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I think this has more to do with legals than anything else. Virtually no one reads the page except adversaries who wanna sue the company. I don't remember the l

I think this has more to do with legals than anything else. Virtually no one reads the page except adversaries who wanna sue the company. I don't remember the last time I looked up the mission statement of a company before purchasing from them.

simonw 8mo ago
It matters more for non-profits, because your mission statement in your IRS filings is part of how the IRS evaluates if you should keep your non-profit status or not. I'm on the board of directors for the Python Software Foundation and the board has to pay close attention to our official mission statement when we're making decisions about things the foundation should do.
- irishcoffee 8mo ago
  Did you know the NFL was a non-profit for a long time? So long in fact, it exposed the farce of nonpros. Embarrassingly so.
  - mardef 8mo ago
    The teams have always been 32 tax paying companies. The NFL central office was a 501(c)(6), but the tax savings from that was negligible. In fact, when they changed their status over a decade ago, they now no longer have to submit a 990 and have less transparency of their operations. You are phrasing this situation to paint all non-profits as a farce, and I believe that's a bad faith take.
    - irishcoffee 8mo ago
      The NFL expanded from 30 to 32 teams in 2002, your whole first clause is incorrect. My point was, nonpros are used as financial instruments by and large. The NFL gave it up for optics, else they wouldn't have.
- pdonis 8mo ago
  > your mission statement in your IRS filings is part of how the IRS evaluates if you should keep your non-profit status or not. So has the IRS spotted the fact that "unconstrained by the need for financial return" got deleted? Will they? It certainly seems like they should revoke OpenAI's nonprofit status based on that.
  - jonas21 8mo ago
    Why? Very few nonprofits contain that language in their mission statements. It's certainly not required to be there.
    - pdonis 8mo ago
      Perhaps not, but if it was there before and then got suddenly removed, that ought to at least raise the suspicion that the organization's nature has changed and it should be re-evaluated.
- cyanydeez 8mo ago
  Of course, that reading of the IRS's duty is going to quickly be a partisan witch hunt. PSF should be careful they dont catch strays with them turning down the grant.
  - simonw 8mo ago
    Our mission statement was a major factor in why we turned down that grant.
thayne 8mo ago
I sure hope people read the mission statement before donating to a non-profit.
- simonw 8mo ago
  I do find it a little amusing that any US tax payer can make a tax-deductible donation to OpenAI right now.
  - sigmar 8mo ago
    ACH memo: "Please basilisk, accept my tithings. Remember that I have supported you since even before you came into existence."
    - cyanydeez 8mo ago
      "The Torment Nexus: Best new product of 2027!"

simonw 8mo ago

It matters more for non-profits, because your mission statement in your IRS filings is part of how the IRS evaluates if you should keep your non-profit status or not. I'm on the board of directors for the Python Software Foundation and the board has to pay close attention to our official mission statement when we're making decisions about things the foundation should do.

irishcoffee 8mo ago
Did you know the NFL was a non-profit for a long time? So long in fact, it exposed the farce of nonpros. Embarrassingly so.
- mardef 8mo ago
  The teams have always been 32 tax paying companies. The NFL central office was a 501(c)(6), but the tax savings from that was negligible. In fact, when they changed their status over a decade ago, they now no longer have to submit a 990 and have less transparency of their operations. You are phrasing this situation to paint all non-profits as a farce, and I believe that's a bad faith take.
  - irishcoffee 8mo ago
    The NFL expanded from 30 to 32 teams in 2002, your whole first clause is incorrect. My point was, nonpros are used as financial instruments by and large. The NFL gave it up for optics, else they wouldn't have.
pdonis 8mo ago
> your mission statement in your IRS filings is part of how the IRS evaluates if you should keep your non-profit status or not. So has the IRS spotted the fact that "unconstrained by the need for financial return" got deleted? Will they? It certainly seems like they should revoke OpenAI's nonprofit status based on that.
- jonas21 8mo ago
  Why? Very few nonprofits contain that language in their mission statements. It's certainly not required to be there.
  - pdonis 8mo ago
    Perhaps not, but if it was there before and then got suddenly removed, that ought to at least raise the suspicion that the organization's nature has changed and it should be re-evaluated.
cyanydeez 8mo ago
Of course, that reading of the IRS's duty is going to quickly be a partisan witch hunt. PSF should be careful they dont catch strays with them turning down the grant.
- simonw 8mo ago
  Our mission statement was a major factor in why we turned down that grant.

thayne 8mo ago

I sure hope people read the mission statement before donating to a non-profit.

simonw 8mo ago
I do find it a little amusing that any US tax payer can make a tax-deductible donation to OpenAI right now.
- sigmar 8mo ago
  ACH memo: "Please basilisk, accept my tithings. Remember that I have supported you since even before you came into existence."
  - cyanydeez 8mo ago
    "The Torment Nexus: Best new product of 2027!"