RationalWiki:RationalMedia Foundation

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As a public charity organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes, the RationalWiki Foundation is tax exempt under [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/26/501.html Section 501(c)(3)] of the Internal Revenue Code. All donations made to the Foundation may be deducted from your federally taxable income to the extent permitted by law. You should contact a tax professional to determine whether and to what extent donations are deductible under your particular circumstances.
 
As a public charity organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes, the RationalWiki Foundation is tax exempt under [http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/26/501.html Section 501(c)(3)] of the Internal Revenue Code. All donations made to the Foundation may be deducted from your federally taxable income to the extent permitted by law. You should contact a tax professional to determine whether and to what extent donations are deductible under your particular circumstances.
  
Pursuant to [http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1/508-1 26 C.F.R. § 1.508-1(a)(3)(i)(b)] the RationalWiki Foundation is excused from obtaining an official determination of exempt status by filing Form 1023 because its gross receipts are not normally more than $5,000.<ref>The RationalWiki Foundation was incorporated on August 4, 2010; its gross receipts during its first fiscal year of operation (January 1, 2010 through January 1, 2011) were less than $7,500. See, [http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1/508-1 26 C.F.R. § 1.508-1(a)(3)(ii)(a)].</ref> Nonetheless, the Foundation anticipates submitting its completed Form 1023 by the end of fiscal 2011 in order to obtain an official IRS determination of exempt status so that donors and/or their tax preparers can be assured of the Foundation's tax exempt status if they so require.
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Pursuant to [http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1/508-1 26 C.F.R. § 1.508-1(a)(3)(i)(b)] the RationalWiki Foundation is excused from obtaining an official determination of exempt status by filing Form 1023 because its gross receipts are not normally more than $5,000.<ref>The RationalWiki Foundation was incorporated on August 4, 2010; its gross receipts during its first fiscal year of operation (January 1, 2010 through January 1, 2011) were less than $7,500. See, [http://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/26/1/508-1 26 C.F.R. § 1.508-1(a)(3)(ii)(a)].</ref> Nonetheless, the Foundation anticipates submitting its completed Form 1023 in fiscal 2012 in order to obtain an official IRS determination of exempt status so that donors and/or their tax preparers can be assured of the Foundation's tax exempt status if they so require.
  
 
===Other countries===
 
===Other countries===

Revision as of 18:04, 11 December 2011

The RationalWiki Foundation is a corporation organized under the laws of New Mexico that owns and operates the RationalWiki.org website. It is a non-profit corporation under the laws of New Mexico and a tax exempt public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. The mission of the Foundation is to promote and defend science, critical thinking and public interest dialog in a free and open forum. The Foundation seeks to develop and publicize free educational and collaborative content, create community-focused software, and to connect and advance the global community of rational thinkers.

The Foundation is run by a Board of Trustees made up of and elected annually by RationalWiki users. The main jobs of the trustees are to hire the Operations Manager, monitor the financial state of the RationalWiki website, and to pursue and promote projects that further its mission. The structure and rules of the Foundation can be found in the by-laws.

For a deeper explanation of the Foundation and its management of the RationalWiki website please see our article on the Foundation's role.

Contents

Board of Trustees

The initial board was made up of three members appointed prior to the Foundation filing for legal status in order to bootstrap policies, procedures and facilitate legal incorporation. The first elections were held in January 2011.

The current trustees are:

The trustees' duties, authority, and tenure are set out in the Foundation's by-laws.

Elections

Officers

The board of trustees is charged with electing a Chair and Vice Chair from its own members. It must also appoint an Operations Manager and Secretary, neither of whom need be a trustee. With the exception of the Operations Manager, who serves a 2 year term, all appointed and elected officers serve 1 year terms.

The officers' duties, authority, and tenure are set out in the Foundation's by-laws.

Financial status

The RationalWiki Foundation currently has enough funds on hand to support its projects until February 2012. The next scheduled fundraiser is September 2011, but donations are always accepted!

The pages below outline the financial status of the Foundation.

Current year

Previous years

Tax exempt status

The information provided below is not intended to be legal advice and you should not construe it as legal advice. It is provided for informational purposes only. You should contact a tax professional for further guidance.

United States

As a public charity organized and operated exclusively for educational purposes, the RationalWiki Foundation is tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. All donations made to the Foundation may be deducted from your federally taxable income to the extent permitted by law. You should contact a tax professional to determine whether and to what extent donations are deductible under your particular circumstances.

Pursuant to 26 C.F.R. § 1.508-1(a)(3)(i)(b) the RationalWiki Foundation is excused from obtaining an official determination of exempt status by filing Form 1023 because its gross receipts are not normally more than $5,000.[1] Nonetheless, the Foundation anticipates submitting its completed Form 1023 in fiscal 2012 in order to obtain an official IRS determination of exempt status so that donors and/or their tax preparers can be assured of the Foundation's tax exempt status if they so require.

Other countries

Other countries may permit donations to the Foundation to be deducted from your taxable income. For example, under Canadian law, donations made to 501(c)(3) exempt organizations may be deductible from the taxpayer's US derived income. You should contact a tax professional in your country to determine whether and to what extent donations are deductible under your particular circumstances.

Meetings

The following is public information about the Board of Trustee meetings for the Foundation:

Contact information

Contact the Foundation at:

foundation@rationalwiki.org

Footnotes

  1. The RationalWiki Foundation was incorporated on August 4, 2010; its gross receipts during its first fiscal year of operation (January 1, 2010 through January 1, 2011) were less than $7,500. See, 26 C.F.R. § 1.508-1(a)(3)(ii)(a).
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