How old do you have to be to run a non-profit organization?

Can a nonprofit run a for-profit enterprise as long as the money goes back into the organization?

• Answer:

  Many non-profit organizations have established for-profit businesses to handle things that do not fall under the non-profit umbrella (usually unrelated business income). The two are separate organizations. The for-profit enterprise is not necessarily obligated to return its profits to the non-profit (though most do). In some cases where there are both non-profit and for-profit entities, people from the one side do work for the other side. When this happens, the organizations must have clear, written agreements regarding this work and how it is paid for. As an example, the for-profit side may have a marketing department that the non-profit side can use when it needs to have brochures, newsletters, etc. created. The non-profit side pays the for-profit side a fee for each project. It sounds kinda confusing and depends entirely on the type of non-profit organization you have in mind. There are lots of type of non-profits. Most of the time people mean a 501(c)3 charity when they say non-profit, but the IRS recognizes churches, trade & professional associations, credit unions, political action groups, etc. as non-profits. In order to properly establish non-profit and for-profit organizations that work together, you need to have an experienced team of accountants and lawyers to do it correctly and within the legal and tax parameters. Hope this helps. Good luck.