How can I redirect www to non www site?

Seeking info on a non-profit I'm aiming to start

• I am a board member of a small family foundation based in Massachusetts and I am also a family member. The board of trustees consists of my two parents and my other three siblings. I am interested in starting a non-profit similar to the following: www.tompaine.com www.csmonitor.com http://www.commondreams.org/ http://www.worldpress.org/ All of the above are non-profit web sites which focus on news, current events and issues. monitor and worldpress also have print versions which are also non-profit. The web site I’m thinking of doing would be more mainstream than tompaine.com and commondreams, and would focus on current events from an overall center-left perspective. The orientation of the non-profit I would create to run it would be educational providing information on current events, the world, government, science, technology, the environment and similar areas. A family member or two might be interested in supporting the start-up and each of us on the board- including myself - has a small discretionary fund we can make grants out of, and I’m hoping we can make grants towards this non-profit. The foundation administrator is somewhat conservative and doesn’t like to research the things I outline below so I want to go to one or two of my siblings (and later to him) with this information already clarified to make the process smooth. Also, while my siblings and one parent are likely to be very much behind such a site, the other parent may have reservations. Generally speaking, everyone leaves each other’s discretionary choices alone (the bulk of the money is given in common anyway) and approval for them is not needed as long as such grants are charitable in nature. Still, since there is a chance of opposition and I have already spent six weeks planning and researching the site, I want to become more clear on a large number of the following and have information at hand which supports what I’m aiming for. Background information, similar cases, and sites which address this will all be helpful. If there are gray areas, I can clarify those with a lawyer as needed though I prefer to do much of the work myself since I have very little money for this unless and until a grant occurs, and even then it will be somewhat limited until the site is up and going and other people support it. Here’s some detail on the types of information I’m seeking: a) Under what circumstances can a family foundation donate to a non-profit being started by a family member/trustee? Are there any conflict of interest rulings or statutes which place certain limitations on this or prohibit it altogether? I’m pretty sure it’s allowed in some way, shape or form and want to find info confirming this and describing any restrictions related to it. b) Can such a grant be used for the start-up costs of the non-profit, including incorporating (which happens on the state level), applying for 501 (c) (3) status (you have to apply to the IRS for this with 10-15 pages of paperwork and it normally takes them about a half year to respond), part-time staffing (including myself), a web designer and other related costs? Since the chances are significant that the non-profit would receive 501 (c) (3) tax-deductible status (though there is a chance the IRS can deny it) yet it takes all told at least 7 months to achieve such status, can a foundation provide a grant for those first months since it believes the non-profit’s purposes are educational and charitable in nature and because it expects in good faith the new non-profit will receive tax-exempt 501 (c) (3) status? We are not talking sizeable allocations and the total grant would amount to only a half percent of the foundation’s annual giving. In case it is helpful (and the Google instructions say to include all I already know), I have what is known as the Declaration of Trust for the charitable trust which runs our foundation with articles outlining the broad aspects of how the trust will run. It states that: ~ Distributions (grants) may be made “to or for the use of such charitable organizations, within the meaning of that term as defined in paragraph C.... or directly for such charitable purposes, within the meaning of that term as defined in paragraph D... without making use of any other charitable organization.” This basically means that grants can be made either to charitable organizations or directly to everyday individuals or projects with charitable purposes. Paragraph C states: “It is intended that the organizations described in this paragraph C shall be entitled to exemption from federal income tax under section 501 (c) (3) of the Code.” Paragraph D states that charitable purposes shall be limited to only religious, charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes within the meaning of those terms as used in section 501(c)(3) of the Code.” That said, I recall making a grant via the foundation a few years back to an organization in a similar situation - it was not a non-profit and was thinking about becoming one. The foundation administrator said he thought it was okay for them to use the grant to start it up - hire a lawyer and other steps, and if they during the process chose to not become a non-profit - the money could be put toward something charitable in nature or returned to the foundation. Nevertheless, he may have already forgotten this and he also works for the parent who may have reservations, so I’d like to be prepared with good information - IRS statements on the subject, articles or summaries from legal sites or journals, or cases which are very close to this - things that I can point to. c) Would my non-profit need a “fiscal sponsor” to receive the donation on its behalf during this early time period? A fiscal sponsor is typically an existing 501-c-3 non-profit which receives the donation (from a foundation or individual donor) and passes it along to the non-profit which lacks the 501-c-3 status - acting as its “fiscal agent.” I’m guessing this is not required since the foundation itself has 501-c-3 status it could in a sense be a fiscal agent for the start-up. Yet, due to the fact I’m a trustee, or perhaps for some reason foundations are restricted from being fiscal agents, maybe a fiscal agent will be needed. Any info you locate which clarifies any of these particulars would be helpful. For an example of a news site which receives tax-deductible donations through a fiscal agent, see http://docs.indymedia.org/view/Global/FrequentlyAskedQuestionEn#donate. The challenge with fiscal agents is that they often charge 5% of the total grant for their services and you often have to have a relationship with them, since they are taking a risk in sponsoring you (basically vouching for your charitable nature and activities at risk of losing their own 501-3-c. d) Any information on highly similar educational non-profit sites and what language they used with the IRS to obtain 501-c-3 status. The closest one I’ve found might be mediachannel.org - see items 1, 8 and 9 of http://www.mediachannel.org/about/FAQ.shtml - b/c they receive grants from numerous foundations and can receive tax-deductible donations from the public written to mediachannel (i.e. no fiscal agent), which most likely means they have 501-3-c status. Here is a link to the press release of its launch three years ago. They appear to be almost entirely web-oriented and are a separate non-profit, unlike some below. It does, however, appear to share the same address (575 8th Avenue, New York NY 10018) as one of the two main foundations which launched it - the Global Center, so it may be that someone on the board of the Global Center at the time, or closely affiliated with it, was involved in founding mediachannel, which would make it even more similar to my situation. The Christian Science Monitor may relate though the fact they are a large organization with probably multiple arms and more than one non-profit entity may cloud the similarity. Tompaine.com is a project of the Florence Fund (see - http://www.tompaine.com/about.cfm) which is a 501-c-3, which gets a lot of its funding from one foundation, the Florence and John Schumann Foundation, and from what I can tell, there are interconnections - quite likely family ones based on the similarity in names of the two entities, so this might be a relevant one to research. World Press is run directly by the Stanley Foundation - see http://www.stanleyfoundation.org/about/index.html, which I believe would make them an operating foundation - a legal term for a found. that directly operates its own charitable activities and projects with its money under the same legal umbrella, as opposed to making grants to other organizations or individuals. The non-profit I create to publish the web site would be run separately from the foundation, so the similarity may be lacking in this case. Commondreams.org comes somewhat close, yet it appears they are still applying for 501-c-3 status (http://www.commondreams.org/econtributor2.htm), so the info may not be public and we won’t even know if their appl. was successful. I guess the two closest in similarity are mediachannel and tompaine.com. By similar “sites” I’m looking for sites which have a focus on current events, with links to articles from other sites etc. I’m not looking for educational non-profit sites dedicated to physics,or mountain-climbing etc. It’s important that it be current events or news or issues to show that such sites are not always for-profit commercial sites (as some may assume). e) The “Declaration of Trust” also states: “No part of the net earnings of this trust shall inure or be payable to or for the benefit of any private shareholder or individual,....” and later uses the exact same statement with regards to monies donated to any charitable organization. I’m not sure what is meant by “the benefit of” - whether that means “the non-charitable benefit” or means “any benefit at all”. I’m guessing it means a charity can receive the money and pay its employees for work done, yet the employees can’t benefit by getting extra cash. I also know for certain that we are able to make grants to individuals, for example, to take a course at a university. We give them the money based on an understanding they will be using it for an educational, charitable purpose - which in a sense is a benefit, yet different from the “benefit,” for example, of buying a TV. This item is perhaps lowest priority of these 5 items. If you happen to come across the names of any lawyers who are already heavily versed in the above areas, particularly in the state of Massachusetts, please include, though this is also of lower priority since I have a few leads. Since there are five areas above, I am not expecting significant information on all of them. I would be satisfied to receive a bunch of information on three of the first four - like I said the fifth one is pretty low priority - threw it in in case it’s an easy find or you come across it. My guess is that once I’m reading the info you provide in three areas I’ll locate a link(s) which takes me to the fourth area. I also thought it best to include these in one listing since it’s very likely some of the areas will overlap and once you’re in all the non-profit web sites you’ll be closer to the various info. I also included lots of detail above per the Google tips so you’re aware of what I know and am looking for and hopefully some of the specifics I gave will increase the speed plus specificity of searches. Feel free to let me know if otherwise.

• Answer:

  Hello and thank you for your question. I've tried to keep my answers to your five-part question from being over-long or unduly confusing. a) Under what circumstances can a family foundation donate to a non-profit being started by a family member/trustee? Are there any conflict of interest rulings or statutes which place certain limitations on this or prohibit it altogether? The family foundation and the new non-profit are both subject to the "inurement" limits that you note elsewhere in your question, i.e., no part of the [trust fund] may inure or be payable to or for the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. But that doesn't mean that the family foundation cannot donate to a non-profit being started by a family member/trustee, so long as the contributed funds are being used for a charitable purpose. To understand the proper scope of this limitation, take a look at Intermediate Sanctions http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/legal/sanctions.html Basically, what this is telling you that the shareholders/individuals (generally, "disqualified persons") cannot receive any payment or benefit beyond the value of services that they provide. And a gift to the non-profit for its proper charitable uses is no problem. b) Can such a grant be used for the start-up costs of the non-profit, including incorporating (which happens on the state level), applying for 501 (c) (3) status, part-time staffing (including myself), a web designer and other related costs? That is the usual way to get a new non-profit organization underway, particularly because it allows other donors the satisfaction of knowing that their contributions are going to the 'real' charitable recipients rather than to lawyers, etc. But it's not a legal requirement. "he American Boxer Charitable Foundation was founded in May 1995 by a group of ABC members as a vehicle to raise money to fund medical research and any other project that would improve the health and welfare and ensure the future of our beloved breed -- the Boxer. ... The American Boxer Club donated $5000 to the Foundation to be used as "seed money." This money covered the organizational expenses (IRS filing fees, legal expenses, etc.), and allowed all donations from contributors to go directly for medical research rather than for start-up expenses. Individual officers and committee members also donated their time and postage and phone expenses to the foundation." History and Goals http://www.abcfoundation.org/about.html c) Would my non-profit need a “fiscal sponsor” to receive the donation on its behalf during this early time period? In the circumstance that you describe, the foundation will be the fiscal sponsor for the new non-profit. 'A 501(c)(3) fiscal sponsor is a qualified 501(c)(3) organization that acts as a fiscal "parent" for a particular program or initiative." What is a 501(c)(3)? http://www.philanthropycenter.org/503c3.html d) Any information on highly similar educational non-profit sites and what language they used with the IRS to obtain 501-c-3 status. It's important to focus your application (and actual acitivities) on education rather than what might be seen as lobbying or other political action. Consider the following: Commonweal Institute http://www.philanthropycenter.org/searchresults_detail.php?org_id=4578 Foundation for Global Community http://www.philanthropycenter.org/searchresults_detail.php?org_id=4239 I don't have a filled-in Form 1023 for you, but there is some useful background information at Nonprofit Legal Toolkit http://www.texascbar.org/content/legal_library/nonprofit_management/downloads/legal_toolkit_sec1.pdf e) The “Declaration of Trust” also states: “No part of the net earnings of this trust shall inure or be payable to or for the benefit of any private shareholder or individual,....” and later uses the exact same statement with regards to monies donated to any charitable organization. I’m not sure what is meant by “the benefit of” - whether that means “the non-charitable benefit” or means “any benefit at all”. This is covered in my answer to (a) above. In general a disqualified person can still do business with the charitable entity, but only on a value-for-value basis. "The organization must not be organized or operated for the benefit of private interests, such as the creator or the creator's family, shareholders of the organization, other designated individuals, or persons controlled directly or indirectly by such private interests. No part of the net earnings of an IRC Section 501(c)(3) organization may inure to the benefit of any private shareholder or individual. A private shareholder or individual is a person having a personal and private interest in the activities of the organization. If the organization engages in an excess benefit transaction with a person having substantial influence over the organization, an excise tax may be imposed on the person and any managers agreeing to the transaction." Exemption Requirements http://www.irs.gov/charities/article/0,,id=96099,00.html Search terms used: inure "disqualified person" "501(c)(3)" "organizational expenses "fiscal sponsor" foundation inure site:irs.gov I hope you find my answer helpful. Obviously this is a complex and technical field, and anyway I can only provide you with general information, not intended to substitute for informed professional advice. If you find any of my answer to be unclear, please request clarification. I would appreciate it if you would hold off on rating my answer until I have a chance to reply. Sincerely, Google Answers Researcher Richard-ga