such as" is not a blanket translation equivalent to "still accepts donations." As a single example, a foundation can be created with a one time funding and a foundation can also receive investment income. A non-profit can also consist entirely of only a Board of Directors. Whether you consider the Board as a staff is open to interpretation. You mentioned in an off-topic comment here in the discussion about being in the Pittsburgh area. May I suggest contacting the Pittsburgh Community Foundation who might be able to share more information with you? They should be able to tell you with more clarity and reference as to why some non-profits are not able to receive donations and are possibly not members of their "community." There are several hundred Community Foundations around the country if Pittsburgh is not accessible to you.
        whit537 14y ago
        When I search on Google for "Pittsburgh Community Foundation" the closest I find is "The Pittsburgh Foundation": http://pittsburghfoundation.org/ http://pittsburghfoundation.org/ Is that who you are referring to? They do claim to be a community foundation.[0] However, I'm confused, because they also claim to be "a tax-exempt public charity" and that "donors are central to our mission"[0]. They also have a staff.[1] I'm having a hard time understanding your point, I guess. ---- [0] http://pittsburghfoundation.org/node/207 http://pittsburghfoundation.org/node/207 [1] http://pittsburghfoundation.org/staff_aboutUs http://pittsburghfoundation.org/staff_aboutUs
        DASD 14y ago
        tldr: The Pittsburgh Community Foundation is a great reference to contact who can explain why some non-profits don't accept donations. Yes, that is the organization and your points are spot-on. My point was not about the structure of Pittsburgh Foundation but rather related to part of their purpose. In this particular example, a non-profit may be part of the geographical Pittsburgh community but is not necessarily a member(participant might be a more appropriate word) of the Pittsburgh Foundation "community" which receive donations/grants through them. So why would a non-profit not be a "community member?" Go back to my previous post: They should be able to tell you with more clarity and reference as to why some non-profits are not able to (added: or elect not to) receive donations and are possibly not members of their "community."

I suppose he might gittip them.

The incentive is the same as open source programmers have to work for free. RE: non-profits ... from the post: "An open company differs from a non-profit organization in that an open company does not itself accept donations, and it does not compensate its employees. From the open company’s point of view, whether and how its employees receive money and for what, is undefined."

DASD 14y ago
Since when are non-profits required to accept donations or even have employees?
- whit537 14y ago
  De jure, they're not. De facto, they do. No?
  - DASD 14y ago
    No. Please look up the idea of a private non-profit. There are quite a few around.
    - whit537 14y ago
      Is this what you mean? "Non-profit organizations typically fall into one of two categories: public and private. While a public non-profit organization receives the majority of its funding from the general public, a private non-profit organization receives most of its funds from only a few private sources, such as through donations from a single family or corporation." http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-public-private-nonprofit-organizations-26366.html http://smallbusiness.chron.com/difference-between-public-pri... Still accepts donations. Still probably has a staff. Do you have a better link to what you're talking about?
      - DASD 14y ago
        With regard to the source you cited, "such as" is not a blanket translation equivalent to "still accepts donations." As a single example, a foundation can be created with a one time funding and a foundation can also receive investment income. A non-profit can also consist entirely of only a Board of Directors. Whether you consider the Board as a staff is open to interpretation. You mentioned in an off-topic comment here in the discussion about being in the Pittsburgh area. May I suggest contacting the Pittsburgh Community Foundation who might be able to share more information with you? They should be able to tell you with more clarity and reference as to why some non-profits are not able to receive donations and are possibly not members of their "community." There are several hundred Community Foundations around the country if Pittsburgh is not accessible to you.
        whit537 14y ago
        When I search on Google for "Pittsburgh Community Foundation" the closest I find is "The Pittsburgh Foundation": http://pittsburghfoundation.org/ http://pittsburghfoundation.org/ Is that who you are referring to? They do claim to be a community foundation.[0] However, I'm confused, because they also claim to be "a tax-exempt public charity" and that "donors are central to our mission"[0]. They also have a staff.[1] I'm having a hard time understanding your point, I guess. ---- [0] http://pittsburghfoundation.org/node/207 http://pittsburghfoundation.org/node/207 [1] http://pittsburghfoundation.org/staff_aboutUs http://pittsburghfoundation.org/staff_aboutUs
        DASD 14y ago
        tldr: The Pittsburgh Community Foundation is a great reference to contact who can explain why some non-profits don't accept donations. Yes, that is the organization and your points are spot-on. My point was not about the structure of Pittsburgh Foundation but rather related to part of their purpose. In this particular example, a non-profit may be part of the geographical Pittsburgh community but is not necessarily a member(participant might be a more appropriate word) of the Pittsburgh Foundation "community" which receive donations/grants through them. So why would a non-profit not be a "community member?" Go back to my previous post: They should be able to tell you with more clarity and reference as to why some non-profits are not able to (added: or elect not to) receive donations and are possibly not members of their "community."